IS THE OTTOMAN - ERA MASSACRE OF ARMENIANS A GENOCIDE?

 Politics is about power more than the truth, about winning more than being right.

I am not a politician, I hate politics, but I was born in Eastern Anatolia and I have a story to tell. Today I wanted to share some facts and my thoughts about genocide in general. 

First, it should be noticed that the conflict between Ottomans and Armenians started in 1915, at which time genocide was not even existed as a legal concept. The term of genocide was coined in 1944 by a Polish Jewish lawyer Lemkin, by combining Greek word for race “geno,” and Latin word for killing “cide,” to define the Holocaust as perpetrated by Nazis. Genocide became a legal concept only after, the Nuremberg tribunal put Nazis on trial following WW II. The term genocide was incorporated as a crime into the UN treaty in 1948.

So then, by strict definition, genocide means the deliberate killing of a group of people, just because they are belonging to different race or religion, without any other existing reasons or provocations. Genocide is not only a horrible international crime, but also is a crime against humanity and against our shared human values. As we know it, massacres occur in every uprising and every war. Therefore, every massacre should not be called genocide without a trial, by an independent court of justice for the sake of the truth and universal justice.

Armenians and Ottoman Turks, Kurds and other ethnic groups lived in Eastern Anatolia, which was once belong to greater Armenia, in peace for centuries, under the zenith years Ottoman Empire. So much so that many Armenians’ last names are derived from Turkish names. They shared the same culture, same lifestyles and same dishes, despite their different religions.

This so called “Armenian genocide,” occurred in 1915, during the WW I and, the declining years of Ottoman Empire.  During the war, the Ottomans were aligned with Germany, sought to prevent Armenian’s   collaboration with Russians (their arch old enemy) to take over a large part of Eastern Anatolia, which was widely believed that it was instigated by Russians intrigues and involvement. 

To prevent Armenians to collaborate with the Russians, Ottoman Sultan ordered the forced deportations of all Armenian from Anatolia, with the help of local peoples and tribesmen. Armenians opposed to be deported by force. Uprising and fighting started. Consequently, many Armenians died of fighting, starvation and diseases, so did many Turks, Kurds and local tribesmen. The real death count for both sides is not known, because no record was kept. It is only an estimate that 1.5 million of Armenians died and 500,000 survived and eventually immigrated elsewhere, to form the most widespread Armenian diaspora in the world.

Not all Turkish families agreed with the forced deportation of Armenians. I remember a story my father told me, about my grandfather who was a big landowner and sheep and cattle farmer. He always like to hire Armenian workers because of their hard work and reliability. One day, Ottoman government officials and sergeant in charge came to his village and wanted all Armenian workers to surrender as prisoners. My grandfather denied having any employees of Armenian descent. He said that all his workers were Sunni Muslim. Then the officials wanted to see if all his workers were circumcised. My grandfather responded by saying, “your honor, they would be ashamed to show you their genitals, they would rather die than to be disrespectful to you.” By doing so, my grandfather was able to save and house all his Armenian workers.

As I see it, genocide is a very serious international crime. Its casual use as a phrase for political purposes diminishes its importance and affects. Only an International Court of Justice, the higher court of United Nations, after a thorough investigation should decide if the horrible crime of genocide is committed.

No states, politicians, organizations or persons should be allowed to be “judge and jury” at the same time, and without a trial, pass a judgement for their political interest, to declare any past or present wars was, or is genocide.