Taner Akçam
Encyclopedia
Altuğ Taner Akçam is a Turkish
historian
and sociologist
. He is one of the first Turkish academics to acknowledge and openly discuss the Armenian Genocide
, and is recognized as a "leading international authority" on the subject.
Akçam argues for an attempt to reconcile the differing Armenian and Turkish narratives of the genocide, and to move away from the behaviour which uses those narratives to support national stereotypes. "We have to re-think the problem and place both societies in the centre of our analysis. This change of paradigm should focus on creating a new cultural space that includes both societies, a space in which both sides have the chance to learn from each other." (Akcam, 2004, p. 262).
, Turkey
to Dursun and Perihan Akçam. He studied economics at the Middle East Technical University
in Ankara
, and graduated in 1976. In 1974 Akçam was arrested for participating in student protests against the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
. In 1975 he was arrested for distributing leaflets and placing posters around the city. (Akçam notes that "one had to obtain permission from what is now called the Security General Directorate’s Special Inspection Branch Directorate for the Associations, and that even with a special permit in hand, one could be arbitrarily arrested and apprehended at police headquarters for 3–5 days.") On March 9, 1976, soon after graduating from university, while a graduate student at the same department, he was arrested for his involvement in producing a student journal that focused on the treatment of Turkey’s Kurdish minority. Devrimci Gençlik ("Revolutionary Youth"), was the journal of a radical leftist organization, called Devrimci Yol
("Revolutionary Path"). Akçam explained that he accepted the editorship position, aged 22, since none of his peers stepped up to the plate, knowing that it could land him in jail. His fears materialized when he received a nine year sentence in early 1977, which resulted in Amnesty International
adopting him in 1976 as a prisoner of conscience
. He served for a year before escaping from Ankara Central Prison on March 12, 1977, using the leg of an iron stove to dig a hole. He received political asylum from Germany in 1978, where he obtained citizenship and resided until obtaining his doctorate degree in 1995.
In August 1988 Akçam began work as a research scientist at the Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture. He received his PhD from the University of Hanover with a dissertation titled, Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide: On the Background of the Military Tribunals in Istanbul between 1919 and 1922. Akçam is a former student of fellow genocide scholar, Vahakn Dadrian
. In 1997, a Dutch documentary titled "Een Muur van Stilte" (A Wall of Silence), written and directed by Dorothée Forma of the Humanist Broadcasting Foundation , was made about their "academic relationship."
Akçam was Visiting Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota
, United States before joining Clark University
's Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
In 2007 Akçam attended Hrant Dink
's funeral in Turkey
. According to Intelligence Report journal of Southern Poverty Law Center
,
In 2008 when Akçam's appointment as the chairman of Armenian genocide
studies at Clark University
was questioned by local Turks as biased, Deborah Dwork, director of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark, said that "ethnic or religious identity is not crucial to any appointment," and that "they hire the best scholars in the pool".
. In it Akçam criticized the prosecution of Agos managing editor Hrant Dink
for using the term "genocide", regarding the Armenian Genocide
. The use of the term was construed by the prosecutor's office as the criminal offense of "insulting Turkishness" under Article 301 of Turkey's penal code. Highlighting the term "genocide", Akçam declared himself an accessory to the charges against Hrant Dink, and urged readers to join in Dink's support. Later in January 2007 an Istanbul court decided not to pursue the charges against Akçam.
In October 2011, the European Court of Human Rights
ruled that the Turkish laws against denigrating Turkishness, were a violation of freedom of expression.
Akçam faced harassment after discovering the identity of the creator of the Web site Tall Armenian Tale, which had called Akçam a "turncoat
" and posted his personal information. Fearing reprisals à la Hrant Dink
, Akçam entreated the Coordination Council of Armenian Organisations in France and president Sarkozy
to pressure Ankara to protect him.
On February 16, 2007 Akçam was detained in Canada at the airport in Montreal
for nearly four hours after arriving on a flight from the United States. He was due to give a lecture at the invitation of the McGill University
Faculty of Law and Concordia University
. In explaining his detention, Taner Akçam says that Canadian authorities referred to an inaccurate version of his biography on Wikipedia
from around December 24, 2006, which called him a terrorist.
On February 18, 2007 he was also detained at the US border and has been so far unable to find out the reason for his being detained there. While on a lecture tour in 2007 he faced further harassment by various persons turning up and disrupting his various speaking engagements.
In October 2011, the European Court of Human Rights
ruled that the Turkish laws against denigrating Turkishness, were a violation of freedom of expression.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. He is one of the first Turkish academics to acknowledge and openly discuss the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
, and is recognized as a "leading international authority" on the subject.
Akçam argues for an attempt to reconcile the differing Armenian and Turkish narratives of the genocide, and to move away from the behaviour which uses those narratives to support national stereotypes. "We have to re-think the problem and place both societies in the centre of our analysis. This change of paradigm should focus on creating a new cultural space that includes both societies, a space in which both sides have the chance to learn from each other." (Akcam, 2004, p. 262).
