ARMENIANS VS. TURKS

I was shocked and saddened by Ohanian’s article. It was full of misrepresentations of history, lies and insults for all Turks and Turkish-Americans. One can see how young Armenians are brought up by hateful grandparents and parents who advocate violence against Turks. Such brainwashing has paid off: During the past two decades, more than 70 innocent people were assassinated by terrorists, who were mostly young Armenians, in hundreds of attacks worldwide on Turkish institutions. Even Southern California was not spared; three Turkish diplomats were killed by Armenians right here.

For third-party readers wondering what all this is about, a summary: During World War I the Ottoman Empire was fighting for survival on more than a dozen fronts. Every able-bodied man underwent brief training and was shipped to the nearest front to fight. Limited resources were spread thin. The Armenians, who had been loyal subjects of the empire for more than six centuries, decided to join the advancing enemy armies (czarist Russia) to attack and back-stab their fellow citizens. Why? Because they were promised a homeland on Turkish soil once the Turks were eliminated.

The Turks had two options: to crush the traitors militarily or deport them to a non-war zone. The Turks chose the latter. During the deportations, about 600,000 Armenians perished. The Turkish war toll was much higher: more than 2.5 million.

Armenians would like you to ignore Turkish losses and focus only on Armenian suffering, and they want the word genocide used. Even most non-Armenian historians call what happened inter-communal warfare conducted by irregular forces and complicated by disease, famine, severe winter weather and ill-equipped hospitals.

It’s time for someone to whisper into Armenian ears: Give peace a chance.

ERGUN KIRLIKOVALI

Santa Margarita