QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT ARMENIANS AND GENOCIDE

New York Times
April 13 2015

By RICK GLADSTONEAPRIL 13, 2015

Pope Francis’ description of the killing of Armenians 100 years ago as
a genocide has caused a diplomatic uproar with Turkey and elevated
resilient historical arguments about what really happened. The
arguments are likely to intensify as Armenia prepares to officially
commemorate the event in less than two weeks.

Here are some questions raised by the pope’s statement, made during
Sunday Mass, and by the response from Turkey, which condemned his
remarks as “baseless” and recalled its ambassador from the Vatican.

Q. What does genocide mean and what is its origin?

A. Genocide is generally defined as the deliberate killing of people
who belong to a particular racial, political or cultural group,
with the intent of the killers to destroy the existence of that
group. The term did not exist until 1944, when a Polish-Jewish lawyer,
Raphael Lemkin, was credited with creating it to describe systematic
mass killings conducted by the Nazis, including the destruction of
Europe’s Jews. According to the website of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, Mr. Lemkin combined the Greek word for race or tribe,
“geno,” with “-cide,” from the Latin word for killing. The term was
incorporated into the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide.

Q. What is the historical event at issue?

A. It refers to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, starting in 1915,
when the Ottomans, who were aligned with Germany in World War I,
sought to prevent Armenians from collaborating with Russia and ordered
mass deportations from the empire’s eastern provinces. As many as 1.5
million ethnic Armenians died from the combination of forced exodus,
starvation and killings by Ottoman Turk soldiers and the police. About
500,000 Armenians survived, and many scattered into Russia, the United
States and elsewhere in what became an Armenian diaspora. The term
genocide has been retroactively applied by many historians to that
period, which is now widely acknowledged to be the first genocide of
the 20th century.

Q. Why is Turkey’s government so opposed to the use of the term
“genocide” to describe what happened?

A. Turkey’s government has acknowledged that atrocities were committed
during that period but has argued that a large number of Turks were
also killed, and that to portray the killing of Armenians as systematic
and intentional is historically inaccurate. Turkey’s government has
disputed the number of Armenians killed, suggesting it was far lower
than 1.5 million. The government has often responded angrily when
other countries, groups and individuals call the Armenian killings
a genocide.

Q. How many other countries have taken a position on this question?

A. According to the website of the Armenian National Council of
America, legislatures in at least 15 countries, and the Council
of Europe and the European Parliament, have passed resolutions
recognizing the Armenian genocide. The United Nations Sub-Comission on
the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities has also
described the period as genocide. Some countries, including Switzerland
and Greece, have called for criminal charges against those who deny it.

Q. What is the position of the United States government on use of
the word genocide to describe what happened?

A. Successive administrations have sought to skirt this question
because of Turkey’s growing importance, both as a NATO ally and as an
influential political and economic power in the Middle East. They have
also described the use of the term genocide as harmful to efforts at
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. When President Obama first campaigned
for president in 2008 he used the term genocide but has softened
his description since taking office, calling the period of history
an atrocity and a dark chapter, but resisting efforts by members of
Congress to bring a resolution on the question to a vote. Pope Francis’
use of the term genocide in his Sunday Mass has raised speculation
that Mr. Obama might do so as well.

Q. What special events are planned to commemorate the centennial?

A. Prominent Armenians in the diaspora have already started
commemorating the 100th anniversary. Some have collaborated with
Hollywood celebrities to award a humanitarian prize, starting next
year, in honor of those who helped to save Armenians during that
period. In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the centennial will be
officially remembered on April 24 and will be attended by a number
of world leaders, including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

The parliament of Armenia is also likely to adopt a statement
before the centennial remembrance calling on parliaments and
interparliamentary organizations around the world to recognize the
Armenian genocide.