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24 April is Armenian Genocide Memorial Day. In Armenian, it is called Medz Yeghern, "The Great Cataclysm". This banner is posted here from armenica.org to "Light the Night" on the eve of 24 April, in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Armenia, the first Christian nation, had been part of the Muslim Ottoman Empire since the 15th century. On 24 April 1915, the Ottoman government, controlled by the Young Turk Movement, ordered the arrest of hundreds of Armenian leaders—intellectuals, teachers, doctors, and political leaders. Many were tortured; all were soon executed. This was the first phase in the annihilation of at least one million Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government. There were at that time about two million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire and about four million worldwide.
The Ottoman government issued orders for all Armenians to evacuate their homes and be "temporarily relocated" to other parts of the country. Men were taken away first and either killed or worked to death in labour camps. This photo, from the front cover of Peter Balakian’s 1997 memoir Black Dog of Fate, was taken by a German businessman from his hotel window in 1915. It shows Armenian men being marched out of Kharpert (Harput) under armed guard. They were taken to a prison at Mezre and tortured to death.
Women, children, and the elderly were then deported from their towns and villages by Turkish armed forces to travel on foot across the arid plateaus and mountains of eastern and central Anatolia. It was a death march. People died of starvation, exhaustion, and exposure; many were set upon by mobs, brutalised, and murdered before their family and friends; young girls were carried away and forced to join harems. The ultimate destination of the few who survived was the desert of Deir Zor in present-day Syria, where many more were killed by government forces. The map below, downloaded from 24april1915.com, shows the staging areas and routes followed. Deir Zor is the white circle beside the number "6" on the bottom edge. (Click on map for larger view.)
Last week, the PBS television network in the US showed a new documentary film, "The Armenian Genocide". Archival photographs, news clippings, contemporary eyewitness statements, and interviews with historians and other scholars combine to present a horrifying account of atrocities and a compelling case for the genocidal intent of the Turkish action against the Armenians.
I have transcribed three brief narratives from the documentary's sound track, all eyewitness accounts of the horrors and barbarities suffered by the Armenian people.
Leslie A. Davis, US Consul in Harput (Kharput on the above map, the medium-size red dot about half-way between the two largest ones), wrote this in September 1915:
We saw hundreds of bodies and many bones in the water below. It was rumoured that many of the people who had been brought here had been pushed over the cliffs by their gendarmes. That rumour was fully confirmed by what we saw. In some of the valleys there were only a few bodies, but in others there were more than a thousand. I do not believe there has ever been a massacre in the history of the world so general and thorough as that which is now being perpetrated in this region, or that a more fiendish diabolical scheme has ever been conceived by the mind of man.
Jesse Benjamin Jackson, US Consul at Aleppo, northwest of Deir Zor, wrote this, also in September 1915:
It is extremely rare to find a family intact that has come any considerable distance, invariably having lost members from disease and fatigue, young girls and boys carried off by hostile tribesmen, and about all the men having been separated from their families and having suffered fates that best be left unmentioned. Many being done away with in such atrocious manners before the eyes of their relatives and friends. So severe has been the treatment that careful estimates place the number of those surviving even this far at being less than 150,000. There seem to have been about one million persons lost up to this date.
Auguste Berneau, traveling businessman, wrote from Deir Zor in August 1916.
All that I have seen and heard surpasses all imagination. Speaking of a thousand and one horrors is very little in this case. I thought I was passing through a part of Hell. Everywhere is the same governmental barbarianism, which aims at the systematic annihilation through starvation of the survivors of the Armenian nation in Turkey. Everywhere is the same bestial inhumanity on the part of these executioners and the same tortures undergone by these victims all along the Euphrates to Deir Zor. Women who had not seen me arriving were searching in the dung of horses [for] barley seeds not yet digested to feed on. I gave them some bread. They threw themselves on it like dogs dying of hunger.
The film also shows archival film of Polish scholar Raphael Lempkin, the man who invented the term "genocide" in 1944, citing as his defining examples of genocide the Turkish annihilation of Armenia and the Nazi extermination of the Jews.
The Government of Turkey denies to this day that a genocide took place. Turkish schoolchildren are specifically taught that the Armenian Genocide is a myth. The documentary showed vigilante reprisals and official persecution of Turkish historians and writers who are willing to investigate and critically discuss the events of 1915. Germany, home of the perpetrators of the Jewish Holocaust, has earned a place among civilised countries by honestly admitting the atrocities it committed, expressing sincere national repentance, and producing the fruits of the same: condemnation of the guilty and vindication and memorialisation of the innocent. Until Turkey does this, can it be considered a civilised nation?
The International Association of Genocide Scholars estimate that one million Armenians died during the Armenian Genocide. Many experts place the toll as high as 1.5 million.
Last Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement in honour of this year's Armenian Genocide Memorial Day re-affirming Canada's official recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
I would like to extend my sincere greetings to all of those marking this sombre anniversary of the Medz Yeghern.
