Raw Story
April 12 2015
Here are ten things you should know about the Armenian ‘genocide’
April 12, 2015
Elizabeth Whitman
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Above,
members of an Armenian community in Romania hold banners in downtown
Bucharest April 24, 2012, during a rally observing the anniversary of
the beginning of the mass killings of Armenians within the Ottoman
Empire.Reuters/Bogdan Cristel
It’s been 100 years since the Armenian genocide began and Ottoman
Turks started killing as many as 1.5 million Armenians over the course
of several years, primarily in what is now eastern Turkey. The
genocide is commemorated April 24 every year, but the descriptive term
itself remains the subject of fierce controversy. Below are 10 key
facts to know about the Armenian genocide.
1. Most estimates indicate between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians
died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1918. In an
attempt to keep Armenian men from joining forces with the Russians
during World War I, Ottoman authorities deported them to Iraq and
Syria. Many starved to death or were killed.
2. The U.S. refuses to officially call it a genocide, out of deference
to its ally Turkey. During his U.S. senate and presidential campaigns,
President Barack Obama promised to use the word “genocide” to describe
the mass killing. In 2008, he said, “The Armenian genocide is not an
allegation, a personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a widely
documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical
evidence.” As president, however, Obama has yet to declare it a
genocide.
3. A few U.S. politicians have proposed legislation or resolutions
that would officially recognize the Armenian genocide as such, but
Turkey has rejected these efforts. In 2014, the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee adopted a resolution to label the massacre a
genocide, and Turkey quickly condemned it. In March, four members of
Congress also proposed legislation to recognize the genocide.
4. Turkey claims the number of deaths is exaggerated and that they
came about not because of genocidal policies targeting Armenians but
because of civil war. According to Agence France-Presse, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an impartial review of
the events and said, “If the results actually reveal that we have
committed a crime, if we have a price to pay, then as Turkey we would
assess it and take the required steps.”
5. Armenians in the diaspora are hopeful that this could be the year
Obama recognizes the genocide. Aram S. Hamparian, executive director
of the Armenian National Committee of America, told the Los Angeles
Times “very senior people in the White House” told him that the
administration would thoroughly review the matter this year, for the
first time since 2009.
6. The genocide is officially commemorated April 24, the date in 1915
when the Young Turks arrested about 200 leaders in the Armenian
community and later executed them. The date is frequently marked with
rallies and marches in Armenian communities around the world.
7. The modern-day Armenian diaspora is estimated to encompass 10
million people, and its members are scattered all over the world, from
Europe to Asia to North America.
8. The dispute over the term “genocide” still plays out in courts. In
January, attorney Amal Clooney, representing Armenia, faced off
against Armenian genocide denier Dogu Perincek in the European Court
of Human Rights. The court had overturned Perincek’s 2007 conviction
for denying the genocide, on the grounds that it violated his right to
free speech, and Armenia was appealing that decision.
9. When the genocide happened, it was largely condemned by the
international community, but no country took action directly against
the Ottoman Empire for the genocide. However, some governments
sponsored reports to document what the Armenians had gone through.
10. Massacres of Armenians during the genocide didn’t occur in Turkey
alone. Armenians were killed in Syria, as well. This map illustrates
the routes many Armenians were forced to follow during “death
marches,” not only throughout Turkey but also into Iraq and Syria.