The Illinois Leader, IL
April 26 2005
ENOKIAN: Armenian Genocide victims are not forgotten
By Lee Enokian
OPINION – Today is the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Between 1915 and 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenians were murdered
or forcibly exiled because they were the wrong religion and
ethnicity. The world community memorializes the anniversary annually
as Armenian Martyrs Day.
Thousands of Armenians were offered their lives in exchange for their
conversion to Islam. They refused and died as a result. Their
steadfast faithfulness to the Christian faith is not surprising.
Armenia was the first Christian nation and remains the only Christian
nation in the Middle East.
Various Turkish people invaded southwest Asia during the Middle Ages
and carved an empire for themselves from lands occupied by the
indigenous Semitic and Indo-European inhabitants.
Turkish nationalism grew relentlessly during the following centuries.
In the years preceding World War I, they actively sought to Turkify
the Ottoman Empire and strengthen their rule by eliminating fractious
ethnic minorities.
The western two-thirds of Anatolia was once inhabited by Greeks and
other Indo-European peoples. It is now primarily occupied by Turks.
The eastern third of modern Turkey was once Armenian with an Assyrian
minority, but is now populated by Turks and Kurds.
Modern Armenia survived only because it was the single province
controlled, and protected, by the Russian Empire. The rest of the
territory within its historical borders is almost wholly devoid of
ethnic Armenians.
The organized depopulation of Christians and non-Turks from Anatolia
by the Ottoman Empire is one of the worst incidents of racism and
religious intolerance documented in the world.
The Genocide was master-minded by the ultra-nationalist `Young Turk’
government of Ottoman Turkey. Mehmet Talaat Pasha was the Minister of
the Interior and architect of the Armenian Genocide. He was rewarded
by being elevated to the position of Grand Vizier in 1917. Pasha fled
to Germany as his empire collapsed in 1918. He was convicted of
capital crimes, including massacring the Armenians. The post-war
Ottoman government sentenced him to death in absentia.
Just-minded federal, state and local governments throughout the world
continue to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
Illinois is no different. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has continued the
practice of his predecessors by remembering the plight of the
Armenian people. Part of his annual proclamation reads: `The Armenian
community, as well as the global community, remembers the Armenian
Genocide, which occurred 90 years ago; and during this tragic
historical period between the years of 1915 and 1923, Armenians were
forced to witness the genocide of their loved ones, and the loss of
their ancestral homelands; and this extermination and forced
relocation of over 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks is
recognized every year.’
Sadly, the modern state of Turkey denies the Genocide ever occurred.
It restricts the ability of ethnic Armenians, Kurds and Assyrians to
enter and travel within the country. In fact, Turkey has done its
best to remove every trace of the Armenian people from their
ancestral homeland. These efforts still don’t change history.
Blagojevich concluded his proclamation with the fact that we must
remember hateful events like the Genocide to help prevent their
future institution.
`Both recognition and education concerning past atrocities such as
the Armenian Genocide is, crucial in the prevention of future crimes
against humanity.’
Evil wins when good men turn a blind eye.