Steven Spielberg in Negotiations to do Armenian Genocide Film

[AFC_Lad]

This could be of some benefit, I suppose. I guess it's what Erdogan gets for pissing off the Israelis.

I'm curious though:

1. Will we get to see mean looking Turks shouting in Turkish?

2. Who will be the equivalent of the evil Nazi villain?

3. Will Armenians stop whining after the film is made?

I think you have a sly distaste for any people who seem to be pro Russian, i've seen you make comments like this about Serbians and other eastern peoples.

From what i've seen Armenians rarely "whine" about the genocide, they only seek justice for recognition and rightly so.

Why don't you make a sly statement about jews like this.. they go beyond whining, they even claim that 6 million jews perished, which all true scholars know is a largely exaggerated number..

[Nairi]

Steven Spielberg and Zaillian collaborated on Schinder's List.

Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian[1][2] (born January 30, 1953) is an American screenwriter, director, editor, producer, and founder of Film Rites, a film production company. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Schindler's List and he has been nominated for Awakenings, Gangs of New York and Moneyball. The Times called him "the most artful and subtle screenwriter Hollywood has had since Robert Towne."[citation needed]

Zaillian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Jim Zaillian, a radio news reporter. He attended Sonoma State University, graduated from San Francisco State University and lives in Los Angeles.[3] He is of Armenian descent.[4]




Will not hurt if he does something ALSO for his own nation...

[Mosov]

I think you have a sly distaste for any people who seem to be pro Russian, i've seen you make comments like this about Serbians and other eastern peoples.

From what i've seen Armenians rarely "whine" about the genocide, they only seek justice for recognition and rightly so.

Why don't you make a sly statement about jews like this.. they go beyond whining, they even claim that 6 million jews perished, which all true scholars know is a largely exaggerated number..

They've created a monopoly on Genocides and suffering. They even made a whole word to themselves 'Holocaust'.

[Joe McCarthy]

It's not a cult of victimisation when you demand a country that killed 1.5 Million of your own in cold blood to apologise for their deeds.

The Ottoman Empire is gone. So are the people involved in the deed. There's nothing to apologize for, unless you think the old medieval concept of corruption of blood applies to today's Turks.

France might as well apologize to descendants of Huegenots for the Wars of Religion. Fortunately the Du Ponts aren't likely to whine about it for a century if they don't.

[Siberyak]

They've created a monopoly on Genocides and suffering. They even made a whole word to themselves 'Holocaust'.

Exactly, The jews don't want anyone comparing the holocaust with any other genocide event in history.

[AFC_Lad]

The Ottoman Empire is gone. So are the people involved in the deed. There's nothing to apologize for, unless you think the old medieval concept of corruption of blood applies to today's Turks.

France might as well apologize to descendants of Huegenots for the Wars of Religion. Fortunately the Du Ponts aren't likely to whine about it for a century if they don't.

The Ottoman empire is long gone, but Turkey today denies it did such a thing.. thats the difference.

Imagine if Germany today denied a holocaust took place, i'm sure your boner would frantically decline in size.

[Joe McCarthy]

The Ottoman empire is long gone, but Turkey today denies it did such a thing.. thats the difference.

Imagine if Germany today denied a holocaust took place, i'm sure your boner would frantically decline in size.

There is a fair bit of debate about whether Turkey did do such a thing, and in any case the Turks of today aren't responsible for the acts of those now dead (in the case of the French they could plausibly deny any potential claims pertaining to actions against French Calvinists as well, that is if anyone bothered to bring a complaint).

I also fail to see why you think I have affinity for the Jews' shoah business. I do think the Nazis overreacted massively and murderously, but the Holocaust lobby, like the Armenian Genocide lobby, is little other than a political and financial shakedown operation. If anything Jews are doubly guilty as they got this con rolling.

[HamshenaHay]

The Ottoman Empire is gone. So are the people involved in the deed. There's nothing to apologize for, unless you think the old medieval concept of corruption of blood applies to today's Turks.

France might as well apologize to descendants of Huegenots for the Wars of Religion. Fortunately the Du Ponts aren't likely to whine about it for a century if they don't.

