Oggi è la Giornata del ricordo del genocidio armena (credito: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:tsitsernakaberd24.04.2009.jpg#mw-jump-to-license)

The Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire took place between the spring of 1915 and the fall of 1916. Out of approximately 1.5 million Armenians living in the Empire, at least 664,000 and possibly as many as 1.2 million Armenians were killed. They died in both massacres and individual killings. They were also killed through systematic ill-treatment, exposure, and starvation. In addition, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 women and children were integrated into Muslim families through such methods as force marriage, adoption, and conversion.

Since the 1920s, Turkey has spent millions of dollars trying to prevent recognition or even mention of the Armenian genocide in other countries. It has used lobbying, biased research, and intimidation and threats. Turkish citizens who recognize the genocide have faced prosecution for “insulting Turkishness.” In no other instance has a government gone to such extreme lengths to deny that a massive genocide took place.

Most Armenians were members of the ancient Armenian Apostolic Church, a Christian denomination. They had long been treated as second class citizens by the Ottomans. In the mid-1890s the Ottomans had massacred between 100,000 and 300,000 Armenians. The telegraph spread news of the murders around the world and resulted in international condemnation.

The Ottomans long resented the international condemnation and blamed the Armenians for it, believing they had appealed to Christian nations, and particularly to the British Empire. As World War I approached, the Ottomans claimed that the Armenians would ally with the British, French, and Russians in the war, and therefore had to be dealt with. Although they claimed they were merely relocating the Armenians, in practice they usually slaughtered them. Those who survived the brutal forced deportation were literally left to starve or die of disease in the Syrian desert.

One reason Turkey is so intent on denying the genocide is that the Republic of Turkey was built by Muslim/Turkish bourgeoisie who had benefited from the confiscation and distribution of Armenian wealth. The Turkish nationalist movement depended on the support of those who had perpetrated the genocide or enriched themselves from it, creating a strong incentive for denial.

We remember! 🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🙏🙏🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️