Mr. Siegelman,
I have read your proclamation declaring a day of commemoration of those
"murdered by Greeks" in Turkey. I believe that you have been misinformed
in a very clever way.
What is in fact the truth is that the modern Turkish state, from its
inception, has committed numerous genocide actions against other
nationalities and religions. The Armenian Genocide was committed by the
Turks. The Greek Genocide was committed by Turks. During the exchange of
populations after the Balkan Wars a large number of Greeks remained in
Turkey. Where are they now? Dead, almost all, rounded up and murdered by
Turkish authorities. If you had taken a very small amount of time to
check your facts you would have discovered the truth. In fact it was the
Turks who committed these crimes, as they are still committing similar
crimes against the Kurds today.
To add to this, Turkey has illegally occupied Northern Cyprus, has
ethnically cleansed the area to a large extent, and has moved mainland
Turkish there in an attempt to increase the Turkish population. Many
countries have a number of Greek Cypriot refugees who have been forced
to leave their homes, leaving the members of their families killed by
Turks behind unburied. Turkish Cypriot refugees also exist, who were
driven from their homes by Turkey during the invasion of Cyprus because
they would not treat their Greek friends and neighbors as the enemy.
A simple enquiry to Amnesty would confirm the lack of human rights to
citizens of all ethnicities, including Turks, in modern Turkey. A
similar check with Amnesty will provide reports of human rights
violations by Turkey in Northern Cyprus. Also, if you care to check
reports of violations of Greek and [Cypriot] airspace by Turkey, this is a
regular occurrence.
I agree that there should be a day of commemoration and memory to the
victims of the Turkish Genocides, but only if it recognizes the fact
that the Turks were the perpetrators, not the victims. As your proposal
stands at the moment it gives the impression amongst the large and
wealthy Greek American community that you have either been fooled or
bought by the Turks.
--
Lesley Anna Lawless