In a new article, Hasan Pasa, the grandson of Cemal Pasa, one of the Armenian Genocide organizers, touches on the topic of Armenians, Kurds and Alawis in Turkey, who have to conceal their origin and nationality.
He stresses the need to eliminate nationalism and the taboo on the term "genocide" in Turkey. He says that some day everybody will recall the mutual hatred with pain. He is sure that some day, when "the lost history" is found, the history will cease being a burden.
He says that at the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Office in Paris he started his speech with the question, "Have you ever been forced to conceal your origin?"
"Journalist Ilhan Melcuk, who died 4 years ago, had to conceal the fact that his mother was an Armenian. The same concerns another Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand. I will never forget that a Turkish intellectual once said - Kurds in Turkey have been trying for a long time to prove that they exist and Armenians have been trying to prove that they were killed. This is the Turkish state", says Hasan Pasa in his article. He adds that he has experienced a taboo on many words and expressions, including the term "genocide".