Turkish historian: Turkey`s recognition of Armenian Genocide possible  only through political struggle

ArmInfo.  Turkey's recognition of the Armenian Genocide is possible only through active political struggle, because we live in a world where not only historical tragedies are forgotten, but also modern acts of violence go  unnoticed, as  stated by Taner Akcam, a Turkish historian, genocide  scholar, and head of the genocide studies program at the Armenian  Institute "Promise" at the University of California, Los Angeles  (UCLA) on April 29 at the Center for  Western Armenian Studies in  Yerevan. He was presenting his new monograph "The Origins of the  Genocidal State" in Armenian. 

In his work, Akcam examines historical events from the Ottoman Empire  to the present day, offering a new perspective on the history of  Turkey. In particular, he analyzes how the country applies apartheid  policies towards ethnic minorities, and draws parallels with  practices that existed in the Republic of South Africa. In this vein,  Akcam recalled that laws limiting the rights of minorities have been  adopted in Turkey since 1923.  He then drew parallels between the  apartheid policy in South Africa and in Turkey. In particular,  according to the historian, in Turkey, Armenians were forced to  convert to Islam and change their names to Turkish ones in order to  remain in the country. He believes that there should be a struggle in  Turkey to dismantle this apartheid regime, which could eventually  lead to the recognition of the  Armenian Genocide. Speaking about the  normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and the willingness of  the current Armenian government to normalize relations with Ankara,  without addressing the issue of recognizing the Armenian Genocide,  the Turkish historian assured that this policy has been consistent  across all political forces in Armenia, and not just under Nikol  Pashinyan. 

Meanwhile, Taner Akcam believes that each generation has the right to  choose  how the country should address the recognition of the  genocide and present its vision of history. In conclusion, the author  of the monograph also touched upon the forced displacement of the  entire Armenian population of Artsakh, labeling it a crime against  humanity. He also mentioned his involvement in collecting signatures  to condemn the aggression during the war in Artsakh. Additionally,  Akcam noted that he does not have high expectations regarding the  restoration of the rights of the people of Artsakh, likening it to  effortd to restore the rights of Armenians who survived the genocide  or Palestinians.