The statement by the prime minister that there are 100,000 illegal Armenian workers in Turkey and that the new Armenian initiative, which he developed in retaliation to the diaspora’s attitude, has naturally sparked quite a stir.
I think most of the reactions expressed in newspaper columns were, rightly, very critical. I would also like to jump on this bandwagon of critics and convey some of my observations. The discourse used against Armenian workers in Turkey is an example of the “deportation” phenomenon in another kind of way. It is for this reason that its psychological effects inside and outside of the country will revive old issues and consequently may have an effect that will legitimize policies that are being developed against Turkey. After all, the view many people have lately is that the Turkish government can treat a group of people differently and inappropriately just because of their ethnic background. What if these people resisted deportation? Then what kinds of solutions would there be? Would compulsion be considered? How much force would be used? What would be the limit of the political instruments that we could lose?
Deniz Ulke Aribogan/Aksam
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