Tall Armenian Tale

 

The Other Side of the Falsified Genocide

 

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Mahmut Ozan
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 Here is my first exposure to the Armenian Genocide: a poster in my school with the Turkish flag's star and crescent formed into a swastika; I was shocked. I had never heard about this episode of history, and it certainly was very bothersome for my own ethnic group to be equated with the Nazis. Especially when the victims turned out to be the Armenians... my parents raised me to feel a kinship with the Armenians. (My father would sometimes curse out the Greeks... although I was never led to believe I should feel hatred for either people, or anyone; quite the contrary, the things we shared in common were stressed in my upbringing, not our differences.) I asked my father whether this genocide was true, and he was far from the biggest authority on the subject. He told me it was the Kurds who did a lot of the massacring, which sounded to me like laying the blame on someone else. (Later on, I would learn there was truth to this assertion.... not because the Kurds were a vicious people (although some, like the Turks, weren't angels), but because in the Eastern part of the Ottoman Empire, there were a lot of Kurds who lived side by side with the Armenians; when the Armenians "fired the first shot" by ethnically cleansing the regions they were in control of, it was the Kurds who were mostly on the receiving end. The counter-massacres committed by the Kurds were mainly in vindictive response to the murders committed by the Armenians.) My father also told me there was some American report that pretty much found the Turks innocent, and that was what appeased me until I could learn more for myself. I guess the American in question was Admiral Mark Bristol. 

 

 
 

I am aware of the massiveness of anti-Turk internet sites. I have heard a study that said (the) Internet is being used most effectively by hate groups around the world, to distribute their ideas. 

The most "imaginative" stuff comes from a Greek Cypriot in Northampton, England who runs the "Discover The Republic Of Turkey" site, and other linked sites — I am sure you have seen it. In fact, if you run a general search on Turkey or the TRNC you can't avoid it. It is an example of a lie being repeated often enough becoming believable. Another site is HRA (Human Rights Action) which masquerades as a human rights site but is actually an anti Turkish site — they used to have a guestbook, but it vanished. I wondered why — maybe you know. 

Turkey or Turks don't sit down and open internet sites to tell the world about themselves, or their problems. Since Turks don't have preconceived hatred against any nation or ethnic group, they don't also sit down and open internet sites to vent off their hatred. Most of the Turkish sites are for commercial purposes like tourism, radios, TV's, papers etc. There are a couple of forums like this site. A couple of forums also are closed because of financial problems and it goes a long way to show you that most of these sites are opened and maintained by individuals, not organizations with certain agendas. I still can not believe it, some Armenian or Greek organizations sit down and make fake internet sites impersonating Turks, and actually put time and money to maintain those sites. How sick is that. 

Burak, from a guestbook comment 

 

Over the years I have certainly encountered further information about the subject matter and have kept my eyes open for solid evidence in EITHER camp. The problem was, the only information that could readily be found was from the Armenian camp. When the "Assembly of Turkish American Associations" finally got going in the early 1980s, I breathed a sigh of relief.... and ate up their magazine's (ATA-USA, which later transformed into The Turkish Times) "historical record" articles, some of which I've dusted off and scanned, for inclusion at this web site.

 

  EXPRESS Changes


 

Since ATAA took a lot of the slack, I haven't always been active in writing letters to correct injustices (not much better than your typically apathetic Turk, who has better things to do with his life... so much in contrast to hysterical Armenians and Greeks, too many of whom have transformed their hatred of Turks to a life passion, and a quasi-religion).... mostly, I've been responding in cases where I got really fired up. However, I have learned that even one letter can make a difference. I'll share two related examples: When MIDNIGHT EXPRESS first started playing on television, the major national magazine providing television listings (TV Guide) wrote the film was a "true story." 

I don't know if the letter I wrote made the difference, but the next time the movie aired, the magazine included in their descriptive blurb, "Based on a true story." 

Then there was a  MIDNIGHT EXPRESS ad from one of the local stations (WOR-TV, now part of a network) which also claimed the film was a true story... but added that the viewer will "go to Hell." That made it sound like Turkey herself was the Hell in question (which is only fitting to those who have gone so far as to label Turks as the anti-Christ), so I took the unusual step of digging up the people responsible, from the higher-ups down to the lowly copywriter of the ad agency. The next time WOR-TV aired MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, nearly two years after I had written my letter, I was happy to see the "Based on a true story" change had been made... in the TV Guide ad below, dated June 10, 1988.

It's actually a very tiny consolation, but when you're ethnically Turkish... facing the hurricane of anti-Turkish propaganda in a country like the U.S.A., every little bit helps.

Midnight Express ad in TV Guide magazine

For more on this adorable movie, go to Midnight Express.

If you'll enjoy other examples of Turk defenders who have set the unfair American media straight, please go to Edward Tashji.

