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Armenia\’s genocide: What recognition means

March 29, 2010 by  
Filed under Editorials

7 Comments

By Hassan Rassmy, Business Manager

Recently, the American Foreign Affairs Committee voted to address war activities during the Ottoman War as means of genocide. What does this mean?

It means that Turkey and the United States are at a diplomatic standstill, as Turkey recalled its ambassador to Washington, outraged regarding the newly found American stance.

Turkey is a regional political and economic superpower. It has a thriving economy, with a bustling tourism industry, among many other things. Turkey is an ally and friend of the United States, as it allows US troops to use Turkish military bases and airspace to transport troops to Iraq. In essence, Turkey is vital for American foreign policy interests. Turkey is a NATO member, and is currently part of the fifteen member UN Security Council bloc.

But let’s not get off task here. This all stems down to the recognition of genocide. At this point, the world should recognize that it was. What’s the use in denying it? Strong evidence compiled by both witnesses and historians gravitate towards this finding. The Ottoman Empire, although separate from the current Turkish political composition, is widely thought to have committed war crimes and acts of genocide during the war, which caused thousands upon thousands of Armenians to flee to Syria, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and even Egypt.

Look at history. Other countries have been known to have committed atrocities, like Germany, Japan, and even the United States, yet they are not forever hated, their acknowledgement of their actions makes all the difference, and  it allows them to move past their horrendous behavior.

Some advice for Turkey? Suck up your pride, and admit it. Admit that what you did was wrong. Put aside religion and culture for just a minute. You can’t deny one big act of discrimination especially against the Armenian Christians, and yet still condemn current acts of widespread discrimination against Muslim and Christian Palestinians in Palestine/Israel.

The recognition of genocide will help Turkey more than it will hurt it. Turkey and Armenia will have better relations, Turkey will have a better chance at entering the European Union, and the international community will respect Turkey for admitting something that truly is difficult to do: To admit the extermination of thousands of people who, by far, were not warriors, but innocent people.

The bad news: The Turkish Prime Minister recently announced that Turkey may expel 100,000 illegal Armenian immigrants within Turkey. Tensions between the two countries have not been as high in decades.

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  • Redblueorange

    MSIE 8.0 Windows 7

    Armenia shouldn’t even forgive turkey! an apology that doesnt even mean anything because it was by force shouldn’t be let go of those sufferring from the losses and look at all the land lost and how no one even knows Armenia anymore!

  • person.

    MSIE 7.0 Windows XP

    We live in a different world. Most of those directly responsible for the atrocities are not alive anymore. Don’t hate a country just because some of their ancestors were psychotic.

  • Mustafa Hawari

    Safari MacIntosh

    As to say we are all humans , we make many mistakes and Turkey has done wrong to the Armenian people. As a Muslim American I oppose the fact that Turkey does not apologise for the mistake they have done to innocent citizens.

  • Anonymous

    Firefox 3.5.9 Windows Vista

    Since when is Turkey a superpower? Does that make Luxembourg a colossus bestriding Europe?

  • Anonymous

    Firefox 3.5.5 MacIntosh

    Turkey does not want to apologize because they want to keep the land that they took from Armenia! They should just man up and apologize and give back Mount Ararat.

  • Anonymous

    MSIE 8.0 Windows 7

    It’s incredibly ignorant to compare Luxembourg, a mere micronation, to Turkey, which happens to be a part of the G20, as well as being a regional economic powerhouse.

    It’s a tough one, Turkey and Armenia need to come to a compromise. It’s not fair that Turkey annexed so much land, and I fully understand Armenia’s plight. The whole situation is complicated, and it’s hard to even think of some sort of compromise, but I’m sure there’s one out there!

  • Lisa Stephanian

    MSIE 8.0 Windows Vista

    Hassan you’re so smart! And I still have yet to understand what Turkey’s problem is here? I honestly don’t get it. How is it not obvious that this was indeed a genocide?! This truly mind boggles me. I just hope that one day, in my lifetime, Turkey can gather enough courage to surrender and admit to the fact that the Armenian Genocide was indeed a genocide committed by ancestrial Turks. That’s seriously all Armenians want. And you’re right, all they need to do is admit it, and I guarantee there will be more peace between the Turks and Armenians. And when or if they admit it, I hope some of the Armenian Genocide survivors that are still alive today, can hear it. They would love that very much!