Life and career
Akçam was born in ArdahanArdahan
Ardahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to Dursun and Perihan Akçam. He studied economics at the Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey...
in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, and graduated in 1976. In 1974 Akçam was arrested for participating in student protests against the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
. In 1975 he was arrested for distributing leaflets and placing posters around the city. (Akçam notes that "one had to obtain permission from what is now called the Security General Directorate’s Special Inspection Branch Directorate for the Associations, and that even with a special permit in hand, one could be arbitrarily arrested and apprehended at police headquarters for 3–5 days.") On March 9, 1976, soon after graduating from university, while a graduate student at the same department, he was arrested for his involvement in producing a student journal that focused on the treatment of Turkey’s Kurdish minority. Devrimci Gençlik ("Revolutionary Youth"), was the journal of a radical leftist organization, called Devrimci Yol
Devrimci Yol
Devrimci Yol was a movement rather than a tightly structured organization, with many supporters in trade unions and other professional institutions. Its ideology was based on Marxism-Leninism but rejected both the Soviet and the Chinese model. Devrimci Yol entered the political scene in Turkey on...
("Revolutionary Path"). Akçam explained that he accepted the editorship position, aged 22, since none of his peers stepped up to the plate, knowing that it could land him in jail. His fears materialized when he received a nine year sentence in early 1977, which resulted in Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
adopting him in 1976 as a prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
. He served for a year before escaping from Ankara Central Prison on March 12, 1977, using the leg of an iron stove to dig a hole. He received political asylum from Germany in 1978, where he obtained citizenship and resided until obtaining his doctorate degree in 1995.
In August 1988 Akçam began work as a research scientist at the Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture. He received his PhD from the University of Hanover with a dissertation titled, Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide: On the Background of the Military Tribunals in Istanbul between 1919 and 1922. Akçam is a former student of fellow genocide scholar, Vahakn Dadrian
Vahakn Dadrian
Vahakn N. Dadrian , currently the director of Genocide Research at Zoryan Institute, is a professor of sociology, and an internationally-renowned expert on the Armenian genocide.-Biography:...
. In 1997, a Dutch documentary titled "Een Muur van Stilte" (A Wall of Silence), written and directed by Dorothée Forma of the Humanist Broadcasting Foundation , was made about their "academic relationship."
Akçam was Visiting Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, United States before joining Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
's Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
In 2007 Akçam attended Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
's funeral in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. According to Intelligence Report journal of Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
,
"DinkHrant DinkHrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
's friend and ideological ally Taner Akçam, a distinguished Turkish historian and sociologist on the faculty of the University of Minnesota's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, attended Dink's funeral in Turkey, despite the considerable risk to his own life. Akçam, a leading international authority on the Armenian genocide, was marked for death by Turkish ultranationalists following the November 2006 publication of his book, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and The Question of Turkish Responsibility. The book is a definitive history based in large part on official documents from Turkish government archives."
In 2008 when Akçam's appointment as the chairman of Armenian genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
studies at Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
was questioned by local Turks as biased, Deborah Dwork, director of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark, said that "ethnic or religious identity is not crucial to any appointment," and that "they hire the best scholars in the pool".
Legal disputes
In January 2007, the government officially launched an investigation against Akçam regarding an October 6, 2006, newspaper column in the Turkish-Armenian journal AgosAgos
Agos is an Armenian weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established on 5 April 1996. Today, it has a circulation of over 9,000. It has both Armenian and Turkish pages as well as an on-line English edition...
. In it Akçam criticized the prosecution of Agos managing editor Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
for using the term "genocide", regarding the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. The use of the term was construed by the prosecutor's office as the criminal offense of "insulting Turkishness" under Article 301 of Turkey's penal code. Highlighting the term "genocide", Akçam declared himself an accessory to the charges against Hrant Dink, and urged readers to join in Dink's support. Later in January 2007 an Istanbul court decided not to pursue the charges against Akçam.
In October 2011, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
ruled that the Turkish laws against denigrating Turkishness, were a violation of freedom of expression.
Akçam faced harassment after discovering the identity of the creator of the Web site Tall Armenian Tale, which had called Akçam a "turncoat
Turncoat
A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party...
" and posted his personal information. Fearing reprisals à la Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
, Akçam entreated the Coordination Council of Armenian Organisations in France and president Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
to pressure Ankara to protect him.
On February 16, 2007 Akçam was detained in Canada at the airport in Montreal
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport or Montréal-Trudeau, formerly known as Montréal-Dorval International Airport, is located on the Island of Montreal, from Montreal's downtown core. The airport terminals are located entirely in Dorval, while the Air Canada headquarters complex...
for nearly four hours after arriving on a flight from the United States. He was due to give a lecture at the invitation of the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
Faculty of Law and Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
. In explaining his detention, Taner Akçam says that Canadian authorities referred to an inaccurate version of his biography on Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
from around December 24, 2006, which called him a terrorist.
On February 18, 2007 he was also detained at the US border and has been so far unable to find out the reason for his being detained there. While on a lecture tour in 2007 he faced further harassment by various persons turning up and disrupting his various speaking engagements.
In October 2011, the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
ruled that the Turkish laws against denigrating Turkishness, were a violation of freedom of expression.