 

 

 


What's a Holdwater?

So what gives? How come Holdwater is hiding behind "Holdwater" and not providing his real name, address and Social Security number?

Shortly before premiering this site, I decided to match wits in a forum that presented an Armenian "Genocide" article, and the Armenians who naturally converged like the yellow jackets who buzz in, ruining a picnic. Armed with my newfound knowledge, I let them have it with both barrels.

Their response? "Liar, liar, pants on fire." No response to the things I said or the points I made... mostly, the response was in the form of their image of me that they had already created in their own minds.

One said I was a "Zionist." Another said I was a paid propagandist. I was also told I would go behind bars, for denying the "Genocide." (It's safe to assume from their English that the writers were most likely Americans, perhaps Canadians. If the former, I suppose a little thing called the Bill of Rights went over their attack-dog mindset.)

This is precisely the sort of thing Judge Sam Weems encountered, shortly before the publication of his book, "Armenia -- Secrets of a 'Christian' Terrorist State." The Armenian Assembly of America libeled him as a "convicted felon," and proclaimed the book to be propaganda... before the book had even been released.

Armenians can typically be aggressive, ill-informed, single-minded, and just plain unreasonable... so steeped are they with their raison d'etre, the identity-formulating, beloved Armenian "Genocide."

So other than not wishing to expose my real life to a lot of nastiness... especially since I'm not making a cent out of this (well, actually, the million dollars I received from the sinister Turkish government for lying my head off has already been blown... after only a week in Las Vegas), anonymity suits me just fine, thank you.

It shouldn't matter even if I were a "paid propagandist," as Armenians will believe, regardless. Besides, this site was not prepared for Armenians and other Orthodox folks whose irrational hatred of all things Turkish will prevent them from opening up their minds... these people are, unfortunately, lost causes for the most part. This site is geared to the "neutral" Westerner, who already has a negative predisposition toward Turks, as almost all Westerners do. Concentrate on the issues, and determine whether what you are reading is the truth, or not. The messenger matters not one bit. All that matters is the message.


ADDENDUM, 3-06:

I've received comments regarding the above paragraph: "Armenians can typically be aggressive, ill-informed, single-minded, and just plain unreasonable..." being an indication of my "hatred" of Armenians. Just got such a message from an American professor residing in Mexico, who worships reporter Robert Fisk. He went for the "personal attack," instead of focusing on any historic issues.

People are going to see hatred where they want. And those who prefer ad hominem attacks are going to set as their priority to attack the arguer instead of the argument.

Let's make this clear: I have zero hatred of Armenians; I was reared to look upon Armenians as my brothers and sisters. I have 100% hatred of the deception of Armenians' age-old propaganda.

It is true when I first started this site, I was so overwhelmed by the real hatred that is out there against Turks, in Internet-land, I decided to strike back in a manner that was not the typical nicey-nicey, take the high road, style of the Turkish sites I had been seeing. Sure, you can attract more flies with honey than vinegar, in general. But in the case of this genocide business, the ones who squawk the loudest keep getting the attention, and voices of moderation — as usual — get laid by the wayside. (Not that getting laid is that bad, of course.) This is why I have decided to use colorful language. At times I've regretted that decision, because this site does not come across as "academic," with the colorful language and humor that has been interjected. In reality, sources are always provided when available, so the site is plenty academic. People who don't like the verified sources are going to find reason to be critical, no matter what.

But I calmed down after getting much of the frustration out of my system, and later writings became more tempered. When I come across times I've gone overboard, I've "revised" (gasp!) older pages, to soften things up. I'm now usually adding modifiers to the word "Armenians," such as "genocide-obsessed," and the like. (The problem is, when the word "Armenians" is used in every other sentence, sometimes modifiers are not always going to be possible.)

If you'll notice how the paragraph above ends, it is clear I'm not talking about all Armenians. Only about the ones who have gone cuckoo for genocide puffs.

When "Armenians" are being referred to on this site, we are almost always talking about the ones who are genocide obsessed.

Of course there are Armenians who don't believe in this big fraud. I recently came across a press report in an Armenian newspaper, where Armenians from Armenia were being criticized for speaking the unspeakable... that the events in question occurred because of the violence and provocation of the revolutionary leaders. (Just as First Prime Minister Hovhannes Katchaznouni admitted.) Does anyone believe out of the seven million or so Armenians worldwide, there aren't going to be Armenians who know and accept the truth?

But these Armenians don't speak up publicly. They know better. They know the roots of their own people's terrorism, the kind that claimed 2 out of 3 victims as Armenians in the time span of 1904-06, directed against the Armenians who didn't play along.

Today, the slightest stepping out of line is a cause for attack, as Vincent Lima and Ara Sarafian discovered. Armenians who say anything that goes off-track are immediately accused of being agents of the Turkish government, or another example of character defamation; the typical smear campaigns begin. Physical dangers are never out of the question, either, if we are to be reminded of "tradition."

