- Up to 1.5 million Armenians were wiped out by the Ottoman Empire beginning on April 24, 1915, a reality Turkey continues to deny
- The day will be commemorated around the world today as a growing number of countries recognize the atrocity
April 24 marks the start, in 1915, of the Armenian Genocide. 鈥淓very Armenian is affected by the repeated massacres that occurred in the Ottoman Empire as family members perished,鈥� said Joseph Kechichian, senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.
鈥淢y own paternal grandmother was among the victims. Imagine how growing up without a grandmother 鈥� and in my orphaned father鈥檚 case, a mother 鈥� affects you,鈥� he added.
鈥淲e never kissed her hand, not even once. She was always missed, and we spoke about her all the time. My late father had teary eyes each and every time he thought of his mother.鈥�
Every Armenian family has similar stories, said Kechichian. 鈥淲e pray for the souls of those lost, and we beseech the Almighty to grant them eternal rest,鈥� he added.
鈥淲e also ask the Lord to forgive those who committed the atrocities and enlighten their successors so they too can find peace,鈥� he said. 鈥淒enial is ugly and unbecoming, and it hurts survivors and their offspring, no matter the elapsed time.鈥�
Donald Miller, professor of religion and sociology at the University of Southern California, said: 鈥淭he ongoing denial of the genocide by the government of Turkey pours salt into the wound of the moral conscience of Armenians all over the world. On April 24, the genocide will be commemorated all over the world.鈥�
On that day, the Ottoman government arrested and executed several hundred Armenian intellectuals.
Ordinary Armenians were then turned away from their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water.
Ottoman killing squads massacred Armenians, with only 388,000 left in the empire by 1922 when the genocide ended, from 2 million in 1914.
Many were deported to Syria and the Iraqi city of Mosul. Today they are scattered across the world, with large diasporas in Russia, the US, France, Argentina and Lebanon.
To date, only 28 countries have officially recognized the tragedy as a genocide. The only Arab country that has done so is Lebanon, although a bill is pending in Egypt鈥檚 Parliament to do so as well, while Muslim clerics in Iraq have called on Turkey to end the denial.
鈥淭he other significant consequence of the Armenian Genocide is the denial that successive Turkish governments have practiced, even though the last Ottoman rulers acknowledged it and actually tried a number of officials who were found guilty,鈥� Kechichian said.
鈥淒enial translates into a second genocide, albeit a psychological one. Eventually, righteous Turks 鈥� and there are a lot of them 鈥� will own up to this dark chapter of their history and come to terms with it, but it seems we鈥檙e not there yet.鈥�
Opinion
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For some 3,000 years, Armenians had made their home in the Caucasus, with Christianity their official religion. During the 15th century it became a part of the Ottoman Empire, whose rulers were Muslim.
Soon enough, Armenians were viewed as 鈥渋nfidels,鈥� having to pay higher taxes than Muslims and with very few political and legal rights.
Despite this the Armenian population thrived, causing great resentment among their Turkish neighbors.
And shortly after World War I began, atrocities against Armenians started taking place, with crucifixions, drownings, live burnings and mass murders.
鈥淭he Armenian Genocide was the first major calamity that hit an entire nation in the 20th century,鈥� Kechichian said.
鈥淎lthough the term genocide wasn鈥檛 in use at the time 鈥� it was coined by Raphael Lemkin in his 1944 book 鈥楢xis Rule in Occupied Europe鈥� 鈥� the Polish attorney applied it to the Armenian case.鈥�
Turkey still denies the persecution of Armenians after World War I. But Hamdan Al-Shehri, a political analyst and international scholar in 抖阴短视频, said: 鈥淲e know that the genocide happened. The Ottoman Empire in that era conducted many massacres against many people, including Arabs and Armenians.鈥�
He compared the situation to that of Turkey today, with its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 鈥淲e still see that he wants to have his empire again,鈥� Al-Shehri said. 鈥淗e thinks he鈥檚 the sultan of that empire.鈥�
Al-Shehri also drew a parallel with Iran and the Persian Empire. 鈥淭hey (Iran) want to control the whole region, so they鈥檙e living with that era in their mind and (trying) to apply it on the ground,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his is the difference between us and them 鈥� they don鈥檛 want to leave countries alone, and this is what we鈥檙e facing with Iran.鈥�
Dr. Theodore Karasik, senior advisor at Gulf State Analytics, said the Armenian Genocide remains a 鈥渃ontentious鈥� issue because of 鈥渢he acrimonious debate over how to define genocide, particularly from the Turkish point of view. Ankara doesn鈥檛 recognize genocide because of many reasons, all of them extremely poor.鈥