I see. So being the leading economy of the world, Japan either has to lead or be somehow a part of this "imported lifestyles" stuff.
And thanks to Japanese friends' explanations, it seems they have nothing to worry about. Glad, I'm relieved to have reached where the topic was supposed to from the start.
Since this does have some reference to the topic at hand, I don't feel the need to discuss this in private.
1) Denial of Armenian genocide
2) Disregard towards Human Rights
3) Conflict over the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus.
1) Armenian Genocide never happened. Armenians were massacred in big numbers, but why? Because following the Ottoman-Russian war in the late 1800s (should be around 1870s), Russians used Armenians as a tool of rebellion and armed them in gangs. Tasnak Sutyan is the most famous of all.
I think you'll be surprised to hear that Armenians were called "Millet-i Sadika" (=The Loyal Nation) in Ottoman times. However, as the nationalism wave was revised and lit by exterior forces such as UK, France and Russia to knock down the "Sick Man of Europe", Ottomans that is, Armenians turned their backs on their lifetime neighbors.
Ottomans are still one of the leading figures, if not the top, of tolerance towards the non-Muslim. That's why in lands that were under Ottoman rule for years still talk their own language, still believe what they used to believe before Ottomans.
So it's just weird to accept that Turks had gone mad instantly and made an ethnic cleansing of Armenians.
Not every killing is genocide, the first thing you must know of all.
Systematical killing of a
racial, religious or cultural group is defined internationally as "genocide".
Tasnak Sutyan and other minor gangs were armed by Russians, later down in southern regions by the French, to terrorize the area. The result was awful. I have read documents where Russian soldiers tried to stop Armenians from their rebellious and terrible acts since it was completely inhumane and something one couldn't stand to watch.
I have read memories of a child watching how the Turkish lieutenant had given his promotion by having his shoulder skins cut and peeled to look like a rank indicator, his legs skin peeled off to look like pockets.. I have read how they gathered all women of one of Van's villages in the mosque and how they raped them so that women were walking..weird...
According to the Ottoman state archives, around 512.000 Turks were killed during Armenian gangs' massacres through the period longing from the Ottoman-Russian war to 1914. Did you ever hear that ?
Of course not. And that's where the lazy-*** Turks' mistakes start. We always ignored this problem like the plague, and it was like a snowball forming into an avalanche. Now it fell down on us at the threshold of EU.
Eventually, after Armenian's massacre of Turks, they were obliged to a "relocation" (=Law of
Tehcir ). They were forced to move off down to Syria. But on their way to their destination the furious Turkish and Kurdish folk and soldiers did the same back to the Armenians. There is a loss topping a million. By the way, according to the last population count done by Ottoman state, the Armenians counted no more than 1.400.000. So the exaggeration and the plot of lies starting from 1.5 to 2 million are completely imaginary from the very beginning.
If there is an Armenian Genocide then there is a Turkish Genocide as well. I oppose the idea of a genocide, since it was not a systematical ethnic cleansing, but was an unfortunate act of avenging. I have debated around this issue for times and times, and I assure you one Armenian had the guts to accept the killing of Turks, unlike the Diaspora Armenians.
The real problem is that you've (non-Armenians) been shown one side of the medal, painting Armenians as a totally huffy-puffy innocent nation massacred in their homelands while the remaining survivors fled all over the world. And the biggest mistake is ours, by either denying the whole thing overlookedly saying "noone died" or ignoring the issue completely.
Finally I have to remind you that Armenia refused to join the invitation of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that was made in order to open up the historical archives of both sides and debate the matter, dated March, 2005.
May you have time, check this website whose webmaster is a businessman in USA who is unable to disclose his name since he's constantly threatened by the Diaspora Armenians.
www.tallarmeniantale.com
2) Human rights. Ah. Though it's not a severe issue anymore, though the scenarist of the notorious movie Midnight Express that painted Turks black for years admitted that everything was of his imagination, nothing is real; we have a developing democracy that was rocked several times by military coups. They happened when the political flaw was so big that the whole country was nothing but a plane of chaos. However a coup always puts the democratic level of a country at least 10 years back.
3) Cyprus is not somewhere only the Rum live. The northern part is called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is the state formed after the operation to save Turks being massacred by EOKA, the Rum organization that terrorized Turks living there before 1974.
Eventually Turks were saved. I have to point out that it was a systematical ethnic cleansing to get rid of Turks, so that the majority, if not all, would be Rum and Cyprus would lawfully belong only to them. However, Turkey saving his countrymen there was labelled the invader as if it was made out of boredom.
TRNC is living under economical embargoes since its birth, the state of the folk is not fine with life standards because of the export/import limitations. As long as TRNC is not recognized, Turkey will not hesitate to deny the Rum part of Cyprus. Because Cyprus is not only somewhere the Rum live.
All these happen because of that EU thing that was "put" on us. Most of the people, even those that favor it, do not know what EU means at all terms, what it will bring and what it needs. As far as it seems to me, that's my personal view, EU is something that we were offered but refused years ago, during Prime Minister and TRNC's savior Bulent Ecevit's governing. And now we're craving for it. What happens when you go for something you had refused before ? Think of any relationship. Can even be a matter of romance.
EU will take as more incentives as they can from us which does weaken our internal security. It may be proper and suitable for another state, but what EU demands and what they bring as rules during gameplay weirdly, are not things Turkey can handle. Being out of EU will benefit both sides, though as long as our government insists doing exactly what they want, EU will keep on grasping even more.
You say half your nation doesn't want to enter the EU, but Turkey is a democracy. "What government does, does not represent the mindset of the nation.". If this is the case, there is something very wrong with the political system in your country.
You're completely right. Political system, and its participants called political parties, none of them, offer a convincing bright future for the country. Since Ismet Inonu's death, the comrade of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this country was always exposed to corrupted politicians and governments.
Been quite much, eh? I wanted to talk in private and that's why. This much of post will just de-rail the topic.
