Turkey's reluctance to face up to its history may be linked to demands for restitution. Several Armenian property claims are underway, including lawsuits against U.S. insurance companies. It's plain that genocide has a financial price, as well as moral and legal implications. The costs are indeed great, but the Turkish Republic still must come to grips with the past. It needs help from all of us to do so.
History casts a haunting shadow over the present.
It can be suppressed but, as the Soviet Union learned, it does not go away. It never will. Just as Americans have acknowledged genocide against Native Americans,the immorality of slavery and the embarrassing internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the Turks must learn to face their mistakes. They have more to gain than lose in confronting the past. It's painful, of course, but it's the only way out.