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Bernard-Henri Lévy

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On the Armenian Genocide: The Response of a Handful of Historians

Posted: 01/03/12 04:00 PM ET

Are these people really incapable of comprehending? Or are they just pretending not to understand?

The law whose purpose is to penalize negationist revisionism, voted before Christmas by the French parliament, does not propose to write history in the place of historians. And this for the simple reason that this history has been told and written, well written, for a long time. This we have always known: that, beginning in 1915, the Armenians were the victims of a methodic attempt at annihilation. A wealth of literature has been devoted to the subject, based in particular upon the confessions offered by the Turkish criminals themselves, starting with Hoca Ilyas Sami, almost immediately after the fact. From Yehuda Bauer to Raul Hilberg, from researchers at Yad Vashem to Yves Ternon and others, no serious historian casts doubt upon this reality or denies it. In other words, this law has nothing to do with the will to establish a truth of state. No representative of the French National Assembly who voted for it saw himself as a substitute for historians or their work. Together, they only intended to recall this simple right, that of each of us not to be publicly attacked -- and its corollary, the right to demand reparations for this particularly outrageous offense which is the insult to the memory of the dead. It is a question of law, not one of history.

Presenting this law as one that denies liberty, one likely to hamper the work of historians is another strange argument that makes one wonder. It is the negationist revisionists who, up until now, have hampered the work of historians. It is their mad ideas, their hare-brained concepts, their twisting of facts, their terrifying and breathtaking lies that shake the earth upon which, in principle, a science should be built. And in punishing them, making their task more complicated, alerting the public that it is dealing not with scholars but with those who would enflame minds, that the law protects and shelters history. Is there one historian who has been prevented from working on the Shoah by the Gayssot law punishing denial of the Holocaust? Is there one author who, in good conscience, can claim that it has limited his freedom to do research and to raise questions? And isn't it clear that the only ones this law has seriously hindered are the Faurissons, the Irvings, and the other Le Pens? Well, the same applies to the genocide of the Armenians. This law, when the Senate will have ratified it, will be a stroke of fortune for historians, who can finally work in peace. Unless... Yes, unless those who oppose the law express this other, cloudier reservation: that it would be a bit premature to come to a conclusion, precisely and for nearly a century, of "genocide".

Some still say, isn't there some other way than the law to intimidate the "assassins on paper"? And hasn't the truth in itself, in its starkness and its rigour, the means to defend itself and to triumph over those who would deny it? It is a vast debate, one which has been discussed, in parenthesis, since the origins of philosophy. And to which one adds, in the case at hand, a specific parameter stating that, when in doubt, it is prudent to make sure one is backed up by the law. This parameter is the negationist revisionism of the Turkish State. And this specificity is that the negationists there are not just a vague bunch of cranks, but people who are supported by resources, diplomacy, the capacity for blackmail and retaliation of a powerful State. Imagine the situation of the survivors of the Shoah had the German State been a negationist State after the war. Imagine the immensity of their additional distress and anger had they been confronted, not with a sect of loonies, but with an unrepentant Germany that brought pressure upon their partners by threatening them with angry retaliation should they call the extermination of the Jews at Auschwitz genocide. It is, mutatis mutandis, the situation of the Armenians. And that is also why they have the right to a law.

And finally, I would add that it's time to stop mixing everything up and drowning the Armenian tragedy in the ritualized blahblahblah assailing the "memorial laws". For this law is not a memorial law. It is not one of those dangerous power plays capable of laying the path for dozens if not hundreds of absurd or blackguardly rules, codifying what one has the right to say about the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre, the meaning of colonization, slavery, the Civil War, the misdemeanor of blasphemy and heaven knows what else. It is a law concerning a genocide -- which is not the same. It is a law sanctioning those who, in denying it, intensify and perpetuate the genocidal act -- which is something else entirely. There are not, thank God, hundreds of genocides, or even dozens. There are three. Four, if we add the Cambodians to the Armenians, the Jews, and the Rwandans. And to place these three or four genocides on the same level as all the rest, to make their penalization the antechamber of a political correctness that authorizes a stream of useless or perverse laws on the disputed aspects of our national memory, to say, "Watch it! You're opening a Pandora's box from which everything and anything can pop out !" is another imbecility, exacerbated by another infamy and sealed with a dishonesty that is, really, grotesque.

Let us confront this specious line of argument with the wisdom of national representation. And may the senators complete the process by refusing to be intimidated by this little band of historians.

 
Are these people really incapable of comprehending? Or are they just pretending not to understand? The law whose purpose is to penalize negationist revisionism, voted before Christmas by the Frenc...
Are these people really incapable of comprehending? Or are they just pretending not to understand? The law whose purpose is to penalize negationist revisionism, voted before Christmas by the Frenc...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Jerry Bourbon
11:03 AM on 01/19/2012
What is is it with this European fear of WORDS?
06:12 AM on 01/19/2012
About Armenian Churches and Schools 2600 vanished according to recent statistics
Some modified to Mosques or government places or a place for raising their herd...

I am not a religious person
M­y religion is my Humanity
I came to serve any person called Human without knowing who is thee
The churches indicate how many people lived there to build and pray
Did the Ottomans paid them to build as they do in Europe and USA?
Churches existed before Seljuks arrived to abolish to say before the 13th century
Armenians build by carving rocks with basic instruments 'Day and Night'
They build Ottomans minarets mosques ­the same way...
For them to pray and shout and call others to end the genes of Armenians
They build them by their sweat...scavengers arrived to abolish and why?
Is this written in their religious book, which is Quran?
Which they took it from Arabs...pretending they are muslims!
If your read every word in Quran you will never commit such crimes
Arabs never abolished Churches..­.Since they arrived in the 6th century
They did the opposite they go and pray there and make wishes
If their wish becomes real.They come and pay their gold and money
They throw their gold chains with the Quran in the church box
My father Krikor was responsibl­e to open the boxes of an old church in Baghdad
I think called St Mary...was there may be in 11th century.

Sylva
01:17 AM on 01/18/2012
I have few mistakes on the first line should be schools and typed Oor please correct...
As i Write instantly...
Thanks
Sylva
05:56 AM on 01/19/2012
Please close the letter above...I can't do...If you can't correct remove all the letter...
01:12 AM on 01/18/2012
About Armenian Churches and School 2600 vanished 0or turned to Mosques or government places or a place for raising their herd...

I am not a religious person...My Religion is my Humanity
I came to serve any person called Human...
But this indicate how many people lived there to build churches
Did the Ottomans paid them to build?
The churches existed before Seljuks arrived to abolish
Armenians build by Carving stones Day and Night
They build Ottomans minarets... mosques...the same way...
For them to pray and shout and call others to end the genes of Armenians
They build them by their sweat
But others came to abolish...
Is this written in your religious book, which is Quran...?
If your read every word in Quran you will never do it...
Arabs never abolished Churches...Since they arrived in the 6th century
They did the opposite... they go and pray there and make wishes ...
If their wish became real they come and pay their gold and money...
They throw their gold chains with the Quran in the Box
My father was responsible to open the boxes of the church In Baghdad
and he was amazed...To read their wishes and presents...
06:13 AM on 01/12/2012
Turkish MP from ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) İsmet Uçman dubbed “1915 deportation of innocent Armenians a mistake”, offering an apology.
In an interview with Istanbul-based Armenian Agos newspaper, Mr. Uçman also said "1915 events in the Ottoman Empire were a great tragedy."
“We need to fight against armed groups instead of striking the peaceful population. This is exactly what happened in 1915.Though I do not recognize 1915 events as genocide, I view deportation of peaceful civilians as a mistake. In this context, I apologize to the Armenian people,” he noted.

