The Genocide (Հայոց Ցեղասպանություն in Armenian) included forced marches, starvation, serial rape and other atrocities and was an effort by Muslim Turks to remove the Christian Armenian people from existence.
President Obama had made a campaign promise to identify the massacre as a "genocide" but later reneged on this pledge. He had criticized President Bush for failing to recognize the genocide as such, but, on last year's Armenian Remembrance Day 2009, he softened his language, calling it a "calamity" ("Meds Yeghern" in Armenian). The President has received criticism and condemnation for his backtracking, and some have even called for him to give up his Nobel Peace Prize until he makes good on his campaign promise to recognize the "calamity" as a genocide.
Turkey is an ally of the U.S. and recognizing the genocide as such might put that relationship in jeopardy. Armenian-Turkish relations have also improved in recent years, and the fear is that calling the mass killings a "genocide" might strain that relationship as well.
However, 43 states have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, and in March 2009, a bill was introduced to the House of Representatives by Congressman Adam Schiff, whose congressional district, California 29th, happens to include the city of Glendale, which has the highest concentration of Armenians in the United States. Congressman Schiff's bill, H.R. 252, states that "The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes, and which succeeded in the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland." It compares the Armenian genocide to the Holocaust, calls for a reduction of aid to Turkey by $3 million "until the Turkish Government acknowledged the Armenian Genocide," and demands that the President "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide."
Turkey is an ally of the U.S. and recognizing the genocide as such might put that relationship in jeopardy. Armenian-Turkish relations have also improved in recent years, and the fear is that calling the mass killings a "genocide" might strain that relationship as well.
However, 43 states have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, and in March 2009, a bill was introduced to the House of Representatives by Congressman Adam Schiff, whose congressional district, California 29th, happens to include the city of Glendale, which has the highest concentration of Armenians in the United States. Congressman Schiff's bill, H.R. 252, states that "The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes, and which succeeded in the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland." It compares the Armenian genocide to the Holocaust, calls for a reduction of aid to Turkey by $3 million "until the Turkish Government acknowledged the Armenian Genocide," and demands that the President "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide."
4 comments:
The current and previous administrations refusal to recoginize this is appalling. I get that our relatons with Turkey are important, but this is a definite mismanagement of prorities. A grevious violation of human rights is a grevious violation of human rights no matter who does it.
Imagine--just imagine--if an American politician were to downgrade the Holocaust to a "calamity."
Reprehensible!!! I wonder why this is little known or discussed? You make an excellent point, Matthew; downgrading the 'holocaust' to a calamity would NEVER be tolerated.
Lord have mercy.
I'll tell you why. Because in this country we only care when non Christians are slaughtered. You never hear about this massacre, and you never hear about the 50 million Christians who were murdered by the Soviets. Nor do you hear about the Christians being killed and their houses and churches being firebombed in Kosovo on a daily basis. Nor do you hear about the hundreds of thousands of Christians who are tortured, raped, killed or forced to leave their homes in Iraq. Nor do you hear about the Christians being oppressing in Egypt (including the six who were gunned down as they were leaving church last Christmas Eve). Nor, for that matter, do you ever--EVER--hear about the Palestinian Christians who have been--and continue to be--driven from their homes by Zionists. I could go on and on...India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Pakistan...we never hear about it.
But let someone insult a Muslim and it's headline news.
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