Are you serious? Then why did the Germans apologize to the Jews? Or the Australians to the Aboriginals? There are many similar cases. I don't know how much you know about this issue, but I know from first hand that my great grandfather lost his entire family to the massacres. His property, his history, his family everything taken away and today the Turks are not willing to recognize the events even took place. As if 2 million Armenians just vanished from the lands they lived on for as long as humans record history. If the Turks were just unwilling to face up to their own past I would somehow manage to understand it. But that’s not the problem. You see the current Turkish regime is just as complaisant by engaging in active propaganda of denial, paying historians (like the infamous Dr. Justin McCarthy who was found to have received payments from the Turkish government on many occasions), lobbying the American congress (Representative Adam Schiff called Turkey's lobbying "the most intense I've ever seen." http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/wo...4.7932191.html ) or simply blackmailing any government if they even dare to speak of recognizing it.

“The Turkish government has spent millions on Washington lobbying over the past decade, much of it focused on the Armenian genocide issue. The country's current lobbyist, the Gephardt Group, collects about $70,000 a month for lobbying services from the government in Ankara, according to federal disclosure records. Public-relations firm Fleishman-Hillard also has a contract with Turkey worth more than $100,000 a month, records show.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030303786.html

So no my friend, modern Turks are not passive on this issue at all. They not only deny it themselves they also want others not to recognize it. Even interfering with policy of foreign governments.

And not even to speak of the horrors a few brave people in Turkey face upon recognizing the Armenian Genocide. From the controversial law (art. 301) which penalizes the acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide as a crime against “Turkishness” (whatever that may be) to the countless assassinations of Christians like the famous Armenian journalist Hrant Dink (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ryWB3jpAbA). Their own intellectuals (like the only Turkish Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk) are prosecuted because of writing about the Genocide. Or the members of a Bible publishing firm in Malatya 2007 tortured and murdered by five Turks. Tied hands and feet to chairs, tortured and slit their throats as they videoed their work on their cell phones. Or Father Andrea Santoro 2006. Catholic priest who was murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon. Shot dead from behind while kneeling in prayer in the church. Neither the killer nor his mother showed any remorse during the trial and said that his deed "was committed in the name of Allah and was a gift to the state and the nation". There are many more examples of Turkish attacks on Armenians and other Christians committed not so long ago. The murderers are still out there, if caught usually receive very mild sentences.The position of the Turkish government enables these people to act as such. In fact the murderer of the Armenian journalist who bravely wrote about the Armenian genocide in public, was hailed by the authorities as a hero. (see the picture where they hold a Turkish flag with him posing on camera)


Besides it’s not only the Armenians that claim Genocide, almost all inhabitants of Anatolia demand recognition. The Greeks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_genocide) commemorate the Genocide on 19 May, the Assyrians on (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_Genocide) 5th of August.

Turkish government has a lot to apologize for!

I’m fine with people not knowing/caring about these event’s it’s not interesting to everyone. But to actively deny the events and continue the same genocidal policies is another level of crime. Only recently the Turkish government threatened to deport Armenians from Turkey (“Turkey threatens to expel 100,000 Armenians” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8572934.stm ) Even on the cultural level the Turkish government does everything in order to erase the Armenian traces from those lands. Armenian schools are not allowed, the few Armenians that remain there are not permitted to learn their own language, calling someone an “Armenian” is a curse word to them. Armenian ancient constructions are consistently being demolished with dynamite explosions and used as targets during Turkish military training exercises. (In 1974 UNESCO stated that after 1923, out of 913 Armenian historical monuments left in Eastern Turkey, 464 have vanished completely, 252 are in ruins, and 197 are in need of complete repair. http://www.mfa.am/en/cultural-genocide/). They have replaced many ancient Armenian place names and even scientific names of animals are being replaced (“Turkey has said it is changing the names of three animals found on its territory to remove references to Kurdistan or Armenia” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4328285.stm. )
As if Armenians never existed. Those are all real crimes committed and supported by the Turkish government and most of their people TODAY. This issue is not outdated. We are fighting for our survival not a mere word of apology.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not blaming you for your opinion everyone is entitled to one, but most people don’t know about what’s going on today. They think the Armenians are opening old wounds, but the fact of the matter is, those wounds never closed. The genocide still continues and it’s still a viable danger to the Armenians. Turkey still imposes a blockade on Armenia, supports our enemies, threatens our existence and destroys our cultural and historical heritage. There is a lot Turkey has to apologize for. Unlike the Germans who pose no threat what so ever to Jews, the Turks still do to us. And the Germans have to apologize but the Turks don’t? That’s not right!

