The Armenian genocide

[rebness]

gen·o·cide

ˈdʒɛnəˌsaɪd/ [jen-uh-sahyd]

–noun

the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.


You are an ethnic and cultural group based in another country. Your people, in the Nationalist army for said country, are systematically disarmed and taken away and executed. Your great thinkers, politicians and intellectual leaders are rounded up and killed. Anyone from your racial group is taken from their homes and either summarily executed or placed on forced marches which practically guarantee death. You are, of course, denied any food or water on these marches, so it's rather a given that your captors won't be surprised if you die.

If you are not on a forced march, you may be taken out on a ship to sea that is deliberately sunk. Some of your people fare even better; they are stretched out, like sacrifical animals and have their limbs, from the fingers to the arms to the torso, cut off piece by excruciating piece.

Now, does this sound slightly like genocide? According to twenty countries - France, Argentina, Italy, Sweden, etc. - it certainly does. If you're the UK, you might jump in and say it does. Well, you stood up to the Nazis and the Holocaust was undeniably an act of atrocious genocide. However, what if you had a lot to gain from the political and geographical strength of the country which perpetuated these crimes? I guess, if you're the UK, you demur on the subject.

Let's not beat about the bush: America has a lot to lose if Turkey pitches a fit and does something childish, like withdraw access to their military bases, if a resolution is passed to recognise the Armenian genocide. But America is the world leader; it has the strength and clout to push this through, despite Turkey's objections and threats. America surely can't bow to threats from this country? I really hope so. It's time Turkey was made to acknowledge at least one of its sadistic crimes over the last century.
Go on, Turkey. Throw your toys out of the pram. You murdered over a million people in an act of cold-blooded GENOCIDE that was so ruthless and efficient, it inspired the Nazis in that little-known Holocaust.

The entire thing makes me furious. Some commentators worry that the US acknowledging what happened will destroy the bridges built between Turkey and the US, and Armenia and Turkey, recently. Well, who wants to cross a bridge based on genocide denial, anyway?
 

Comments

[wiebke.livejournal.com]

For 3 mo. in 9th grade (when I was 15) our history AND English class did a joint unit that was nothing BUT genocide, man's inhumanity to man, groupthink, mass psych., etc. The Armenian genocide was the -first- thing we went over in the history unit, as it "set the stage" for later events. At the time I don't think I had ever heard of Armenia. It turns out that 3 of my classmates, just in that class, had grandparents who had escaped the slaughter as children and teens and had immigrated to the U.S. My classmates had learned about the genocide as kids, much like Jewish kids learn about the Holocaust. In college I took a similar class, related to empathy versus intolerance / not caring, which talked about genocide, crime, etc., and again, Armenia was brought up there as well.

So yeah, it makes no sense.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it. The facts are all there - the survivors of what happened are still there. The Armenian people are scattered across the globe after fleeing for their lives from the Turkish genocide, but we have to spare the use of the word in politics to avoid hurting the feelings of the perpetrators? How do we learn from the past, if we deny it?

I am so, so glad that this despicable thing has been brought up again. Turkey needs to admit to what it did, and move on. Denying everything just proves to the world that it is not a country ready to enter the world stage, much less the EU, if it refuses to hold itself responsible for its actions.

[ozfille]

What I don't understand is that modern day Turkish Governments still object. This was done by the Ottomans, not the current or most recent regimes, so why continue with the denial of it happening? I guess an analagous situation is those Australians who don't want to face the fact that lots of nasty things were done to the indigenous population by 'white' settlers of this country. They prefer the 'white blind fold' version of Oz history rather than the 'black arm band' point of view they attribute to those who would like a little more even-handed approach to our national history.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

It's bizarre, isn't it? I suppose in a country where insulting 'Turkishness' is a crime, the idea that they could ever, ever have been responsible for something is inconceivable.

Most countries have something shameful in their past. It seems that we're having to face our own terrible crimes (rightfully) all the time - man up, Turkey. Admit that you did A Bad Thing.

The Aboriginal persecution seems like such a murky thing. I can't bear this whitewashing (pun intended) of history.

[pandorasblog]

Wait, why is the UK demurring on the subject? Is it some kind of hangover from the lapdog-of-the-USA era? :(