Grandson of a Genocide Perpetrator Calls on Commemorating 1915 Victims

Grandson of a Genocide Perpetrator Calls on Commemorating 1915 Victims
12:14 • 24.04.10
In an article titled "I share Armenian's Pain on April 24" Famous Turkish journalist and a columnist of the local Turkish daily Milliyet, Hasan Cemal calls for paying tribute to those who fall victims to the Genocide.Hasan Cemal is the grandson of Cemal Pasha, one of the organizers of the Armenian Genocide in 1915. "Today is April 24. April 24, 1915 is one of the shameful pages of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Armenians living and creating for centuries in Anatolia endured great anguish on the lands they lived; they stood great pains in their own state: they were eradicated, slaughtered and subjected to eventual extinction. Some call these pages of history as deportation, some - as tragedy, some - Genocide, while others call it Great Calamity. But it cannot be denied," writes Cemal. "But today is April 24, the commemoration day of the Armenians, the tragedy the Armenian nation suffered on these lands. Thus let's first share the Armenian's grief on April 24, let's try to feel their pain in our hearts, let's equally mourn with Armenians," Cemal calls on Turks. In reference to his memoires relating to his visit to Tsitsernakaberd in 2008, the memorial of the Armenian Genocide, Cemal writes the following. "In September 2008 I was in Yerevan and visited the memorial complex of the Genocide victims. For a moment I remained alone with my dear Hrant [Dink]. It was Hrant's pain that brought me to the memorial ... My ears caught Hrant's voice. 'Let's respect each others pain'," writes Cemal."It is high time that we share Armenian's April 24 grief both at the individual and the state level. Hrant, my brother, I do share that pain, I miss you, have your rest there," concludes Further Cemal.
Tert.am