How politicised events of 1915 strain ties between Türkiye, Armenia

Opening up the historical archives of both Türkiye and Armenia to public scrutiny and initiating a discussion on the chain of events leading to the “tragedy” of April 24, 1915, was the only way to end the century-old dispute between the two countries, experts say.

Türkiye has long pushed back against Armenian claims on the events of 1915, nearly 110 years ago.

Ankara says that the death of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against the waning Ottoman Empire. The subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties, a large number of Turkish people also dying in the turmoil during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

The only way to depoliticise the issue is to open the archives of both sides (for scrutiny), says Mathew Bryza, a political analyst who was the US mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the 2000s.

“This also helps to take away the emotional venom from the events of 1915, allowing an honest, informed debate about what happened in eastern Anatolia in 1915,” he tells TRT World.

For years, Türkiye has been calling for the establishment of a joint commission of historians and the opening of the archives to study the events of 1915. Ankara opened its archives in 2015, revealing over one million documents related to the events.

However, Armenia has employed propaganda and smear campaigns against Türkiye by making wild accusations while citing the events of 1915, which has not only damaged their bilateral ties but also instilled victim mentality into Armenian society.

Role of Armenian diaspora

Bryza says that some of the archives are related to the Armenian insurgent group Dashnaktsutyun. The archives are now in the US city of Watertown, Massachusetts.

Bryza says some Armenian Americans were keen on opening the archives and forming a historical commission —including representatives from Armenia, Türkiye, and some independent people— to have an “honest debate” on the issue.

This progressive view was largely held by the Armenian Assembly of America, but the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) – the US branch of the Dashnaktsutyun – was opposed to this move.

According to Bryza, ANCA strongly opposes such a move because it knows that the archives contain records that will undercut the story they have been telling for the last century.

ANCA’s provocative stance has not only been limited to Türkiye, he says, as they were responsible for pushing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to the second Karabakh war with Azerbaijan.

However, the ANCA’s credibility has taken a serious beating after the war, so this can have positive implications for Turkish-Armenian relations – including potential full normalisation and the declassification of Armenian archives.

Dissenting voices among the diaspora are also important, showing we have already reached a certain level of normalisation, says Yildiz Deveci-Bozkus, Professor in Humanities at Ankara University.

Following in the footsteps of the moderate diaspora, Armenian PM Pashinyan used the term “Great Catastrophe” for the first time just days before the anniversary of the events on April 24, instead of claiming that there was a deliberate intention to kill Armenians on the part of the Ottoman Empire.

“This is a historic opportunity,” Deveci-Bozkus tells TRT World, for Türkiye and Armenia to find common ground on the tragedy of April 24.

Opening of archives

In 2015, Türkiye proposed establishing a Joint Historians Commission to study the events of April 24, 1915. However, the Armenian Parliament later voted against it.

The aim of the Turkish move was to extract a certain number of documents from the archives for historians from both countries to study and discuss them.

Deveci-Bozkus feels that with both countries closer than ever to normalisation of ties, “the archive can be one of the most important steps towards solving this problem”.

She says, “it was important for Türkiye to show its initiative in solving this issue, finding a solution to this problem, but unfortunately, this could not be realised”.

She says that Western nations should not be involved in this issue, as they will further complicate it to suit their own interests and agendas.

Bryza agrees on keeping it a bilateral issue.

“The normalisation of relations between Türkiye and Armenia and the historical debate about the events of 1915, that's something for Armenia and Türkiye to decide and to manage.”

Other countries like France, Germany and the US assuming that there was a deliberate intention to kill Armenians in the Ottoman lands have no relevance at all, he adds.