The denial of the Armenian genocide is based on two factors: one is the fear of reparation, the second is the identity problem, putting a distance between the founding fathers and ourselves, but these can both be overcomed if Turkey becomes a democratic society. Turkish historian and expert on the Armenian Genocide, Taner Akcam, who is in Armenia to present the Armenian translation of his new book titled "The Hundred Years of Apartheid," stated this in the guest of Armenian News-NEWS.am on the “Power Factor” program.

"If you acknowledge a historic wrongdoing, you have to rectify it in a way. The majority of Turkish people in Turkey are also not so sure about this topic. There is a widespread acknowledgment over the years, especially after Hrant Dink’s assassination. It was a big turning point in Turkey. There is a wide acceptance that something went wrong in the past. This is the main understanding. But if we acknowledge the Armenian genocide, what would come afterwards? The reparation is a very serious problem here and this is something that the Turkish government fears of.

The second, as you mentioned, is the problem of the identification of a nation with its founding fathers. Every nation needs founding fathers. Every nation is proud of its founding fathers, and if we acknowledge the Armenian genocide as a fact, we should at the same time acknowledge also that an important number of our founding fathers either were directly involved or became rich throughout the genocidal process. But it is not a very difficult issue to overcome these difficulties.

In the United States, for example, every university student knows that the United States is based on slavery, that the founders of the United States were slave owners. The White House was built by slaves, but the American youth, the students are able to put a distance between themselves and the founding fathers. They can be proud of their founding fathers for establishing an independent United States against British colonialists, but at the same time, they are ready also to talk about how they were also genociders, when it comes to Native Americans and the fact that they were slave owners. They combine both of them. And it’s possible. Why? Because there is a democratic understanding in the society.

This is what we are missing in Turkey. This is the direct connection between democracy and talking about historical injustices. I think this is an important point that the Armenian diaspora doesn't grasp enough. This is my experience. Maybe here in Armenia, people do not get this strong connection between democratization of a country and the recognition of historic injustices, because there is another fact I have to underline.

If you are in a democratic country, if you live in a democracy, you can still deny the historic injustices. In America, for example, Native American genocide hasn't been acknowledged accurately. It is still there. If Turkey were a democratic country, it would not automatically acknowledge the genocide. But we should never deny that it is the entrance ticket. It is the real ticket to the public sphere where you can talk and discuss openly this issue," he said.