Ninety-one years ago the Armenian people experienced terrible suffering and loss of life. In recent years the Senate of Canada adopted a motion acknowledging this period as the first genocide of the twentieth century, while the House of Commons adopted a motion that acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915 and condemns this act as a crime against humanity. I and my party supported those resolutions, and continue to recognize them today.
We must never forget the lessons of history. Nor should we allow the enmities of history to divide us. The freedom, democracy, and human rights enjoyed by all Canadians are rooted in our mutual respect for one another.
I join with you today in remembering the past, while I encourage you to continue honouring your forefathers by building a bright future for all in Canada.
A prayer for vindication, from Psalm 35:22-24
You have seen, O LORD; be not silent!
O Lord, be not far from me!
Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and let them not rejoice over me!
[...] Remember the Armenian Genocide [...]
Hello Scott,
I inadvertently found myself at a conference yesterday where this issue was raised in a Christian context. My review of the conference can be accessed by clicking on the link to this post.
The process of going from “denial” to “acknowledgement” and finally to “reconciliation” is not a simple one. Reports of the results obtained by the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission which is considered to be the best example of such an attempt is a mixed one.
The Jews of Europe were by and large peaceful and integrated members of their own societies before being carted away to their deaths and destruction.
What is never acknowledged by the
Armenians is any responsibility which they may have had in the unfortunate events that unfolded.
I am not saying that to “deny” anything but only to highlight the fact there are contemporary political motivations at work which tie the hands of the Turkish state.
With Best Wishes … C.B.
Come, Lord Jesus. Make all things new.
[...] Scott Gilbreath remembers the Armenian genocide of 1915. [...]
Hello Celal,
I read the post at your blog. That sounds like an interesting conference you attended, although some of the presentations were off-topic and lacked insight. I’d also be interested in reading the paper by Ziya Meril.
I agree that the process of going from denial to acknowledgement to reconciliation is not simple. Nevertheless, that the Turks have historical grievances against the Armenians should not, in my view, hinder the first step—from denial to acknowledgement. Why does Turkey continue to deny their actions? Turkey’s stance since the 1920s, as I understand it, is that a genocide did not occur. This seems to me unsupportable and damaging to the credibility of Turkey’s counter-claims. Germany came to terms with its misdeeds. Why can’t Turkey?
I agree that the situations of the Jews in 1930s Germany was different than that of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the 1910s. Some Armenians engaged in armed struggle against the Ottoman authorities before the genocide occurred. (Nevertheless, as I understand it, the majority of Armenians remained law-abiding, peaceful citizens.) The Armenians wanted an independent homeland, but the Ottomans sought to wipe out the Armenian people. I hope I’m not being na?ɬØve, but I find it difficult to accept that an armed revolt by a relatively small group justifies an attempt to kill every member of the larger ethnic group from which the rebels came.
I guess I don’t know what you mean by “contemporary political motivations at work which tie the hands of the Turkish state.”
Thanks for your comments.
Best regards,
Scott
[...] MARTYRS of the Twentieth Century; Remember the Armenian Genocide; Medieval Armenian cemetery destroyed …. (Various) [...]
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“…I find it difficult to accept that an armed revolt by a relatively small group justifies …”
I also find it a bit difficult to accept that a “small Group” managed to kill around 500,000 Turks during that period…
Unless the Group wasn’t that small after all.
The so called “Blue Book” that is being waved around by Armenian Pressure Groups, as a “Bible” for the Armenian Cause was created by the Wellington House (British Secret Propaganda Office)during WW1, I think that we all know what Propaganda in times of war means.
The Turkish Gov acknowledged the deaths of the Armenian as well as the Turkish People is this conflict.
Why doesn’t the Armenians do the same ?
The Turkish Gov agreed to make their archives available, why the Armenians don’t do the same instead of waving a Propaganda Book ?
This way, I would be more inclined to believe in the Armenian Cause.
The following is taken from a “non Pro-Turkish” web site “http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north367.html” in relation to the “Blue Book”:
“…The official UK position is that the massacres were “an appalling tragedy” but that the evidence is not “sufficiently unequivocal” to categorise them as genocide under the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide.”
If the Blue Book would have contained unrefutable evidence of a “Genocide against the Armenian People”, why is the UK using the term: “appalling tragedy” ?
Now if I my Parents would have been killed in such a manner as the Armenians say, and that my “proofs” would be as strong as the Armenians say, I would NOT hesitate to go to an International Court, instead of wasting those millions of dollars in International political pressure or Propaganda… Would you ???
Robert,
I find it ironic that the one source you provide, from lewrockwell.com, is in fact a lengthy column, “Gun Control and Genocide” by Gary North, arguing in support of the claim that the Armenian Genocide did indeed occur and was facilitated by the Turkish Government’s confiscating guns from the Armenians. Referring to the term “genocide”, North writes, “Reagan was the only President to have used the correct term”. Your quotation was cherry-picked right out of context.
