THE FORGOTTEN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Karen Nakamura
Coastal Post
Apri l 2 2009
CA
What a wicked web we weave… Or a rose is a rose by any name.
Jane Jewel from "14 for Palestine" contacted us recently to remind us
that April 24 commemorates the Armenian Holocaust and to introduce
us to Tatiana Mardirosian, whose family has been refugees twice,
from Armenia and Palestine. After her family escaped Armenia, she
was born in Jerusalem during Jordanian rule.
"We had a great life until we got occupied and life turned into
hell… I am [a Christian] Armenian. There used to be 30,000
Armenians… There are barely 1000 today. This is why Israel does
what they do; they think if they made everybody miserable people
will leave. Well, not everybody is going to leave [and] we will stay
…[and] prove Israel wrong one day."
Speaking of her family’s ordeal, she said. "We Armenians are
forever grateful to the Arabs. We had a wonderful life living with
them. They were very hospitable people… Most are not what they are
portrayed here. We are grateful because after the Armenians (were)
deported and walked through the desert, the ones that survived ended
up in neighboring countries, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. All these
Arab countries welcomed us with open arms and allowed us to live as
Armenians; to practice our religion, they even helped us build churches
and allowed Armenian schools to function. They never looked down on
us. Our neighborhood was mostly Moslems. We were friends with all
and neither thought of each other to be of a different religion." Of
Jerusalem, she says, "We had a great life there. I miss it."
Using accounts from Wikipedia, Robert Fisk of the Independent of
London, London Times, bibleprobe.com, Scott Jaschik of History News
Network and Tatiana’s own words, let’s look at the Armenian Holocaust
and why it’s relevant. Many activists have heard of the genocide,
(1914-18), but lack facts and implications in today’s climate,
especially with Gaza and Israel’s efforts to stop the Armenian Genocide
from being acknowledged.
Raphael Lemkin coined the term, "genocide". A Jewish-Polish lawyer, he
was trying to differentiate between what the Nazis did and the usual
horrors of war. He defined it as "a coordinated plan of different
actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the
life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups
themselves." Could anything define what’s been happening in Gaza and
the West Bank better?
Armenia is one of the oldest Christian countries in the world
if not the oldest. The Church was established in the 3rd Century
A.D. several years before Rome converted. April 24 marks the day in
1915 when the Muslim Ottoman Empire decided to get rid of everyone
but Muslims. The decision came from the ruling ultra-nationalist,
infamously known as the "Young Turks." Roundups began April 24, 1915,
as "300 Armenian political leaders, educators, writers, clergy and
dignitaries in Constantinople were taken from their homes and then
hanged or shot." A month later, the Minister of Internal Affairs
announced Armenians were untrustworthy and ordered their deportation
to relocation centers in the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia.
Women, children, and elderly were forcibly relocated "for their own
safety" but were actually on death marches to the Syrian Desert. They
were raped, starved, dehydrated, murdered and kidnapped. Those
who survived were killed upon arrival or forced to hide until they
were able to escape. "Countless survivors and refugees scattered
throughout the Arab provinces …only to die of starvation, epidemic,
and exposure. Even the memory of the Armenian nation was intended
for obliteration…"
Wikipedia refers to the terror by many names: the Armenian
Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Massacres and the Great
Calamity. It’s historically acknowledged to be one of the first modern,
systematic, organized genocides due to the "sheer scale of the death
toll." That number varies. Turkey, using Ottoman Empire figures, puts
the number at 300,000 while Armenian sources quote 1,500,000. The
British put the number at 600,000 between 1915-16 alone. Whatever
the true number, it was staggering.
Even though internationally acknowledged as a Holocaust, Armenians
have been seeking Turkish recognition of their plight for decades. The
Republic of Turkey inherited the genocide from the former Ottoman
Empire. Nether Turkey or Israel wants the Holocaust designation
attached to the slaughter. Turkey because it’s an embarrassing and
painful part of their past, one they feel they’re overcoming with
democracy and a modern state. Cynics say Israel doesn’t want the
designation given because they don’t want to share but perhaps a
closer examination of what does constitute a holocaust might give
credence to what Palestinians call their ongoing Holocaust… one
inflicted by neo-cons in the Israeli government with their military
superiority provided by the United States. However, 21 nations and
most scholars agree Armenia was a Holocaust.
Hitler, explaining why he would even consider going after the Jews,
stated. "Who now remembers the Armenians?" Robert Fisk wondered why
the US prefers to forget the genocide, "Who …chooses which holocaust
we should remember and which we should not? The six million Jews who
were murdered by the Nazis must always have a place in our history,
our memory, and our fears. Never again. But alas, the Armenians who
perished …who were slaughtered in their tens of thousands…whose
wives and daughters were gang-raped and knifed to death by the
gendarmerie and their Kurdish militiamen – they have no place in our
memory or our history. Turkey is our friend. Turkey might one day
join the European Union. Turkey is an ally of Israel."
But that alliance is becoming strained. Once again Israel and the
West tried to force their agenda down the world’s throat at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January. But Turkey wasn’t
about to let that happen and in an act of defiance, and perhaps
liberation, stormed out of Forum.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan disputed two events. Each speaker
was given five minutes to speak. When Erdogan went 12 minutes, he was
cut off by moderator David Ignatius of the Washington Post. However,
Israeli’s President, Shimon Peres, later spoke for 25 minutes. While
Erdogan blamed Ignatius for cutting him off, it was being forced to
listen to the tirade against him from Pres. Peres that infuriated
Erdogan. Peres later stated his outburst was because of Erdogan’s
criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Erdogan stated as his mike was cut, "Pres. Peres, you are older
than I am. Maybe you are feeling guilty and that is why you are so
strong in your words. You killed people. I remember the children who
died on the beaches." At a hero’s welcome at the Istanbul airport,
Erdogan said he did what he had to. "I cannot remain apathetic when
it comes to these things. It’s just not in my nature. I am duty-bound
to defend the honor of my country."
After years of persecuting anyone who dared speak of the genocide,
the Turkish government may be becoming less defensive. In December
about 200 Turkish intellectuals issued an apology on the Internet for
the Armenian Catastrophe. It stated: "My conscience does not accept
that (we) remain insensitive toward and deny the Great Catastrophe
that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected in 1915. I reject this
injustice, share in the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers,
and apologize to them."
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