Robert Fisk might be a good, even great journalist, but he becomes more and more emotional especially on Armenian issue. A couple of days ago, we saw that he came to the point of using forged material as a source.
His recent column was full of misinformation, supplied by some disinformation, but a paragragh was exceptionally conspicuous. This paragraph was:
"On 15 September 1915, for example (and a carbon of this document exists) Talaat Pasha, the Turkish Interior minister, cabled an instruction to his prefect in Aleppo about what he should do with the tens of thousands of Armenians in his city. 'You have already been informed that the government... has decided to destroy completely all the indicated persons living in Turkey... Their existence must be terminated, however tragic the measures taken may be, and no regard must be paid to either age or sex, or to any scruples of conscience.' These words are almost identical to those used by Himmler to his SS killers in 1941."
Even modern Armenian scholars -not fanatical, but fair ones- accept that there is no such telegram and it is forged decades ago in advantage of Armenian killers who were being prosecuted in Germany because of Talat's murder.
So the one which is still in circulation is a hoax that can only fool die-hard fanatics or the bought-off pens, like Taner Akcam.
How can I say so surely that this telegram is not authentic? Because:
1) Its rhetoric is completely incompatible with Ottoman State's correspondence style.
2) Not only the Ottoman officials, but none of the state officials in the world can ever write a official telegram in such a style.
3) Renowned historians like Erich Zürchner and Andrew Mango, as well as many Armenian historians, accepted in their books that this telegram is forged.
4) Even the Foreign Secretary of United Kingdom accepted that the telegram is not authentic.
Moreover, Fisk doesn't only use this so-called Talat Pasha telegram, but also "uncovers" some unpublished photos during his Yerevan visit.
How come such a respected journalist does not check his news material?
He suggests that the photos were taken during the deportation of Armenians in 1915, but the trains in the photos are clearly carrying the official flag of Republic of Turkey, which is adopted in 1936!
Fisk's emotional -hence misleading- attitude on Armenian issue might either be a result of his age or his strong belief in fanatic Armenian diaspora. If he could spend sometime on double-checking for the written and graphic sources that he use without hesitation, he would be more reliable -instead of biased- and he won't be ridiculed by his own stories anymore.
Does being a famous journalist give you the right to use fake documents and photos?