The only ones who speak publicly are the ones who have been poisoned by the Dashnak mentality. That includes the diaspora, and unfortunately, the nation of Armenia. (The first leader after post Soviet independence tried to keep the Dashnaks at bay. He failed. An Armenian author provides much revealing insight, regarding these issues.) Just go to any Armenian forum, and you'll see what I mean. Most of these genocide-obsessed Armeni-Lemmings' minds are simply hermetically sealed; no rhyme or reason will work with them, because they are approaching the topic not from reason, but from faith. They are the equivalent of religious fanatics.

We must assume most Armenian professors know the truth, but are deliberately falsifying the issues... proponents of "Hai Tahd" as they are. Most exhibit the same characteristics as stated in the paragraph above. (As Prof. Guenter Lewy summed up, after being attacked by a whole bunch of pro-Armenian "scholars": they exhibit a "superb arrogance.")

Conclusion: anyone who feels the paragraph in question is indicative of "hatred" can try this simple test: point to an Armenian who publicly goes against the tide. Aside from the late Edward Tashji, and possibly a few Armenians from Turkey, if you can't find one, then explain how it could be possible Armenians can so typically be aggressive, ill-informed, single-minded, and just plain unreasonable. If you fail, then please restrain yourself from going for the cheap shot.

 

 

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THE PURPOSE OF TALL ARMENIAN TALE (TAT)
...Is to expose the mythological “Armenian genocide,” from the years 1915-16. A wartime tragedy involving the losses of so many has been turned into a politicized story of “exclusive victimhood,” and because of the prevailing prejudice against Turks, along with Turkish indifference, those in the world, particularly in the West, have been quick to accept these terribly defamatory claims involving the worst crime against humanity. Few stop to investigate below the surface that those regarded as the innocent victims, the Armenians, while seeking to establish an independent state, have been the ones to commit systematic ethnic cleansing against those who did not fit into their racial/religious ideal: Muslims, Jews, and even fellow Armenians who had converted to Islam. Criminals as Dro, Antranik, Keri, Armen Garo and Soghoman Tehlirian (the assassin of Talat Pasha, one of the three Young Turk leaders, along with Enver and Jemal) contributed toward the deaths (via massacres, atrocities, and forced deportation) of countless innocents, numbering over half a million. What determines genocide is not the number of casualties or the cruelty of the persecutions, but the intent to destroy a group, the members of which are guilty of nothing beyond being members of that group. The Armenians suffered their fate of resettlement not for their ethnicity, having co-existed and prospered in the Ottoman Empire for centuries, but because they rebelled against their dying Ottoman nation during WWI (World War I); a rebellion that even their leaders of the period, such as Boghos Nubar and Hovhannes Katchaznouni, have admitted. Yet the hypocritical world rarely bothers to look beneath the surface, not only because of anti-Turkish prejudice, but because of Armenian wealth and intimidation tactics. As a result, these libelous lies, sometimes belonging in the category of “genocide studies,” have become part of the school curricula of many regions. Armenian scholars such as Vahakn Dadrian, Peter Balakian, Richard Hovannisian, Dennis Papazian and Levon Marashlian have been known to dishonestly present only one side of their story, as long as their genocide becomes affirmed. They have enlisted the help of "genocide scholars," such as Roger Smith, Robert Melson, Samantha Power, and Israel Charny… and particularly  those of Turkish extraction, such as Taner Akcam and Fatma Muge Gocek, who justify their alliance with those who actively work to harm the interests of their native country, with the claim that such efforts will help make Turkey more" democratic." On the other side of this coin are genuine scholars who consider all the relevant data, as true scholars have a duty to do, such as Justin McCarthy, Bernard Lewis, Heath Lowry, Erich Feigl and Guenter Lewy. The unscrupulous genocide industry, not having the facts on its side, makes a practice of attacking the messenger instead of the message, vilifying these professors as “deniers” and "agents of the Turkish government." The truth means so little to the pro-genocide believers, some even resort to the forgeries of the Naim-Andonian telegrams or sources  based on false evidence, as Franz Werfel’s The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. Naturally, there is no end to the hearsay "evidence" of the prejudiced pro-Christian people from the period, including missionaries and Near East Relief representatives, Arnold Toynbee, Lord Bryce, Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and so many others. When the rare Westerner opted to look at the issues objectively, such as Admirals Mark Bristol and Colby Chester, they were quick to be branded as “Turcophiles” by the propagandists. The sad thing is, even those who don’t consider themselves as bigots are quick to accept the deceptive claims of Armenian propaganda, because deep down people feel the Turks are natural killers and during times when Turks were victims, they do not rate as equal and deserving human beings. This is the main reason why the myth of this genocide has become the common wisdom.