REVIEW ESSAY: AURORE BRUNA’S ANTI-HISTORY OF THE ANKARA AGREEMENT

Year 2021, Issue: 43, 141 - 175, 01.10.2021

Maxime Gauin

Abstract

The political affiliation and agenda of authors are not, in themselves, relevant to assess the value of their books; but the counterpart of this principle is that historians must, as much as possible, leave aside their political preferences in working on history and in writing it. Aurore Bruna is currently (2021) serving as chair of the Ramkavar-affiliated Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, UGAB in France) of Marseille, after having been, from 2018 to 2020, president of the southern branch of Coordination Council of France’s Armenian Associations (CCAF), also headquartered in Marseille. Regrettably, this book is not a scholarly contribution; it is not even a partly valuable, politically oriented work akin to what other Armenian nationalist historians have made. This is, rather, a kind of political tract, but without the quality of any ordinary tract, namely concision. It is a repetition of most of the traditional grievances of the Armenian nationalists against Turkey, the French diplomacy, and the large majority of the French press in 1920-1923. According to these grievances, in essence; the Armenians, a people entirely made up of innocents, were betrayed by France (and other powers) for poorly conceived economic interests, while Turkey is evil and the Turks have never done anything right.

Keywords

Aurore Bruna, 1921 Ankara Agreement, France, Armenians, Cilicia

DEĞERLENDİRME YAZISI: AURORE BRUNA’NIN ANKARA ANTLAŞMASI HAKKINDAKİ ÇARPIK TARİHÇESİ

Abstract

Yazarların kitaplarının değerlendirilmesinde, onların siyasi bağlantılarının ve gayelerinin tek başlarına bir önemi yoktur. Ancak tarihçiler bir ilke olarak tarih üzerine çalışır ve hakkında yazarken siyasi tercihlerini olabildiğince bir kenara bırakmalılardır. Aurore Bruna şu anda (2021) Marsilya’daki Ramgavar bağlantılı Ermeni Hayırseverler Genel Birliği başkanı olarak görev yapmaktadır. Kendisi 2018-2020 yıllarında ise yine Marsilya merkezli Fransa Ermeni Dernekleri Koordinasyon Konseyi’nin güney şubesine başkanlık etmiştir. Ne yazık ki bu kitap akademik anlamda bir katkı sunmamakta, hatta diğer Ermeni milliyetçi tarihçilerinin hazırlamış olduğu siyasi eğilimli eserlerin aksine kısmen bile olsa bir değer taşımamaktadır. Bruna’nun kitabı daha ziyade bir siyasi risale niteliğindedir, ancak olağan bir risalenin özelliği olan konu özetlemesini bile yapmamaktadır. Kitap; Ermeni milliyetçilerin Türkiye, Fransız diplomasisi ve 1920-1923 yılları arasındaki Fransız basınını çoğunluğuna yönelttikleri geleneksel şikayetlerinin çoğunluğunun tekrarı niteliğindedir. Bu şikayetlere göre, özetle; tamamı masumlardan oluşan Ermeni halkı Fransa (ve diğer güçler) tarafından kötü hesaplanmış ekonomik çıkarlar yüzünden ihanete uğramıştır, Türkiye kötüdür ve Türkler ise hiçbir zaman doğru bir şeyler yapmamışlardır. 

Keywords

Aurore Bruna, 1921 Ankara Anlaşması, Fransa, Ermeniler, Kilikya

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