Commentary
Leaning into a multispeed Europe that includes the UK is the way Europeans don’t get relegated to suffering what they must, while the mighty United States and China do what they want.
Rym Momtaz
{
"authors": [
"Thomas de Waal"
],
"type": "commentary",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe",
"Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [],
"topics": []
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
Incompatible Tombs in Istanbul
Turkey is not alone in having mutually incompatible elements of its history on display side by side, such as graves honoring Armenians and a man who had them murdered. But it is a sign of unresolved contradictions.
Published on Jun 13, 2013
Tombstones have a story to tell. Last week in Istanbul, after attending an Armenian-Turkish conference, I went to the district of Şişli to visit some graves.
First, the big Armenian cemetery in Şişli. It is a lovely island of quiet in Europe’s biggest city, overlooked by the Trump Tower and the Hilton, but full of beautifully kept white marble tombs, roses and pine-trees and white catalpa trees.
The cemetery is a reminder that not all Armenians were murdered or deported from the Ottoman empire in 1915. A small minority remained in Istanbul and lived to die of old age in the 20th century. Some of them served the Turkish state, though half-suppressing their Armenian identity as they did so.
Only half a mile away is a more abandoned spot, hidden by a metal fence and pounded by the roar of an eight-lane highway. At the top of a small mound is the Monument of Liberty (or by its Ottoman name, Abide-i Hürriyet), the marble sculpture of a cannon. It is all that is left to commemorate the unlamented revolution of 1908 which brought the Young Turks to power in Istanbul.
The two most infamous Young Turks are buried here: Enver Pasha who led Ottoman armies to disastrous defeat in World War I and Interior Minister Talaat Pasha who will go down in history as the man who ordered the destruction of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915.
Turkey is not alone in having mutually incompatible elements of its history on display side by side, such as graves honoring Armenians and a man who had them murdered (and there are many Talaat Pasha streets in Istanbul as well). Russia has the same schizophrenic attitude to its history.
But it is a sign of unresolved contradictions. The governing AK Party has opened up Turkish history as never before, particularly when it comes to the Kurdish question. And it has given Istanbul’s 50,000 Armenians more rights than they ever had before under the Turkish Republic.
However, the current Islamist governing party still has a long way to go in recognizing the historical sufferings of Christians and Alevi Shiites, as well as the fears of Turkish secularists (see Taksim Square today). Its version of Turkish identity is more inclusive than that of its predecessors, but it still honors some Turkish citizens more than others.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- To Survive, the EU Must Split
- Escalation Dynamics Under the Nuclear Shadow—India’s ApproachPaper
An exploration into how India and Pakistan have perceived each other’s manipulations, or lack thereof, of their nuclear arsenals.
Rakesh Sood
- In Uzbekistan, the President’s Daughter Is Now His Second-in-CommandCommentary
Having failed to build a team that he can fully trust or establish strong state institutions, Mirziyoyev has become reliant on his family.
Galiya Ibragimova
- U.S. Peace Mediation in the Middle East: Lessons for the Gaza Peace PlanPaper
As Gaza peace negotiations take center stage, Washington should use the tools that have proven the most effective over the past decades of Middle East mediation.
Amr Hamzawy, Sarah Yerkes, Kathryn Selfe
- Russia’s Unspoken Condition for Ending the War Is Zelensky’s ResignationCommentary
Insisting on Zelensky’s resignation is not just a personal vendetta, but a clear signal that the Kremlin would like to send to all its neighbors: even if you manage to put up some resistance, you will ultimately pay the price—including on a personal level.
Vladislav Gorin