Source: Oratert

http://www.oratert.com/english/english/regional-news/14619.html
02:13 AM on 01/12/2012
This is from an Armenians who are converted to Islam by force...They are called by turks Hamshenzi From hamshen...
They were converted ti Islam by their scimitars still they live around Black Sea...see what he says,
This is to turk propagandists: We Hamshentsi are 100% Armenian! Because of fascist turkish government many Hamshen in turkey are afraid to say who they are. But we all know! Hamshen people are ancient people of the Armenian house of Hamam! Hamam-shen shortened into Hamshen. "-shen" is from Armenian "shenel" means "to build". Like Arta-shen, Bagrata-shen or Tigrana-shen, Hamshen are people of the Armenian princely house of Hamam who build the area and populated it. WE ARE ARMENIANS WE ARE ONE !
PeopleOfAr
12:54 AM on 01/12/2012
I Read all the letters.No one spoke about genocide carried by 'Pakistani militants' against Bengali intellectuals March 25,1971 Thus what ever we write against any genocide we know little, who sufferers and remain in pain, are the real people and their cohorts.
From the book: "A Poetic Soul Shined of Genocides" 2008
___________________

Tale of Darkest Night in Bengali Genocide
I never knew poor Bengalis
Had also their genocide
Till I met a young gardener, Mubarak,
Who spoke about all the details with a broken rank.

Every Friday, he tended our garden
To plant flowers, arrange the pots and remove dead leaves.
Each time he demonstrated how Pakistanis
Killed their villagers, even those with white beards,

How their militants raped most of the women,
Leaving them pregnant, humiliated, speared.
However they never killed pregnant women like the Ottomans did
With Armenians—they were raped and escaped to have illegal sons.

The gardener made me interested in their genocide.
I read what I found till I understood the “slayers dine”!
They started killing university scholars and their
Students when they wanted to protect their teachers

From military savages, scary and inhuman,
Who wanted to vanish unarmed Bengalis,
Impose their jungle rule on East Pakistan.
This all was designed by the evil “Pak militants.”

Stories of victims are many, unwritten yet.
After I was Informed, I asked others; few knew about “slayers grade”!
Bloodthirsty Pakistani army enjoyed and covered unpaid.
Bengalis genocide named “deadly night”*still hidden unread.

Sylva-MD-Poetry
04:58 AM on 01/10/2012
Who denies any killing
He denies the genocide
How about million innocents were slayed
Who denies he doesn't possess humanity genes...
09:21 PM on 01/09/2012
France can be summarized as follows: "Liberty, equality, fraternity”, except when Armenian lobby interferes.

The article above unfortunately sanctions truncation of freedom of speech in the belief that ends justify the means.

Holocaust was tested at Nuremberg, a competent tribunal, after due process, where the intent to exterminate was proven despite defense arguments. A competent court never met in the Armenian claims case; intent to exterminate was never proven beyond a claim loaded with misrepresentations; and a genocide verdict was never rendered. Insisting on the verdict of genocide, therefore, is little more than a lynch mob claiming they know enough to convict and execute a suspect. Te French attempt, by a few bigoted politicians voted in by less than 10% of the members of the French parliament, simply expands the reach of this vociferous, nagging, and aggressive lynch mob now.

