From: sera@zuma.UUCP (Serdar Argic)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish,talk.politics.mideast,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.europe,soc.history,soc.rights.human
Followup-To: soc.culture.turkish
Subject: The stories of survivors of Karabag massacre...
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 18:38:39 EDT
Reply-To: sera@zuma.UUCP (Serdar Argic)
Distribution: world

In article <1a7u99INNfng@sol.usc.edu> asbed@sol.usc.edu (Asbed Bedrossian) writes:

>Only in Turkey, they're not so distant; they're right in your face to
>shove your differences from them down your throat or up your ^ with a
>blowtorch.

Imagination can cause plenty of stress, certainly more than it should.
Who wants to be an "asbedian"? Nagorno-Karabag is a mountainous enclave
that lies completely within Azerbaijan with no border or history
whatsoever connected to x-Soviet Armenia. Besides the geographical
aspect, Nagorno-Karabag is the historic homeland and the 'cradle'
of the artistic and literary heritage of Azerbaijan, which renders
the Armenian claims preposterous, even lunatic. Early in this century
the Armenians pulled the same trick on the Turks as well. They claimed
that they were a majority in the six Eastern provinces of Turkiye while
they accounted for only one-fifth. In this stunt, they relied on the
Christian solidarity against Islam. And the justice is long overdue.


        Milliyet, March 4 1992, p. 1, by Altan OYMEN

           IT'S INHUMANE TO IGNORE THIS VIOLENCE

The stories of survivors of Karabag massacre are in Milliyet today.

69 year old Hatin Nine telling:

-''My Twin grandchildren were cut to pieces in front of my eyes. They told
me: We won't kill you. But the babies have to die in front of your eyes.''

72 year old Huseyin Ibrahimoglu:

- ''Our Turkish village in Khojalu Town was blown up in two hours.
  While killing children and babies mercilessly they said: You are
  Turks, you must die.''

28 year old Gulsum Huseyin:

- ''They bayonetted my 3 year old daughter in her stomach in front of
    my eyes.''

Are these stories lies? Have the eye-witnesses been day-dreaming?
Were these stories forged by Turkish journalists in the region?

The nonsense of such a claim is clear from the writings of British
Journalists, too. Two days before we had quoted from a Sunday Times
article. They[British] reported the events in Karabag even before
Turkish journalists. What is more here are the pictures. Pictures
of people who were bayonetted, whose eyes were gouged, ears cut off.

Even the Armenian Radio couldn't claim these "lies." They are saying
"exaggeration." That means ''somethings'' have happened but the
situation is not as bad as reported. Perhaps that village of Khojalu
town was destroyed in 4 hours, instead of 2... Or Gulsum Huseyin's
3 year old daughter was bayonetted in her chest instead of stomach...

The massacre is clearly seen with all its dimensions. The effects of
this massacre on Karabag and environs cannot be reduced by any word.

Some of the western press', led by some French Newspapers, ability
to ''close their eyes'' is nothing but complicity in this massacre.

Yesterday we gave samples from Le Figaro. Until yesterday's print
no news about the real events in Karabag were printed. So were the
French TV channels.. The subject they considered related to Karabag
was ''The necessity of protecting Armenians against Azeri attacks.''

The age we are living in is termed a human rights age. There are lots
of organizations such as United Nations and CSCE(Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe), and rules, all designed to fight against human
rights violations. International reactions must be made with international
cooperation. With support of everybody and every organization claiming
to be civilized.

Could there be a more serious human rights violation than that of the
right to live -and with such levels of barbarity and cruelty-? Where
is the cooperation? Where are the reactions? And the intellectuals,
journalists, writers, TV stations of certain western countries such
as France who are fast to claim leadership of "human rights?"
Where are you?

Serdar Argic

                     'This war quickly developed into one of extermination. 
                      We closed the roads and mountain passes that might 
                      serve as ways of escape for the Tartars [Turks] and 
                      then proceeded in the work of extermination.'
                                                       (Ohanus Appressian)

Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish