We should be grateful to Pope Francis for calling the terrible by its name, the Polish publicist of Jewish descent Dawid Warszawski (Konstanty Gebert) wrote in his article “The terrible G-word” published in the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. Turkey is afraid of comparisons with the Third Reich, as well as requirements for reparation, Warszawski wrote. His article is presented below: 

“During the first mass for the faithful of Armenian Rite held Sunday at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis called the 1915 murders of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire “the first genocide of the 20th century.” He didn’t break new ground: the same words were pronounced by Pope John Paul II back in 2001 at Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia. Pope Francis only recited those words the way he did during the audience given to the Armenians in the Vatican last year. In any event, these events are acknowledged as genocide by prevailing number of historians, and the corresponding resolutions have been adopted by the parliaments of many countries, as well as by the European Parliament (Israel is a shameful exclusion).  

Pope’s statement was followed by a diplomatic storm on the part of Turkey. Ankara recalled its ambassador from the Vatican and stated that it is considering its further steps. Turkish FM Mevlut Chavushoglu issued a statement, where he referred to the Pope’s words as “gossip” (since the concept of genocide has a legal definition) which incites racism, as Francis was speaking about the sufferings of only Christians and not Muslims.

Turkey’s reaction is grotesque, but unfortunately in the spirit of the stand which Ankara is sticking to up to now. Although Turkey’s authorities have made some noteworthy attempts in normalizing the relations with Armenians (Turkey’s current president, the then-PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences over the Armenians’ sufferings in 1915), the recognition of the Genocide still remains an unacceptable step for Ankara. 

Turkey is afraid of both comparisons with the Third Reich and requirements for reparation, since the crime of genocide has no statute of limitations. For this reason it states that the law having no retroactive effect, the 1948 UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide cannot apply to the 1915 events.   However, the author of the convention, the Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin particularly drew on the Armenian Genocide when he began his work on the corresponding legal document, well before the war.  

It is also astonishing that Turkey acknowledged that the issue concerns the events between the Muslims and Christians, and not the Ottoman Empire and its Armenian citizens. In this case, the responsibility falls on all Muslims, and not on the state, which no longer exits. The current massacres of Christians by Muslim bigots turned to be one of the factors inducing the Pope to make such a public statement.

A campaign in the run-up to June elections is underway in Turkey. The ruling Justice and Development Party - whose popularity declines - does its best to attract electors even at the cost of abrupt deterioration of relations with the Catholic church. And of course owing to historic reconciliation with the successors of the victims. In fact, no Muslim country has ever entered into such relations with the Vatican.

At the same time Ankara was correct in saying that the Pope used the word “genocide” inconsistently. In the same statement he mentioned that “the remaining two [genocides] were perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism.” He also said that other genocides had followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia, whereas the UN convention defines genocide as destruction of “ethnic, racial and religious group.” Although Lemkin intended to include public and political groups in his document as well, he abstained from raising a topic against the USSR. For this reason most of the crimes by Stalin weren’t considered as genocide in terms of law. The other genocides, mentioned by the Pope, were confirmed (with the exception of Burundi) by the verdicts of international tribunals.

The UN definition is apparently imperfect, but it can’t be corrected.  For this reason it is necessary to avoid using the word ‘genocide’ in case of controversies with the Convention, as Pope obviously unknowingly did. This shifts the altercations to legal casuistry, which doesn’t serve the purpose. At the same time, we must be grateful to him for calling the terrible by its name.

Nevertheless, the US President Barack Obama seems to not follow suit by keeping his presidential pledge. Turkey undoubtedly reacted to the Pope’s words hysterically to also remind what Ankara’s ire can cost. Victims do not press that way.”