North also ridicules your claims that Armenians killed 500,000 Turks and that the Blue Book is wartime propaganda. He also mentions that his wife’s grandfather is a survivor of the Armenian Genocide.
Maybe you need to find better sources.
Ironic indeed but then, if I would have “cherry-picked” it from a Pro-Turkish Web Site, I guess I would have been accused of being a Pro-Turkish option partisan.
You say that “Gary North redicules…”
Who is the man ???
He’s more of a Theologist or Christian Reformist than a Middle-Eastern specialized historian as far as I know…
The 500,000 Turks figure that died in those regions at that time has been acknowledged by many Historians and Countries, why should they be ridiculed ?
If we can not trust the historians nor the various Countries archives, then who can we trust ? The Blue Book ?
Based on the infos I’ve been able to gather, it is quite clear that there had been “Genocide” types of massacres in those regions at that time, from both sides, but still no proof that it has ever been sanctionned by the Gov. of the time, unless we consider the forged documents of Aram Andonian as to be the truth. Turkish Leaders used simple Ciphers in their documents, Armenians didn’t know much about it I guess, as described here:
http://www.geocities.com/t_volunteer/armenian/andonian.htm
Do you honestly believe that the Ottoman Gov. of the time woke up one morning and decided to eliminate the Armenians from its territory just for the kick of commiting a Genocide ?
Have you ever been to Turkey ?
In Istanbul today, you can see buildings with one side as a Church used by Armenians and the other side as a Cammi (Mosque) used by Muslims. Priests and Immams go to the same Public baths and discuss about their own community’s daily concerns without any animosity toward each other. Is this the kind of behaviour you would expect to see from a “Genocidal” Country ?
How many Mosques are there in Armenia ?
How many Mosques are there left in the Azerbaijan territory occupied today by the Armenians ?
My wife is, in a sense, a survivor too, her grand parents survived the Armenian Dashnak religious / ethnic cleansing of the time…
But instead of waving the “Kill all the Armenians” flag like the Armenians do regarding the Turks, she wants to see the truth come out from the WarTime archives of Turkey, Armenia, France, England, Germany, Greece and Russia, not a WarTime Propaganda Blue Book that isn’t even supported by the British Gov.
Perhaps you are right, I do need to find better sources…
Or should I say: We all need to find better sources…
[...] What heinous offence did the three fictional characters perpetrate? They discussed that old bugbear, the mass murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The crime committed by her characters is to refer to the taboo subject of mass Armenian killings in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. The Armenians call it genocide, Turks say large-scale wartime deaths. The fictional Uncle Dikran speaks of “Turkish butchers”, others talk about being “slaughtered like sheep” and claim all Turks are either nationalist or ignorant. More absurdly, some Turkish characters are charged over routine gripes about the country. [...]
[...] The Turkish government had recently prosecuted Mr Dink on charges of “insulting Turkish identity” because he spoke about the Armenian Genocide, in which forces of the Ottoman Empire engineered the deaths of about one million Armenians around the end of World War I. He had been found guilty of the charge and given a six-month suspended sentence. He was also facing additional charges arising from an article he wrote about his trial. [...]
[...] Turkey restores ancient Armenian church By StatGuy Turkey has restored a millennium-old Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, in an area of the country historically populated by ethnic Armenians. Situated on a rocky point on the island in the huge lake, the Akdamar church (at right), called the Church of Surp Khadh, or Holy Cross, was built between 915 and 921. The interior is filled with beautiful blue frescoes, while the exterior is covered with stone reliefs depicting biblical scenes. The Akdamar church, one of the most precious remnants of Armenian culture 1,000 years ago, deteriorated over the last century, a victim of neglect after Turks carried out mass killings of Armenians as the Ottoman Empire crumbled around the time of World War I. Rainwater seeped through the collapsed, conical dome, treasure-hunters dug up the basalt floor, and shepherds took potshots with rifles at the facade. [...]
The map published here is not real. There were no land called Armenia, Kurdistan etc at that time of interval. The land belonged to Ottoman Empire. And there is an important fact that you should notice. The Republic of Turkey who is Armenian’s neighbour today is not cotinuation of Ottoman Empire. You can blame the Ottoman officers if they were guilty, but please also remember that lots of Ottoman officers were deported when the Turkish Republic was founded.
You can not find a solution by perverting the facts. If you demand justice please also assert Turkish people rights, who killed by armenian gangs in 1915.
[...] This Tuesday, 24 April, is the 92nd anniversary of Medz Yeghern, "The Great Cataclysm", now recognised as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day. For more information, see my post on last year’s anniversary. [...]
Robert, what’s up with your fierce denials of the genocides?
Methinks, or mewonders, anyway, if you don’t protest too much.
Turkey’s parliament favours free speech—or not…
Turkey’s parliament has passed an amendment to the notorious Article 301, which makes “insulting Turkishness” a criminal offence. Under Article 301, Christians have been prosecuted for sharing their faith and academics and journ…