Matthew Hall
In this week’s module we will be reading the story “Regarding The Pain Of Others by Susan Sontag”. In this reading Susan talks about the horrors of war and, how many times it is glorified. Susan briefly talks about the Armenian Genocide. This was a horrific act of mankind but, many people don’t even know it happened. The Armenian Genocide occurred during World War 1 and continued even after. As a result over 1.5 million Armenians died. During the great war, the Ottoman Empire “Turks” were in a losing battle. They feared that the Christian Armenians were going to form an alliance with the Russians(Arango). This was the primary enemy of the Turks. This made way for the first genocide of the 20thcentury. Many Armenians were executed right on sight. Others were marched out into the Syrian desert and left to starve to death.
(JusticeInfo)
This being one of the most violent acts of mankind it has still never formally been recognized. Even after a century passing it is still heavily denied by the Turkish government. This is especially hard to surviving decedents of Armenians. Many just want Turkey to formally admit the genocide happened. One way that the Turkish government tried to get around this is by claiming these “atrocities happened during wartime when plenty of people were dying(Arango)”. This has been the countries stance for the past century.
WARNING GRAPHIC
(Britannica)
American politics have even tried to push recognition of the genocide. In 2007 and 2009 the house came close to voting on bills to condemn these killings as genocide(History). This was soon fended off by president George W. Bush and, Barack Obama in fear of damaging American relations with Turkey. This hasn’t stopped presidents from informally calling these acts of genocide. In 1981 President Ronald Regan issued a written proclamation in remembrance of the Holocaust. In this he referred to the “genocide of the Armenians”.
Even after a century there is still no closure to the Armenian people. The Turkish government have denied the even existence of this genocide. With no formal recognition this event has been hidden in history books. The Armenian people hope that one day there will be recognition and, they can put this horrible time in history in the past. Susan talks about about how events such as this are forgotten by many but, still live fresh in people it affected.
WARNING GRAPHIC
(Independent Co)
Works Cited
Arango, Tim. “A Century After Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s Denial Only Deepens.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/europe/turkeys-century-of-denial-about-an-armenian-genocide.html.
History.com Editors. “Armenian Genocide.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 Oct. 2010, www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/armenian-genocide.
“The 1915 Armenian Genocide: Finding a Fit Testament to a Timeless.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 5 Apr. 2014, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/1915-armenian-genocide-finding-fit-testament-timeless-crime-9241154.html.
“Armenian Genocide.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Armenian-Genocide.
Afp. “Turkish Politician Had Right to Deny Armenia Genocide: Europe Court.” JusticeInfo.net, JusticeInfo.net, 15 Oct. 2015, www.justiceinfo.net/en/other/2546-turkish-politician-had-right-to-deny-armenia-genocide-europe-court.html.