On April 24, 1915, the Young Turks of the ailing Ottoman Empire rounded up more than 200 Armenian intellectuals. Historians use this date to mark the start of the Armenian massacres.
At the time, there were between two million and three million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire.
In the next few years, up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically murdered. More were deported. My great-grandparents were some of the lucky ones who survived and eventually made it to the United States.
For years, the Turkish government has denied this holocaust by saying that the million or so Armenians died of famine and infighting, not from any actions of the Turkish government.
Now, 92 years later, the United States Congress is attempting to recognize these massacres for what they really were: a genocide.
The nonbinding resolution, which the House of Representatives will consider soon, states that the early 20th century killings were, indeed, an act of genocide on the part of Turkey. Unfortunately, the Turkish government has denied–and continues to deny–that the genocide actually occurred. In fact, Turkey says the passage of the resolution would endanger diplomatic relations with the United States over the genocide resolution.
The Turkish government is so adamant in its insistence that this genocide never happened that the country has a habit of arresting journalists who merely suggest that the country consider the fact that such events might have happened. The charge is “insulting Turkishness.”
President Bush has asked Congress to kill the resolution, saying that it’s “not the right time” and that it would hurt the troops we have in Iraq.
According to CNN, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi countered that “there has never been a good time”:
“When I came to Congress 20 years ago, it wasn’t the right time because of the Soviet Union, Pelosi said. “Then that fell, and then it wasn’t the right time because of the Gulf War One. And then it wasn’t the right time because of overflights of Iraq.
“And now it’s not the right time because of Gulf War Two.”
I agree with Pelosi. The United States government should have recognized these atrocities as a genocide a long, long time ago. Instead, the government has become a group of genocide-deniers.
The president of Iran says the Jewish Holocaust never happened–and almost nobody takes him seriously. The entire government of Turkey says the Armenian Genocide never happened–and almost nobody will contradict it for fear of threatening diplomatic relations.
Is it acceptable to recognize a genocide only when it’s convenient?
For once, let’s follow the example of a country like France and recognize these killings for what they really are: a genocide.
Hitler once asked some of his military officials, “Who today still speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
The United States government should prove Hitler wrong. It should officially remember the events of the early 20th century as a genocide.