CNN
SHOW: CNN WOLF BLITZER REPORTS 5:00 PM EST
April 29, 2005 Friday
Insurgents Set Off Numerous Bombs in Iraq; Remembering the Armenians
Killed by Ottomans; Thirty Years After the Fall of Saigon
by Judy Woodruff, Ryan Chilcote, Dana Bash, Carlos Watson, Miles
O’Brien, Atika Shubert, Brian Todd, Lou Dobbs, Jason Carroll
[parts omitted]
A painful past, a present controversy. Why millions of people and
some powerful nations are still embroiled in a dispute over what
happened to the Armenians almost a century ago. That’s coming up.
WOODRUFF: This week, Armenians around the world mark the 90
anniversary of a nightmare. They and many others call it genocide,
but some powerful governments do not. Please note, the following
story contains some pictures that may be disturbing to some viewers.
CNN’s Brian Todd looks at this long ago event that continues to stir
deep emotion and deep controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We shudder at images from
Darfur, Sudan. Wince at memories of Rwanda. Look at grainy pictures
of the Holocaust and say, never again. Almost forgotten is a brutal
campaign nearly a century ago that historians say may not have been a
model for those genocides, but certainly provided a rationale.
CHARLES KING, AUTHOR “THE BLACK SEA: A HISTORY”: The fact that a
state could, in fact, carry this out under the eyes of the
international community and get away with it became, in fact, a
hallmark of what the 20th century, the tragic 20th century really was
all about.
TODD: Adolf Hitler himself was reported to have made a reference to
it in 1939 as he prepared to invade Poland. Quoted as saying “Who
after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
April, 1915, the Ottoman Empire, covering the general area of what is
now Turkey, is battling on two front in World War I, and is
disintegrating in the process. Armenians, long part of that empire,
are restless for independence and get encouragement from Russia. The
Ottoman Turks, fearful of a Russian invasion on their eastern front,
see the Russian/Armenian alliance as a huge threat and target the
Armenian population inside their borders.
HARUT SASSOUNIAN, EDITOR, “THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”: They embark on a
submission plan by deporting the entire population closer to a little
under 2 million Armenians in the empire into the deserts and by
killing and starvation and disease.
TODD: Between 1915 and 1923 Armenian leaders are rounded up in cities
and executed. Villagers are uprooted en masse, driven south towards
the deserts of what are now Syria and Iraq. Many shot or butchered
outright by Turkish forces, but most die in forced marches. The
numbers to this day still hotly in dispute. Armenians say 1.5 million
were killed. The Turkish government says not more than 300,000
perished, and the Armenians shouldn’t count themselves as the only
victims.
SASSOUNIAN: In these few years, both sides suffered — lost
incredible number of people to war, to famine, to harsh climate.
TODD: Objective historians say the Armenian death toll is likely
between 600,000 and a million.
(on camera): The fight is not only over numbers, but words. One word
in particular. Neither the Turkish Government nor any American
president, except Ronald Reagan, has ever called this event genocide.
Harut Sassounian is the grandson of survivors.
SASSOUNIAN: It’s described as a deep wound and in the psyche of every
Armenian that is not healing, is not going away. Because it’s like an
open wound as long as the denial is there.
TODD: The U.S. Government says between 60,000 and 146,000 people have
died in Darfur, Sudan over the past two years. And former Secretary
of State Colin Powell called that a genocide. Historian Charles King
believes what happened to the Armenians was genocide by any
definition but…
KING: Labeling it a genocide among politicians has a very severe
political ramifications, particularly in terms of the U.S.
relationship with Turkey, an important strategic partner in southeast
Europe and the wider Middle East.
TODD: As Armenians mark the 90th anniversary of their darkest days,
many say all they want is acknowledgement. The Turks say they’re
willing to set up a commission to examine the historical record. Two
countries with a closed border and no formal relations inching
closer. A super power caught in the middle — all haunted by a
distant tragedy that we somehow never managed to learn from.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Thank you, Brian. By the way, the Turkish government says
close to a million Turks died in that region during World War I. As
for current relations, Turkish officials tell CNN, although the
border is closed, there are daily flights between Turkey and Armenia.
And tens of thousands of Armenians, they say currently live and work
inside Turkey.
Coming up at the top of the hour, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Lou is standing
by in New York with a preview. Hi there.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Judy. Thank you.