WHAT IS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL? 10 FACTS, QUOTES FOR THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASS KILLINGS IN TURKEY
International Business Times
April 12 2015
By Elizabeth Whitman
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.
From: A. Papazian