"THE CUT"?

"Making films is the best way to draw the world's attention to the genocide of Armenians." This thought was voiced at a meeting of the state commission for coordination of events to mark the 100th anniversary of the invented "genocide". The commission chairman is Serzh Sargsyan. Although the discussions at the commission's meetings are being kept secret, information has nonetheless leaked into the press on plans to have a film on this subject created by Fatih Akin, a German film director of Turkish origin. At first this information was denied but then… Now Fatih Akin himself has confirmed being engaged in making "The Cut", a film telling the story of the "Armenian genocide". 

Armenians have been using feature films for 15-20 years to put pressure on Turkey. One of the most successful projects was Ararat shot in 2002. The film was directed by Atom Egoyan, an Armenian born in Canada. As for Fatih Akin, he is a Turk born in Germany. Both are deemed world famous film directors. Their names have been under media spotlight lately. Is is natural for them to address the theme of "Armenian genocide?" 

They certainly cannot be equated. Atom Egoyan is easy to understand. To afirm his ethnicity, he shot the film Ararat that has served well to the Armenians. The Armenian diaspora applied huge efforts for this film to win an Oscar. They took the film to all festivals and got awards for it. A huge number of its copies was distributed. France, the UK, Germany and Spain had bought it even before the shooting. How could they have known what the film would be about? Only one thing was clear: the film could be helpful in trying to corner Turkey. Later the diplomatic structures in those countries took great efforts to have the film shown in Turkey itself. Why so much importance was attached to this film? In fact, it was not the first work on this subject. 

Although a lot of books and works had been written by Armenian ideologists before, the peculiarity of this film consisted in that the West represented by one characters acted openly as the Armenians' patron helping them achieve success in their cause. Both the European official and an American who was working as a doctor in Eastern Anatolia in 1915 were mere cogs in the Armenian ideological machine. At least they were acting in this role. 

Fifteen million dollars was spent on Atom Egoyan's film Ararat. The money was provided by Christian funds of Europe and America. 

Egoyan is now working on a new film. He made a statement at the Golden Apricot film festival held in Yerevan in July 2013 that he was sure to make a new film by the centenary of the "genocide". 

Alongside Ararat, genocide is also told about during the first 10 minutes of the film Mayrik (Mother) made by Ashot Malakian, a French film director of Armenian origin. Further the film tells the story of an Armenian family having arrived in France and struggling for existence. 

Armenians are spending exorbitant amounts of money of film making. The Armenian media have described as a success the screen version of Skylark Farm, a book by Antonia Arslan, an Italian writer of Armenian origin. Films of this kind feature frenzied propaganda of "genocide". The Armenian press is also speaking about the screen adaptation of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. This novel by the Austrian Jewish writer Franz Werfel is devoted to events in an Armenian village located on the slopes of Musa Dagh mountain in Hatai just before its relocation in 1915. It is about Armenian resistance to police who arrived to resettle them. Nothing more. The reading of the book does not make an impression of a serious human tragedy, to be precise, a "genocide". Meanwhile Armenian media present this as heroism of the Armenians. 

At one time, many countries gave the go-ahead to showing Egoyan's film because the Armenians' main goal in that film complemented those countries' anti-Turkish policy making up an integral part of it. So what role did that film play? After 2002, European countries turned the "Armenian genocide" into a constituent part of their state policy. One of such countries, France, even issued, in violation of human rights, a law forbidding denial of the "Armenian genocide". Switzerland supported this initiative. As a result, Dogu Perinchek who said at one conference that "the Armenian 'genocide' is based on a lie" was sentenced to three months in prison (although the truth prevailed and the European Court overruled that sentence). 

It is these goals that the said films served. Yet the Armenian diaspora was not the only author of the idea. The goal pursued by the films presenting the 1915 events as the "Armenian genocide" and by spreading this false propaganda in many countries is to corner Turkey. So who are playing the roles? Atom Egoyan is an Armenian from Canada. The film stars Charles Aznavour, an Armenian from France. The rest of the players are from Armenia. The scene is set in the Turkish Van, on the slopes of Agri-Dagi. The main actor is the West. It is the West that is trying to impute Turkey with a "crime" it did not commit. The film justifies terrorist activities by Armenians as they are enemies of the Turks. The film was not named Ararat by accident. Having turned Mount Agri-Dagh located in Turkey (Mount Ararat in Armenian) into their national symbol, the Armenians have lived since Soviet times dreaming about it imparting to each and everyone the idea of its "sacredness" for each Armenian. Agri-Dagi is even depicted in Armenia's coat of arms... 

