March 18: Turkey Must Come To Terms With Its Past

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Turkey cannot move forward until it addresses its past.

The United States Congress and Swedish Parliament voted to condemn Turkey's killing of Armenians in 1915 and used the term "genocide." Turkey hasn't exactly impressed with its current behavior - recalling diplomats and now threatening to expel Armenians who live in the country.

What was that expression about those who do not remember the past?

Turkey needs to take a lesson from Germany, which has fully come forward about its history with Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and the Holocaust. Germany has restored itself as a leader in Europe, in large part because it came clean. South Africa has been doing the same with its history of apartheid.

Turkey wants to enter the European Union, but that may be on hold as this matter percolates. For its own people, the Armenian people and the rest of the world, Turkey needs to take a serious look backward.