ARMENIANS MARK 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE
PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2010 – 10:37 AMT 05:37 GMT
Today, April 24, marks the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide was masterminded by the Central Committee of
the Young Turk Party led by Mehmed Talat Pasha, Ismail Enver Pasha,
and Ahmed Djemal Pasha. 95 years ago today, Armenian intellectuals
of Constantinople were arrested, the figure reaching 800 during a week.
Majority of them were killed in prisons, the others died when being
exiled.
In all, from 1.5 to 2 million people were slaughtered in the Ottoman
Empire during the WWI. The entire population of six vilayets of Western
Armenia was annihilated. Those who survived found shelter in different
countries of the world, forming the Armenian Diaspora.
Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying
the atrocities as "deportation to secure Armenians". Only a few
Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and
scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize
the Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France,
Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states,
parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National
Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm,
Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.