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| Armenian waves national flag along with Syrian national flag during a march north of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, commemorating the 98th anniversary of the Ottoman Turkish genocide against the Armenian people on April 24, 2013 (AFP/Getty Images). |
(BBZ/SOAD) System of a Down "Holy Mountains." Hitler once said, "No one remembers the Armenian Genocide" thereby offering a rationale for another mass killing that the world would tolerate by looking the other way.
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| Little Armenia, L.A. protest (latimes.com/KTLA) |
Thousands commemorated the 99th anniversary (2014) of the Armenian genocide on Thursday, with several high-profile events scheduled across Southern California. The observances come just days after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to Armenian descendants of the massacre -- an atrocity that Turkey still refuses to describe as a "genocide."
Roughly 1.5 million Armenians were killed starting in 1915 amid the chaotic collapse of the Ottoman Empire. With among the largest Armenian diasporas in the world, Glendale and East Hollywood will host a number of events Thursday, including a rally expected to draws thousands to Hollywood Blvd. in Little Armenia. A separate demonstration is planned for outside the Turkish consulate on Wilshire Blvd. in L.A., where the prime minister’s recent comment will likely be a hot topic. “We do not see this as being something that is an adequate and appropriate acceptance of responsibility for the international crime that had been committed,” Berdj Karapetian, chairman of the Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America, told the
Glendale News-Press in response to Erdogan’s comments.
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That Armenian Genocide Thingy
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| WQ interviewee at NUU |
Today, Wednesday April 24th, marks the annual remembrance day for the estimated 1.5 million Armenians who died in the former Ottoman Empire, present day Turkey.
President Obama's official statement for
Armenian Remembrance Day did not include the word "genocide" despite his 2008 campaign promise to recognize the deaths of Armenians as such.
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides," Obama said in 2008. "I intend to be that president."
Several California legislators including Rep. Brad Sherman and Rep. Adam Schiff called on Obama to use the word "genocide," but so far the White House has resisted.
Why is using the term genocide still a politically touchy subject?
Is the US concerned about preserving its strategic relationship with Turkey? What would be the political fallout if the president did use it? How is this omission seen by the local Armenian and Turkish communities?
LISTEN (17:44)
The first genocide of the 20th century
(PBS) This 2006 television documentary exploring the Ottoman Empire killings of more than 1,000,000 Armenians during World War I was broadcast by most of the 348 PBS affiliate stations on April 17, 2006. Because of the controversial nature of the subject in Turkey, PBS attempted to give both sides a voice and produced a four expert panel discussion to be aired immediately afterwards. However, due to intense lobbying efforts by Armenian groups and some members of Congress, the follow-up panel discussion was cancelled on a third of the stations broadcasting the documentary over concerns of offending human rights groups and the descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors.
Killing on an industrial scale, it occurred in 1915 within the now collapsed Ottoman Empire. More than 1,000,000 innocent people were massacred in the event.
Ottoman-Turk soldiers marched people through the Syria desert, depriving them of food and water with the intention killing them (like U.S. soldiers did to Native Americans). The same soldiers sexually assaulted and raped young Armenian girls. And although the Allied powers of WW I knew what was going on, no substantive help was provided to victims.
Where does Israel, busy working on the Palestinians, stand? With Turkey
Today the Republic of Turkey denies that a "genocide" took place. Only 20 countries officially recognize the event for what it was -- including Italy, France, Canada, and Russia. It is noteworthy that the United States and Israel are not listed among them, even though official documents called it a genocide, and then-U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan mentioned it in a public address.
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| "Like the genocide of the [Christian] Armenians before it, and the genocide of the [Buddhist] Cambodians which followed it -- and like too many other such persecutions of too many other peoples -- the lessons of the [Jewish] Holocaust must never be forgotten..." Pres. R. Reagan |
Nowadays a massively popular California Armenian-American rock band does more to spread the word than practically any other source. System of a Down is widely known for songs expressing their views on the Armenian Genocide and the criminal U.S. "war" on terror.
Who cares about truth when business with Turkey is at stake?
"The constant, ridiculous denial of the Armenian Genocide, by not only Turkey but by consecutive U.S. administrations, made me aware of the world of disinformation and injustices around the globe. The Armenian Genocide was the first major genocide of the 20th century, and many people believe that had the Ottoman Turkish been punished for their crime of genocide after WWI, that Hitler would not have ventured his own."
- VIDEO: Turkish Prof. Ugor Ungor talks about the genocide The Genocide Education Project hosted Prof. Ungor's lecture based on his two recent books, The Making of Modern Turkey, which addresses how Western Armenia became part of the Turkish state, and Confiscation and Destruction, about Turkey's seizure of Armenian Property. There was not a single "genocide" but a series of policies from 1913-1950 as successive Turkish governments subjected the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire to violent policies of ethnic "homogenization" and forced assimilation.
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- VIDEO: Serj Tankian and activists protest Obama fundraiser in L.A. shouting, "Obama, keep your promise!"
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