Memory and forgetting culture: İn the context of "Coming to terms with the past" in the case of Turkey

This dissertation examines memory culture and forgetting culture in the context of coming to terms with the past in Turkey. I elaborate the conceptualization of collective memory, it is relationship with respectively identity, history and collective remembering -including the role of politics in the reconstruction of collective memory and in the work of collective remembering- the link between memory, history, truth and justice. Individuals are brought together around a common past, identity and values with a collective identity and this ground is reinforced by the memory and history. This memory and history are constructed by the power and it is also called "official memory". Official memory decides on which event should be remembered and which event should be forgotten. This is considered as an ideological dimension of the role of remembering and forgetting in the relationship of societies with their own past. Official memory externalizes the collective memory of the latter groups, whose members belong to different ethnicity, religion and culture from the dominant group. This memory is called "live memory" -imposed memory- or we can call as "counter memory". While the general attitude of the official memory is based on forgetting, the live memory demands memory and remembering that is out of this memory. In this study, the relationship between collective memory and history is discussed with the relationship between truth and justice. It is seen that memory represents the truth with the changing mission; the demand for truth and justice is also means the demand for memory. Coming to terms with the past is discussed as a method of memory culture and I elaborate the conceptualization of coming to terms with the past, it is deal with as a confrontation with unsolved murders from the past human right violations. Coming to terms with the past is seen as a way to repair the damage in the society caused by the severe human rights violations of the past in the process of building a democratic and peaceful society. The most important stage of coming to terms with the past is, the process in which the struggle is carried out for making out the truth. In this point, truth commissions get involved as represents of collective dimension of the truth right. I conduct comparative cases of the truth commission in various countries' experiences. However, it is argued that unofficial projects carried out by non-governmental organizations and initiatives have the effect of the process of coming to terms with the past as a result of the fact that it is not possible to establish commissions on the official level. In this regard, the Social Memory Platform (Toplumsal Bellek Platformu) which is founded by those who lost their relatives in political murders is examined. The platform, which brings together different generations in the seeking for truth and justice, tries not let forget the human rights violations. Moreover, they struggle against impunity and time out for their own cases and other similar human right violations' cases by applying public institutions. Although, there is not much hope that the realization of coming to terms with the past in Turkey, non-governmental organizations and initiatives light the way to the process' future. Key words; Collective memory, collective remembering, cultural memory, memory and forgetting culture, transitional justice, coming to terms with the past