April 24, 1915: Armenia

Both April 24 and April 25 have a considerable prominence in history, given it is the date the Armenian genocide began and the latter being ANZAC Day, a significant event in my country. Due to its significance in history and the lack of international acknowledgement, I have chosen to investigate the events of Armenia further.

Armenia is nestled amongst mountainous terrain, bordering on Georgia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Amongst the battles for its sovereignty from the Persian and Ottoman Empires since the 14th century, Armenia finally declared independence on September 23, 1991 from the Soviet Union.

Fast forward to 24th April 1915. It was this day that of the 2.5 million Armenians, an estimated 600, 000 to 1.5 million were massacred or displaced by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.

“I will soon settle those Armenians” echoed from the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1890, the murderous campaign was in some ways, a result of years of resentment. For the Turks, the threat of Christianity and “infidels” were enough reason to inflict widespread terror, alongside the fact that the Armenians had organised voluntary battalions to be supplied to Russia assisting in the fight against the Turks during World War I.

But does it justify forcing innocent civilians to walk naked through the hot desert until they died or otherwise shot, crucified alive and burned, thrown off cliffs or rape women before being forced to join Turkish harems as slaves?

Terrified Armenians were forced to flee their homes. And once they did, the Turkish would vacate the property and seize the assets. Many children were kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam, and given to Turkish families. It was a tactic to “Turkify” the people developed by The Young Turks, a modern government that overthrew the Sultan and sought to diminish the prevalence of Christianity through its “Special Organisation”, which essentially became a killing squad with the purpose of ethnic cleansing.

Tactics later used in the Holocaust were employed. Using railway wagons to transport Armenian women, men and children to the northern Syrian desert using rock caves as gas chambers and lighting bonfires at the entrance to asphyxiate.

Many Armenian survivors (who have since all now passed) remembered the piles of infants being burned alive, or the children in an orphanage so starved they survived off ground down fragments of the bones of other children.

Given the similarities between the systematic killings in the war to follow during the Holocaust, many German soldiers had trained with these Turkish soldiers witnessing the massacres, with Hitler years later urging generals “who now remembers the Armenians?”. A tactic used to motivate his men.

Before the mass killings began, suspicion amongst the Turks had existed for years that the loyalty of Armenians would be greater towards Christian governments, and that they were generally wealthier or more educated despite the restrictions they had implemented. The Ottoman Empire subjected the Armenians to unjust and unfair treatment, imposing higher taxes and an imbalance in their legal and political rights.

Following the Ottoman Empire surrendering in 1918 at the end of World War I, leaders of the Young Turks fled to Germany, and promised immunity from persecution. To this day, the Turkish Government does not acknowledge the genocide or accept that it took place, instead excusing it as killings apart of “wartime”. To them, it was a defensive action as an enemy force. But is this justified to the extent of 1.5 million Armenians killed or displaced?

It is estimated that from the beginning of the massacre there were 2 million Armenians, and this reduced to 388, 000 in 1922.

Given the global political environment a close ally of Turkey, the United States, did not vote until March 2010 to recognise the genocide by the Congressional panel. However the Resolution has only just passed on 29th October 2019, with public figures including Kim Kardashian who is of Armenian dissent continue to fight for global recognition. The move has angered Turkey and its officials, with President Erdogan’s communications manager Fahrettin Altun declaring that “history will note these resolutions as irresponsible and irrational actions by some members of the US Congress against Turkey”.

Journalists in Turkey are restricted from discussing the genocide, whereas it is a crime to deny the event in Switzerland and Greece. The Turks see the people as “victims of the chaos of war”, despite Armenia extending the olive branch to make peace. However a shift in the views of many Turkish families continues to grow, as they discover that many family members or grandparents are in fact Armenian.

During the anniversary last week, Armenian President Armeni Sarkissian acknowledged that “we must remember these atrocities to prevent new crimes”, as the country seeks regional stability, highlighting that “recognition of the Armenian genocide is as important to humanity as it is to the world as a whole”.