Britain denies past atrocities

"As it prepares for accession, the Turkish government will discover that the other members of the EU have found a more effective means of suppression" where past atrocities are concerned, writes Columnist George Monbiot, referring to the trial of writer Orhan Pamuk for 'denigrating Turkishness'. "Without legal coercion, without the use of baying mobs to drive writers from their homes, we [the British] have developed an almost infinite capacity to forget our own atrocities [in India, Malay, Diego Garcia, or Oman, to name a few]. Atrocities? Which atrocities? When a Turkish writer uses that word, everyone in Turkey knows what he is talking about, even if they deny it vehemently. But most British people will stare at you blankly. (...) There is one, rightly sacred Holocaust in European history. All the others can be denied, ignored, or belittled."

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