We should be sure about the truth

This refers to the article “The Armenian Genocide and Turkey's Denial” dated 29 May 2015 in your esteemed daily. The article is misleading and it lacks proper judgment of the case from the historical perspective.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent people, Armenians and Turkish Muslims, perished in Eastern Anatolia in 1915. It was in a fierce communal conflict between two groups, Armenian Christians and the Turkish Muslims. The most important reason for this conflict was, however, mutual distrust and hatred for each other. Armenians were living all over Anatolia and Istanbul and they were a minority even in most of Eastern Anatolia. When WWI began, Armenians formed militias to help the Russian advance into that Ottoman territory. Large-scale uprisings in different parts of Anatolia, notably in the city of Van, created panic in the Turkish army. By February 1915, the local Muslim and Armenian populations in the country were in a fierce communal conflict. And as a result millions were killed and many suffered. A neutral history accepts that much truth of the massacre of this conflict without any reservation. But whether or not it was a planned genocide is a controversial topic. Anti-Muslim countries coloured it as genocide without hesitation; Islamophobia is the real issue. 

Until we are sure about the truth let us not put our blank stamp supporting any one-sided view and knowingly or unknowingly propagate wrong information.

Tayeb Husain
Sweden