Or to quote Gregory Stanton, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars:

"Denial is the final stage of genocide," "It is a continuing attempt to destroy the victim group psychologically and culturally, to deny its members even the memory of the murders of their relatives. That is what the Turkish government today is doing to Armenians around the world."

[PBachman]

3. Will Armenians stop whining after the film is made?

You know Joe, the rest of comments, well, I don't mind for, but I don't think Armenians are "whining", rather, I believe Turks are the whiners. Furthermore, It was never a Armenian Genocide, rather, it was a Christian Genocide. Finally, the Turkish Christians were very "rebellious" that en mass they gave up arms, dug the ditches or mass graves in this case, and gladly jumped in. If anything, the modern Turkish Republic should have recognized the Armenian Genocide years ago and given back property and gold that was stolen to the families of the victims. It is the most sensible action, as it is not a reliable position for a neo-Ottoman state. You can't honestly claim to be "objective on moral matters in the region" when you support historical revision in order to hide war crimes and genocide.

You know, you have to understand, in politics there is no "runner up". Armenians will protest and push for recognition based on a position that demands historical Armenia to given back to Armenia, but in reality this will never happen; we know this. You ask for something greater than what you are content with. It is a basic axiom of negotiation and diplomacy. Clearly, if Armenians don't "whine" then what incentive is there for Turks to give back property and gold that they stole from their Christian populations? Absolutely none and that is why the only copout solution for both parties is to cut their loses. The modern Turkish state must acknowledge the role of Ottoman Muslims against Christians, give back confiscated property, distance themselves from their Ottoman heritage, and arrest the last remnants of the Ottoman elite that were recycled into the new Turkish Republic. Clearly, a full-fledged annexation of historic Armenia by the modern republic of Armenia is out of the question. This is the basic solution that both parties would be content and it would build the historical antecedents for a neo-Ottoman revival.

Clearly, Joe, you as an American can't champion your globalist vision of empire via support of Israel and condemnation of Iran when you continually sacrifice your moral currency for nothing more than supporting genocide denial. No European nation can; it is a reality. Lies don't last long and in the end via guilt by association the any entity that supports liars becomes not only a lier in this case, but also a criminal.

[HamshenaHay]

There is a fair bit of debate about whether Turkey did do such a thing, and in any case the Turks of today aren't responsible for the acts of those now dead (in the case of the French they could plausibly deny any potential claims pertaining to actions against French Calvinists as well, that is if anyone bothered to bring a complaint).

I also fail to see why you think I have affinity for the Jews' shoah business. I do think the Nazis overreacted massively and murderously, but the Holocaust lobby, like the Armenian Genocide lobby, is little other than a political and financial shakedown operation. If anything Jews are doubly guilty as they got this con rolling.

There is no debate, there is only the appearance of debate created by the Turkish government, their lobbyist and corrupt historians. The overwhelming majority of independent historians around the world agree on the events being labeled a Genocide. In fact in 1997 the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) passed a resolution unanimously recognizing the Ottoman massacres of Armenians as genocide.

"That this assembly of the Association of Genocide Scholars in its conference held in Montreal, June 11–13, 1997, reaffirms that the mass murder of over a million Armenians in Turkey in 1915 is a case of genocide which conforms to the statutes of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. It further condemns the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government and its official and unofficial agents and supporters."

But even so NO ONE denies Armenians where massacred not even the Turkish government dares to say such thing. However their position is that it happened because of the “war” and wasn’t “planned”. I wander what would happen if the German government would say the massacres of Jews happened because of the “war” and it wasn’t “planned”.

The word “Genocide” itself was invented to describe what happened to the Armenians.

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