Hurryet, 22 juin 2007

Publié le 2 août 2007 par Comité de soutien

Murad Deciphered

Murad Gümen who has been defending Turkey for over 30 years under the assumed name “Holdwater”, had his identity deciphered by Taner Akçam, supporter of the claim of a so-called Armenian genocide.

Gümen, who’s been writing on a site called “Exaggerated Armenian Tales” has become the target of a campaign against him since the incident. Akçam article in which Gümen’s identify was deciphered appeared in Agos newspaper.

Taner Akçam who has been a supporter of the claims of a so-called Armenian genocide, and is a professor of history at the University of Minnesota in the US deciphered the identity of Murad Gümen who has been defending Turkey against Armenian claims for the past 30 years under the assumed name of “Holdwater”. Illustrator and film producer Gümen, who is the son of the late famous caricaturist Sururi Gümen who emigrated to the US in 1954 and passed away there 7 years ago, wrote on the site www.tallarmeniantale.com. Upon publication of his identity, Gümen became a target and has been the subject of a hate campaign.

Traced from a Letter

According to a statement by Akçam, he was able to decipher Gümen’s identity from a single sentence in one of the latter’s articles. Upon a statement that he’d written a letter to the American Holocaust Museum, Akçam was able to obtain the list of people who had contacted the museum. It has been learned that Akçam, who had traveled to attend a human rights symposium in Montreal last February and was detained there for four hours and questioned on suspicion of being a terrorist, held “Holdwater” responsible for the detention and went about researching his identity in retaliation.

Article in AGOS Newspaper

In his article in Agos, Akçam had this to say about the matter: “One of the most important arguments of his campaign was that I was a terrorist and he was writing to the American authorities about this. He relied on his identity being kept a secret, as you can guess. He took this attitude that ‘No one knows who I am so I’ll say whatever I want.’ It was important to put an end to that and to remind Holdwater that you have to play the game by the rules. Hurling baseless insults to others while you keep your own identity a secret is supported by no principle known and in a word, is shameful. My dear Murad Gümen, attacking others and insulting them while you hide your own name is completely unethical. I still cannot comprehend how you can grant yourself a right that you don’t allow me and others like me to have.”

Family was in the Dark

Meanwhile Gümen states that he preferred to keep his identity a secret after seeing what happened to world famous historian and Harvard professor Stanford Shaw whose house was bombed in 1977 and who escaped to Turkey after opposing Armenian claims. On his own web site he explains why he kept his name a secret this way: “My site receives at least 20-30 attacks by Armenian hackers every day. If I reveal my own name, I know that I will have no peace or security either in my family life or my work life. I’ve been able to wage this difficult battle for the past 30 years only by keeping my identity a secret. Despite this I receive countless messages filled with threats and insults. I started this protest effort by publishing leaflets at first. I’ll continue the fight until I die.”

Defends Armenian Claims

Sociologist and historian, Taner Akçam (54) is a graduate of ODTŰ Idari Ilimler Fakültesi (Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Administrative Sciences). He was the editor responsible for articles in the Devrimci Gençlik Dergisi (Revolutionary Youth Journal) which started publishing in 1975. As a result of writings which appeared in the magazine, he was arrested in 1976 and sentenced to almost 9 years of jail. The next year, upon escape from prison he fled to Germany and gained entry there as a political asylee. He began work at the Institute of Social Research in Hamburg, in 1988. Akçam has written books and articles about Turkish political history along with the claims of an Armenian genocide. Akçam who continues to teach history at the University of Minnesota in the United States, defends the so-called claims of an Armenian genocide.

http://www.hurriyet.comtr/gundem/6749939.aspid=180

Hemen hedef oldu

Özgür EKŞİ

Taner Akçam tarafından ismi deşifre edilen Murad Gümen’e Ermeniler internette hakaret yağdırmaya başladı. Irkçılıkla suçlanan Gümen’in fotoğrafları da internet sitelerinde yayınlanıyor.

AMERİKA’da 30 yıldır "Holdwater" takma adıyla Ermeni Soykırımı iddialarına karşı Türk tezlerini savunan, ancak geçen ay tarihçi Taner Akçam tarafından deşifre edilen, karikatürist ve film yapımcısı Murad Gümen, büyük bir tartışma başlattı. Yıllar sonra isminin ortaya çıkmasının ardından, internette Murad Gümen adına adresler alındı. www.muradgumen.net adresi Gümen’i savunurken, www.muradgumen.org’da ise aleyhine sözlere yer veriliyor. Aralarında www.armenianhouse.org gibi etkili Ermeni internet siteleri ve kişisel blogların yer aldığı pek çok yerde de Gümen’in adına rastlanıyor. Gümen’in fotoğrafları internet sitelerinde yayınlanırken, "ırkçı" olduğu iddia ediliyor.

KOLEJDEKİ AFİŞ

Gümen sitesinde Ermeni sorunuyla yüzleşmesini şöyle anlatıyor: Kolejde bir gün Ermeni gençler duvara propaganda afişi asmıştı. Türk bayrağının yıldızını Nazilerin gamalı haçına benzetmişlerdi ve o haçtan da Ermeni kanı damlıyordu. Evde anneme ’Türkler, suçsuz Ermenileri katletmiş, doğru mu?’ diye sordum. Annem ’Sakın bunu tartışma seni okuldan bile atarlar’ dedi. Annemin gözlerine sinen o korkuyu hep hatırladım.

Ortadan kayboldu

Agos Gazetesi’nde geçen ay yayınlanan iki yazısında Holdwater’ın deşifre olmasının hikayesini aktaran Taner Akçam’a ulaşmak mümkün olmadı. Türkiye’de yaşayan ve yayıncılık yapan kardeşi Cahit Akçam, "Nerede olduğunu bilmiyorum, telefonu yok" cevabı verdi. Akçam, geçen Şubat, bir sempozyuma katılmak için gittiği Kanada’nın Montreal Kenti’nde "terörist" diye sorgulanıp 4 saat gözaltına alınınca, olaydan "Holdwater"ı sorumlu tutmuş ve karşılık olarak Gümen’in ismini deşifre etmişti.

Çizer ekibinden

Murad Gümen, Amerika’da yaşayan başarılı bir illüstratör ve film yapımcısı. Sanat çevrelerinde, Türk-Amerikan kökenli, çizgi romancı "Murad Gumen" olarak tanınıyor. Gümen, ünlü çizgi karakter Mickey Mouse’un da çizerlerinden biri. 1954’te ailesiyle Türkiye’den ABD’ye göç eden ünlü karikatürist Sururi Gümen’in oğlu olan Gümen, Türkiye’yi hiç görmedi. Murad Gümen, 1976’da "Erased Off", 1983’te televizyon dizisi "Renald Rap’s Rambling with Renald Rap" filmlerinin senaryosunu yazdı, prodüksiyonunu üstlendi ve yönetti.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/6757024.asp?gid=180