By Jayden Oxton-White
April 24, 1915, was the beginning of the slaughter 1.5
million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in what is now Turkey. This set a
dangerous precedent that has been copied and expanded upon by later despotic
governments. Despite its morbid place in world history, governments
around the world, including major international powers, refuse to acknowledge
that it ever happened.
(Armenian civilians being marched by Ottoman soldiers. April, 1915.)
At the start of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire was
declining. It lost territory in the Balkans, and within Turkey 2 million Armenians
were in open rebellion demanding better treatment. They were being unjustly
persecuted and taxed on the grounds they were Christian within the
predominantly Muslim country.
At this time, the Young Turks were ruling the Ottoman
empire. Led by Talat Pasha, the movement decided that Turkey was only for
Muslim Turks. In the name of this new ideology, they moved viciously against
the Armenian community. On April 24, 1915, the Turkish military invaded the
homes of Armenians living within the empire.
Armenians who were not immediately butchered were sent on
death marches across the Syrian desert. When they asked where their destination
was, they were simply told: “Nothingness.”
To this day, the Turkish government has refused to
acknowledge the genocide. It claims it is a “Western lie”. Turkey has spent
millions of dollars trying to erase the genocide from its history, destroying
Armenian monuments and even changing the names of animals with the word Armenia
in them.
Because of Turkey's position on the genocide, countries
including the US, Britain, Italy and Australia have also refused to acknowledge
the crime. They do this because they have diplomatic and trade relationships
with Turkey.
Furthermore, Turkey is strategically important due to its
geographical position. If the genocide is acknowledged, there is the potential
for damage to such relationships.
The refusal of these governments to recognise the
Armenian genocide has caused much disappointment among the survivors and their
families. These people have survived horrific cruelties, which have stayed with
them and their families.
Armenians have argued and pleaded for recognition. But so
far, this has not been forthcoming from Turkey, the US, Britain Australia or
Italy.
Since the Armenian genocide, there have been other
genocides all over the world, such as that committed by Nazi Germany.
There is evidence that Hitler used the Armenian genocide
as a template for his holocaust. He believed Turkey showed how to commit
genocide and get away it — in 1939 he remarked, “after all, who remembers the
extermination of the Armenians?”
This trend has continued into the 21st century in Turkey
with the war against the Kurdish people. During the fight against the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria, Turkey has attacked Kurdish civilians. Just like in
the case of the Armenian genocide, Kurdish civilians in Turkey have found no
assistance from the international community.
If history has taught us anything, it is that if past
crimes are not acknowledged and punished, they will happen again. We must
recognise the Armenian genocide to prevent a new one.
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