Rest in peace, freedom of speech in France ...
04:48 AM on 01/10/2012
Are you paid to do so...You have no right to write such a letter, which tell you lost complete humanity ...did you suffer...? or who left that place thee suffered ...
We have lands we lost all... we have papers we can't claim any thing... we started from scratch ...
I am Armenian from Western Armenian now bloody turkey where they are killing Kurds... my grandparents left their land...their money their belongings escaped bare ...
Go and see Desert of Der-zor in Syria till now their bones can shine at night because of phosphorus in the bones...Many Beduin married Armenians
Now there are more than Armenian in turkey who are Tukified...Their namre is changed from Allen to Muhamad from Willson to Oglu...Did you understand They can't pray they don't know who are they ...lost complete identity parentless...
You all lost humanity...Only you know English and you know few words how to write ...
but you don't have fillings
Shame on you ...Be fair and don't deny ...
I will curse everyone who denies what we went through...
Which century we are living in Shame
Shame on every human who lost humanity cells ...
Written Instantly
04:16 AM on 01/08/2012
We are here not to show ourselves we can write...
We are here to prove how much we suffered
Since our childhood
Hearing the real stories of the genocide...
When writers write from their bleeding scares
Are different from those who write with their pen...
Without feeling any pain...!
01:16 PM on 01/06/2012
This bill is about protecting democracy and free speech. The turks attack everyone who would talk about the Armenian Holocaust. After this bill becomes a law, the turks will not be able to export intolerance. Once, the Islamist leader of turkey, Erdogan said "democracy is a tool which we'll use to advance our interests...". The turks don't care about democracy and free speech. -otherwise, they would not arrest, torture, and/or kill people talking about the Armenian Holocaust. The turkish army and the politicians, including the well paid "historians", are guilty of crimes against humanity. Denial of the Genocide the final act of genocide. There is no back door exit out of this. The turks will pay for all their crimes against humanity.
This comment has been removed due to violations of our [Guidelines]
07:37 PM on 01/05/2012
Who was hurt by the draconian laws criminalizing inconvenient views? No one worthy of basic human rights according to Mr. Levy. You can still research to your hearts content. The problem is with the freely arrived at conclusions that Levy's cabal of control freaks are terrified off.
04:13 PM on 01/05/2012
"No one is dismissing the suffering of others. But the ancestors of Ottoman Armenians have yet to receive justice for the pillaging of their wealth, the destructio­n of their homeland, and alienation from their rightful heritage. An undeniable fact. Saying that others suffered too, is no defense for what Turks did to Armenians. Saying that there were bands of rebellion among Armenians or Russian sympathize­rs also is no defense for retaliatio­n against an entire unarmed ethnic group. Don't avoid this real issue. Armenians deserve an apology and compensati­on. Where are the Armenians of Asia Minor today? Deported, raped, starved, murdered and converted, leaving vast areas devoid of the people who for thousands of years plowed the land, built the churches and cultivated a unique language and traditions­. This is a crime against humanity"

Well said Boyajian! This deserved to be showcased.
10:02 PM on 01/05/2012
Thanks, Avarayr. Just trying to keep things honest.
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Hally
It's all stinky.
10:33 AM on 01/06/2012
"Where are the Armenians of Asia Minor today?"

Where are you?
photo
Hally
It's all stinky.
10:32 AM on 01/06/2012
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Who is to compensate the descendants of the non-Armenians massacred from 1914-1923 by armed Ottoman Armenian militants? Who is to pay for the homes in the non-Armenian quarters that were burnt to the ground and looted?

Also, there are many contemporaneous reports from Ottoman Armenians that the Armenian quarters were looted by the invading Russian army that the Ottoman Armenian Dashnak insurgents had helped (See Garegin Pasdermajian, Why Armenia Should be Free published in 1918).

You, and Boyajian, should also know that via treaty, both the newly formed republics of Turkey and Armenia agreed that all Ottoman Armenians who had not committed crimes during WWI and thereafter had the right of return, could obtain citizenship in Turkey and regain possession of their properties.
11:57 PM on 01/07/2012
Who will return back if the houses where looted ...
Those who left the country and walked through Der-Zor desert were all orphans, their parents were killed, how they can return and find their homes...They had no money no cloths...It is good that they had their heart beat...
Many Arab Beduins found them in the desert either kept them or sold them...
Now some Saudi Royal families have Armenian grandmothers ...And many tribes Al-Anazi tribes...Al-Shamarri-Tribes...Al-Dufayri Tribes ...They use to call them Turkish orphans ... BuT they knew well they were Armenians
Endless stories can be written about them...

Hally...You are saying things which can't be applied...
Only ink on the paper...
Like Saddam Hussain always wanted people to come back to be killed...
And the same he did for his son-in-laws ...He killed them once they arrived.
01:29 PM on 01/05/2012
Positing this issue as one of freedom of speech is specious. I am not all together in agreement with the idea of a law that regulates speech, but one must chose the greater good here:

"Denial is the final stage of genocide," says Gregory Stanton, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. "It is a continuing attempt to destroy the victim group psychologically and culturally, to deny its members even the memory of the murders of their relatives. That is what the Turkish government today is doing to Armenians around the world."
02:05 PM on 01/05/2012
Every liar denies that they lie. So boyajiyan, could you answer my question please? Are you a liar?
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Annoula
Enough about me!
03:33 PM on 01/05/2012
Why don't you stop deflecting and try to find a valid argument?
Do you think you are fooling anybody?????
04:06 PM on 01/05/2012
What's your point?