Once an integral part of the Ottoman Empire's multifaceted society, only 60, ethnic Armenians are still believed to live in modern Turkey, most of them in Istanbul. Ankara accepts that both Armenians and Turks died in vast numbers while the Ottomans battled tsarist Russia, but denies the existence of a deliberate policy of genocide. The Turkish-Armenian businessman said his community faces waves of anti-Armenian sentiments whenever debates resume about the century-old events. We were even told to call our mothers 'anne' in Turkish instead of 'mama'," he said.
Yetvart Danzikyan, editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos -- whose former editor Hrant Dink was gunned down in Istanbul in -- said the annual commemorations pass in a "climate of tension" in Turkey.
Some prominent leaders go over to the Russian side. The Russians form Armenian voluntary units on the Caucasian side against the Ottomans, but the Turks see this as treachery and demobilize hundreds of thousands of Armenian soldiers, take their weapons and uniforms away, turn them into labor battalions, and eventually murder them.
So it's a very different thing. It's not that there wasn't sympathy among some for Russia, but there was also no particular love for Russia. Russians didn't like the Armenian nationalist revolutionaries any more than the Turks did so they were persecuting them as well.
The Armenians were in an unfortunate position - in Persia, in Russia, and in Turkey. They were like the Kurds today. What other situations in history would you say are the most comparable to the Armenian genocide?
Genocide, luckily, is a very rare phenomenon. That is, genocide, the physical elimination of a designated people, that is a cultural, ethnic, religious group. The Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, Cambodia — there are very few events that fit my tight definition.
Other people have loosened that definition to mean all examples of mass killing. I limit it because then you can try to explain it. But, the arguments for state security, and the emotional construction of enemies that have to be eliminated is rampant. There are so many similar situations. This shows a lack of understanding that if you push people to a certain extent, they will resist, that there's a dynamic at work here.
The Armenians ultimately did resist in a few places - in Urfa, on Musa Dagh, the well-known site of resistance that the novel was written on, and in Van, most importantly in April People were being massacred, and they resisted. Palestine was not an example of genocide, but it was certainly an example of ethnic cleansing which is still probably going on to some extent.
But this is another case where the Israelis see an existential threat from Palestinians, and the Palestinians, as an occupied and colonized people, clearly see the Israelis as the enemy. They mobilized their young men to fight in the army, they raised money for hospitals and aid to the government, they spoke in favor of the war effort, and many other things.
They told them - we're loyal, don't push us into opposition. But there was an imbalance of agency. You see this today in the Armenian and Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh, or the Israel-Palestine conflict. One side has more power and has more cards to play: the Israelis in the case of Palestine, the Armenians in the case of the Armenian- Azerbaijani conflict, and the Ottomans in As they were being constructed as the enemy, there was very little they could do.
And then they were disarmed, their leaders were arrested, they were systematically deported, and many hundreds of thousands were murdered. The Ottoman Turks mobilized the population, in a completely chaotic and disorganized way, and there was dislocation, food shortages, soldiers marching hundreds of miles to get to the front.
They were inadequately equipped, and huge numbers of desertions took place. There were half a million deserters, Muslims as well as Christians and others.
Many of those deserters would either pillage villages for food, rape women, or clash with the army, and the Ottoman government claimed these were Armenian revolts. A lot of soldiers deserted, and it was general chaos. To what extent did ordinary people participate or was it mostly carried out by special military forces?
The orders bring about massacres, and in a systematic way. In a letter to Turkey's then prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the IAGS said: "We want to underscore that it is not just Armenians who are affirming the Armenian Genocide but it is the overwhelming opinion of scholars who study genocide.
Article Two of the UN Convention on Genocide of December describes genocide as carrying out acts intended "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group". The dispute about whether it was genocide centres on the question of premeditation - the degree to which the killings were orchestrated.
Many historians, governments and the Armenian people believe that they were; but a number of scholars question this. Raphael Lemkin, the Polish-Jewish lawyer who coined the term "genocide" in , referred to the atrocities against Armenians as well as the Nazi massacres of Jews when describing his investigations.
Turkish officials accept that atrocities were committed but argue that there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people. Turkey says many Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of war.
The Young Turks - an officers' movement that had seized power in - launched a series of measures against Armenians as the Ottoman Empire was crumbling through military defeats in the war. Turkish propaganda at the time presented the Armenians as saboteurs and a pro-Russian "fifth column". Armenians mark the date 24 April as the start of what they regard as the genocide. That was when the Ottoman government arrested about Armenian intellectuals and community leaders.
They were later executed. Armenians in the Ottoman army were disarmed and killed. Armenian property was confiscated. Several senior Ottoman officials were put on trial in Turkey in in connection with the atrocities.
A local governor, Mehmed Kemal, was found guilty and hanged for the mass killing of Armenians in the central Anatolian district of Yozgat. The Young Turks' top triumvirate - the "Three Pashas" - had already fled abroad. They were sentenced to death in absentia. Historians have questioned the judicial procedures at these trials, the quality of the evidence presented and the degree to which the Turkish authorities may have wished to appease the victorious Allies.
Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Uruguay are among the more than 20 other countries which have formally recognised genocide against the Armenians. At the moment I am wondering if something will happen to my children if I stay.
Paylan has been vocal in calling for peace in Artsakh. In fact, there is no reason for Armenia to attack. It is Azerbaijan and Turkey that want to change this situation. Paylan also expressed his concern for the possible rise of hate crimes in Turkey. Racism has escalated sharply, which might lead to several hate crimes. For Paylan, the threats are becoming alarmingly real.
A day after his interview with Arab News, he released a statement in which he asked that should a crime be perpetrated against him, the criminals be held responsible. And as an Armenian from Turkey, I know very well the meaning of the recent attacks. Regardless of these intimidation tactics, I will never refrain from taking on my responsibility in the effort to stop wars. You can find the Turkish version here. We have repeatedly witnessed great disasters and destruction caused by such acts of targeting.
Therefore, we emphasize once again: Garo Paylan is not alone. In response, Paylan thanked his supporters on his social media pages. Nevertheless, I am very pleased to confirm and witness our great numbers… I am grateful to each person who has provided support.
There are those in the marginalized communities in Turkey who, despite all the injustices and intimidation, continue to struggle for an equitable world. We are radical democrats, and we have everyone sitting at our table. It is also noteworthy that as part of their election platform in , HDP promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide if elected, and since then has called for both recognition and reparations.
Turkey cannot tolerate its oppressed speaking up or offering a brave new vision to the masses. On October 2, Turkish police targeted the HDP and carried out another set of arrests in Kars, a city on the Turkish border with Armenia with a large Azerbaijani population. In the local elections, the HDP won 65 municipalities three metropolitan municipalities, including Van and Diyarbakir, five provincial, 45 district and 12 towns.
Out of those 65, six elected mayors were denied their certificates of election and a total of 36 were jailed, 16 of whom remain in jail. Anti-Armenian sentiments drive the incessant tweets of Ibrahim Karagul, editor-in-chief of Yenisafak , a pro-Erdogan Turkish daily newspaper known for promoting hate speech.
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