The genocide of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks and Kurds between 1915 and 1923 is one of the 20th century's earliest mass atrocities. Turkey has never owned up to the genocide. To this day, Turkey not only denies that a genocide took place. It prosecutes those in Turkey who claim it has and bullies other nations against acknowledging the genocide ion their official pronouncements--as Turkey effectively has bullied the United States government into near silence on that matter. Here's a guide to the history of the genocide--and the controversies it continues to generate, thanks mostly to Turkey's denials.
1. The Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turks - Facts and Figures
Ashnag via Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studioashnag/)
The genocide is a historical fact rigorously documented—except in Turkey, where it is documented in the country’s archives but officially denied in its histories and politicians’ public declarations.
2. Barack Obama and the Armenian Genocide
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
On the campaign trail, Barack Obama was unequivocal: he spoke in support of a bill in Congress to recognize the Armenian genocide as such, and said he would sign it as president. Since becoming president, however, he has refused to refer to the Armenian genocide using that word.
- Obama, Turkey and the Armenian Genocide
- January 2008: Obama Declares Himself in Favor of Armenian Genocide Resolution
- Obama Breaks His Promise on the Armenian Genocide
- Obama Refuses to Use the word "Genocide: Statement on Armenian Remembrance Day (2009)
- Obama's Speech to the Turkish Parliament on Islam, Turkey and Armenia (April 2009)
- Obama in Turkey: At the Gates of Islam
3. Turkey's Genocide Problem and the U.S. House's
White House photo
The American Congress for several years has attempted to pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide. The Turkish lobby and the timidity of presidents, including Bill Clinton, Georgw W. Bush and Barack Obama, has successfully stopped the resolution from passing.
4. 1915 - Allies Condemn Turkish Genocide of Armenians
State Department via Armenian National Institute
Full text of joint declaration by England, France and Russia condemning Ottoman Turkey for its genocide of Armenians as "crimes against humanity."
5. Why Isn't Turkey's Holocaust-Denying Condemned Like Iran's?
Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
When Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust, he is justly and roundly condemned by the world community. When Turkey denies the Armenian Holocaust, which Ottoman Turks perpetrated, the world community cowers.
6. How Turkey and Armenia Reconciled
© Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008 (www.oneworld.am/)
In 1977, Egypt’s Anwar el Sadat went to Jerusalem and spoke to the Israeli Knesset, ending 30 years of war between Israel and Egypt. In 1993, Israel’s Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn, opening the way to a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians. And on Sept. 6, 2008, Turkish President Abdullah Gul traveled to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, at Armenian President Serge Sargsyan’s invitation, and attended a soccer match between Turkey and Armenia, a momentous events in the thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations.