"The Armenian Genocide" (also known as the "The Great Calamity by Armenians) occured on April 24, 1915 by the Ottoman Empire of Turkey was the systematic destruction of the Armenian population, killing over 1.5 million Armenians.
Interesting enough, the Armenians and Turks were at peace in the Ottoman Empire for centuries prior. This began to change when the inequalities between the Armenians and Turks were made more public and began to cause an uproar.
Armenians were not viewed as equals to the Turks. They were viewed as second-class citizens and had to deal with limited freedoms because they were Christian Armenians.
This massacre is the 2nd most studied case of genocide after the Holocost.
Recently, 20 countries have officially recognized the events of this time as a genocide, while 42 of the 50 states of the U.S. recognize these events as a genocide as well (Michigan is one of the states that does recognize this event as a genocide). The states that do not recognize this event are: Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The Republic of Turkey (the OTtoman Empire) deny the word "genocide" as an accurate description of the events that occured during this period.
It seems that the current Turkish government is afraid of admitting that the Armenian genocide occurred. Even though it occurred before the Republic of Turkey was fully formed, the Turkish government would still be forced to pay reparations to the victims' families.
ReplyDeleteIt surprises me that with so many people dying that you wouldn't consider this a genocide. It would be hard to call it anything else. It surprises me also that only some states in the US consider it as such.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think its sad that economic reasons would prevent the admission of s genocide. To not admit to a genocide to avoid paying reparations seems to be pragmatic at best but rings more of pride and callousness.
ReplyDelete