For Turks, Another Side to the Genocide Story . . .

The magazine has violated all norms of journalistic objectivity by giving the Armenian allegations credibility that history and scholarly research do not back up (“Witness to Fire,” photographed by Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian, May 23).

Armenian authors, Armenian photographers, Armenian witnesses, Armenian allegations--where is the other side of the story? Don’t your readers deserve better than a one-sided, unfair and partisan coverage of this controversial issue?

Ergun Kirlikovali

Santa Ana

*

One cannot talk lightly of what the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire went through during World War I. At the same time, one should not ignore the equally terrible suffering of the Turks during the same difficult times, much of it at the hands of Armenians. It was a war, and both sides suffered needless deaths.

Tamer Akkas

Mission Viejo

*

As children, we are taught that winning is easy and that it is an ideal person who can lose graciously. Apparently, Armenians were not taught this universal lesson. It has been proven time and again that this alleged “genocide” was merely a large battle that the Armenians, who had rebelled against the Ottoman regime, lost.

Both sides suffered great losses, but instead of losing respectfully and moving on with their lives, Armenians have made it their personal battle to undermine Turks and Turkish culture at every opportunity.

Berna Yavuz

San Mateo

*

Armenian allegations cannot be substantiated by nonpartisan historical evidence. In 1985, 70 American scholars--among them Stanford Shaw of UCLA, Bernard Lewis of Princeton and Justin McCarthy of the University of Kentucky--signed an open letter to Congress saying that while they wished to not minimize the scope of Armenian suffering, it could not be viewed as separate from the suffering experienced by the Muslim inhabitants of the region.

Armenians sided with invading enemy armies (Russians) in the hopes of ethnically cleansing Turks from their perceived motherland, backstabbed their fellow Turkish citizens and committed treason of the highest order. Armenian irregulars killed many Turks and buried them in mass graves (like the Serbs did to Muslims in Bosnia and Albanians in Kosovo).

Yes, there was suffering, but on both sides. Ignoring the even larger Turkish suffering, and only focusing on comparably smaller Armenian suffering, is selective morality at best, or racist and/or religious discrimination at worst.

Emre Celebi

Bogazici University

Istanbul

*

. . . For Armenians, More Tears

I was surprised to see the photographs of the survivors of the Armenian genocide (“Witness to Fire,” May 23). Armenians are accustomed to having this issue ignored.

When my husband’s 104-year-old uncle recalls those times, they seem as vivid to him as if they’d transpired yesterday. Thoughts of my mother’s firsthand death-march experiences still fill me with pain.

These heroic souls have put their past behind them, worked, raised families and been loyal to their country. But they’ve not for a moment forgotten what took place.

M. Joyce Abdulian

Studio City

*

If you could see 1915 photographs of thousands of Armenians being marched through the cities of Turkey, you’d see a remarkable resemblance to what’s going on in Kosovo today. Then, unfortunately, there was no satellite coverage to drive the horror home to people around the globe. Nor were there rescue workers at the border.

Von Bedikian

Los Angeles

*

The pictures and stories of the survivors made me think about how I’d feel as a father unable to protect his family. I’d probably have wanted to kill myself as well. The 20th century began--and, unfortunately, is ending--with the horrors of ethnic cleansing. Your photo essay will serve as a reminder that suppressing truth and sacrificing justice cause the cycle of intolerance and violence to repeat.

Al Eisaian

Santa Monica

*

My two grandmothers survived the genocide, though several of their children and their husbands did not. When I looked at the faces and hands in the pictures, I felt that I was looking at the faces and hands of my grandparents.

Georgette Rieck

Santa Monica