Turkish Intellectuals Who Have Recognized The Armenian Genocide: Murat Morova

By Hambersom Aghbashian

Murat Morova (born in Istanbul in 1954) is a Turkish Artist. He graduated from the Department of Painting in the Faculty of Fine Arts of Marmara University in 1977. Morova participated in the group exhibition “Beyond Figure” at the BM Gallery in 1987 and a year later he had his first solo exhibition “A Season in Hell” at the Urart Art Gallery, which travelled to Ankara in 1989. Since then, he has had many exclusive solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in many countries including Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Greece and Argentina. In 2012, Morova exhibited his work in the exhibition “Journeys: Wanderings Through Contemporary Turkey” at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.(1)

According to “http://www.theguardian.com”, 7 December 2008, “Academics and writers in Turkey have risked a fierce official backlash by issuing a public apology for the alleged genocide suffered by Armenians at the hands of Ottoman forces during the first world war. Breaking one of Turkish society’s biggest taboos, the apology comes in an open letter that invites Turks to sign an online petition supporting its sentiments. It reads: “My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them.” Murat Morova was one of the Turkish prominent intellectuals who signed the petition.(2)

According to “Today’s Zaman” (September 26, 2014) , “A group of academics, journalists, artists and intellectuals have released a statement condemning in the ‘hatred and hostility’ towards Armenians in Turkish schoolbooks, which were recently exposed by Agos and Taraf newspapers. A letter accompanying the text of the condemnation, written by historian Taner Akçam, notes that including such expressions as lesson material to teach children is a disgrace. The statement said ‘The revolutions history and history textbooks should be collected immediately, with an apology issued to everyone and particularly to Armenian students.” The signees said textbooks in schools should seek to encourage feelings of peace, solidarity and living together over inciting hatred towards different religious and cultural groups. Murat Morova was one of the many most respected Turkish Human Rights activists who signed it.(3)

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1- http://www.turkishculture.org/whoiswho/murat-morova-1027.htm
2- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/08/armenian-genocide-turkey-apology-petition
3-http://www.todayszaman.com/national_group-of-intellectuals-condemn-anti-armenian-statements-in-textbooks_359935.html