90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
By: Jon Brunberg | posted: 4/26/2005 1:00:00 AM
Turkey faces pressure from the international community to admit the atrocities commited against Armenians during the first world war as Armenians all over the world commemorates the 90th anniversary of the events known as the Armenian Genocide or Massacre. Tens of thousands of Armenians including the president and top officials filed through the towering Genocide Memorial in Yerevan on Sunday April 24.
ISN from Switzerland reports: " Armenians say at least 1 million of their ethnic kin died between 1915-17 as a result of a deliberate policy of extermination. They say the policy was initiated by the Committee of Union and Progress (Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti), or CUP, which then ruled over the empire. Ankara claims the death toll is grossly inflated and that 300’000 Armenians died during these years. It also says the deaths were the result of negligence, interethnic strife, or wartime operations. It says the CUP leaders - also known as the Young Turks - had no intention of wiping out the empire’s largest remaining Christian community. While admitting to the massive deportations of 1915 - which followed the massacre of 200’000 Greeks - Turkey’s official historiography says the transfers were aimed at preventing Armenians from collaborating with Russia. Tsarist Russia was then at war with the Ottoman Empire and its German ally. Turkey’s official historiography also asserts that more than 500’000 Turks died at the hands of Armenians between 1910-1922. Up until the late 19th century, Armenians were referred to in the empire as the “Millet-i sadika”, or loyal community. However, this perception changed after Russia’s expansion in the Caucasus and the rise of nationalism throughout Europe. This led to the idea that Christians were the agents of Western powers seeking to partition the empire. This perception remains vivid in today’s Turkey". Article
Charles Tannock writes in a Commentary in the Lebanese Daily Star on Tuesday, April 26, 2005: "The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan and to safeguard its Armenian identity.
Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This is not healthy for the development of Armenia's democracy and weak economy. Nor does Armenia's continued dependence on Russia bode well for regional cooperation, given the deep resentment of Russian meddling in neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan.
There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia and the region. The future will begin only when Turkey - like Germany in the past and Serbia and Croatia now - repudiates its policy of denial and faces up to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past". article
IMAGES FROM THE CEREMONY IN YEREVAN ON APRIL 24
Armenian Daily
Armenian Diaspora
LIGHT A CANDLE
135355 virtual candles has been lit at this site to commemorate the victims of the genocide
MEMORIAL INFO
The Armenian genocide memorial at Tsitsernakaberd
This image has been released into the public domain by its creator, Fpga from the English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Tsitsernakaberd.jpg]
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