In essence, this is a territorial claim to Turkey which did not react to this fact in any way. Making certain that there is no response to their claims, the Armenians went even further and voiced their wish to regain Mount Ararat through the mouth of their president. If you remember, a student participating in Armenian language and literature competitions recently asked Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan: "Can we regain the lands of Western Armenia" (meaning the Turkey's regions in eastern Anatolia - G.C.) together with Mount Ararat?" The president replied: "We have taken Karabakh. It is up to you to regain Ararat". Atom Egoyan's film Ararat was needed just for President Serzh Sargsyan to point to the areas around Agri-Dagh mountain referred to as "the lands of Western Armenia" as a task for future generations. 

Indeed, this film was not made by accident. Note than none in the world (except Turkish and Azerbaijani media) censured such an invasive statement by the Armenian head of state. On the contrary, there happened to be even such ones in Turkey who supported that utterance running counter to all standards of international law. And there are quite a lot of such people in Turkey. 

Ahead of preparations for the centenary of the "genocide", Armenians are also trying to use researchers of Turkic origin. The most graphic example is Taner Akcham who has for a long time worked for the Armenians. Some representatives of "Turkish intellectuals" having "friendly feelings" towards the Armenians are being invited to Armenia and talked into assisting the Armenians in achieving their goals. Among them are journalists, writers, researchers. Hasan Cemal, Ali Bayramoqlu, Fatiya Chetin, Orhan Pamuk… they are not so few. Some of them willingly take part in conferences organized by the Armenian diaspora and the state of Armenia and support the Armenians' groundless claims. The Armenian media are widely covering this. Taner Akcham, a history professor at Clark University in the USA, has been very pro-active lately. Books written by him are sold in many countries of the world also serving the Armenians as a means of propaganda. A presentation of his book The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire has been held in Yerevan. 

It is no secret what for and in the name of what those people chose to take this path. I would not like to recite their names. Still one of them should be told about. It is Fatih Akin.  

Despite his Turkish origin, he is going to shoot a film capable not only of outshining those by Egoyan but even leave far behind all earlier films on this subject. The Armenians are looking forward to his film The Cut. They do not care what it is about. What matters in this project is the Turkish name of the author - Fatih Akin. 

He is perfectly aware that he is assisting the Armenians in pursuit of their goal. He also knows that Armenians give preference to visual propaganda in their agitprop efforts in this domain. The Armenian state is willingly earmarking funds for this. The goal has been set at the state level to have another few films shot about the "genocide". Akin's film is in all likelihood going to be one of them. It has been planned that one more film will shock the entire world in 2015, the centenary year of the "Armenian genocide". A proposal to shoot a film of this kind has been sent to the world renowned and Oscar winning film director Steven Spielberg. 

Projects of the Armenian diaspora and the Armenian state in the field of visual propaganda are not confined to film making. One more important project is to organize concerts under the name "Nevermore". This project involving Stevie Wonder and other famous musicians is called to further promote the cause of "genocide" propaganda. 

A search for things that Atom Egoyan and Fatih Akin have in common has revealed an interesting parallel. Both the Armenian and the Turkish film directors are, naturally enough, working more money. Film making is an expensive pleasure. As was said above the film Ararat cost 15m dollars. Fatih's film will take even more money. Who will provide it? Leading persons of the Armenian diaspora have expressed their wish to sponsor it. Specifically, the communities in Istanbul and Lebanon, members of the preparations commission set up in Armenia ahead of the "Armenian genocide" centenary who are in charge of film making. The Armenians are now hurrying up Fatih Akin as they want the film to be completed as early as 2014. 

Thereby they seek to get one more Ararat. But the effect of a film called The Cut shot by a Turk and narrating about the "Armenian genocide" will be different…