Armenia: A Victim of Genocide

Nestled among the Caspian and Black Sea, Turkey, Georgia, Iran, and Azerbaijan is the mountainous, landlocked country of Armenia or more officially known as the Republic of Armenia. As a former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is today a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with a population of around 3,200,000. The Armenian people are close with their Christian faith, being the country's official religion. As far as politics, history, and religion go, Armenia is regarded as a European country; however, its location being on the southern Caucasus indicates that the country is a transcontinental country with an arbitrary border connecting Europe and Asia (Armenia, 2007). It is quite difficult to define exactly where the border between the two continents exists. Armenia can be considered quite a beautiful but small country. "The country spans 29,743 square kilometers (11, 490 square miles, about the size of Belgium or Maryland) of mountainous terrain centered around the Ararat Valley, the heart of the Armenian nation since biblical times. Ancient geographers called the Armenian Highlands the 'Island of Mountains' of the 'Rooftop of Asia Minor' (ATDA, 2007, p.1)." An important and interesting fact about Armenia is the fact that it is believed that Mt. Ararat is where Noah's Ark came to rest after the great flood, which is in Armenia. As mentioned before, Armenia is mostly mountainous and it contains a few forests and some fast flowing rivers. The climate there is usually continental. It is hot, dry, and sunny in the summer, and lasts from June to September. The winter is terribly cold and the snowfall is abundant. The spring is short and the autumn is long and full of beautiful foliage (2007). Although it is a beautiful, prospering country, Armenia has a history that is nothing short heart breaking and frightening. When the word holocaust or genocide is heard, usually the first place one thinks of is Nazi Germany and murdering of the Jewish people. Sadly, millions of Armenians were exterminated as well by the Turks. Here is their unfortunate story.

Though it may seem astonishing, during the days of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks and the Armenians coexisted with each other in harmony for many, many years; however, Armenians were second class citizens. They paid special taxes and endured tough times, but rarely there was any violence. As time went on, Nationalism came into existence and with it brought much self-consciousness to many ethnic groups. Lo and behold, the Ottoman Empire began to collapse. Armenians being a Christian minority, they were not as successful as others at gaining independence which caused the Armenians to become singled out as the only major Christian group left. Naturally, the Armenians also wanted their independence. But they were trapped among the Turks, some who were dreaming of a Pan-Turkic empire that would stretch all the way into Asia and the others who were nationalist Turks who wanted to make them disappear (Kojian, 2007).

Other European nations saw the way the Armenians were being treated and they requested that improvements be made for them. That is where the problems began because from then on out, the Armenians were treated worse. The year was 1894. From then until 1896 hundreds of thousands of Armenians were ordered to be killed by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. This came to be known as the Hamidian Massacres. In 1908, the Sultan

government was overthrown by young, progressive Turks who had gained the trust of the Armenian people. Enver, Jemal, and Talat were extreme nationalists and took complete dictator control after promising reforms to the Armenians. Their cruel and horrible intentions were to fully eliminate the Armenian race because they were part of the Turkish group who possessed the dream of a pan-Turkish empire. The young Turk government used World War One to conceal and carry on with their evil strategy. On April 24, 1915, hundreds of leaders from Armenia were summoned and gathered up to Instanbul where they were murdered. The poor Armenian people were left with no leaders and they were to soon follow across the Ottoman Empire (2007).

From village to village, the Armenians cooperated with their government's plan to 'relocate them for their own good.' At first they were only asked to turn in their hunting weapons for the war effort. Next, communities were required to meet quotas and would resort to buying additional weapons from the Turks to meet their quota. The government turned around and claimed that the weapons were proof that the Armenians were planning a rebellion. They started to draft men who were able bodied for the war effort. However, these men never made it to war because they were killed or worked to death immediately. The villages now contained only women, children, and the elderly. The death marches began when they were told to gather only what they could carry for a temporary relocation and escorted by Turkish Gendarmes. As the Turkish Gendarmes led them across the desert, they either turned their heads or led the horrific atrocities. The Armenians, if not first murdered, were raped, starved, dehydrated, or kidnapped. The destination they were marching toward was the Syrian Desert, but there was nothing waiting there for them but death because if they somehow survived the death march, they were killed upon arrival. There were some, however, that did manage to escape the empire, usually through help from 'good Turks,' from foreign missionaries who recorded much of these happenings as well as from Arabs (2007).

When the war ended, the Turkish government held criminal trials and found Enver, Jemal, and Talat guilty in abstentia. Eventually, all three were put to death by the Armenians. Turkey then agreed to allow the United States to create the border between the Turkish government and the newly established Republic of Armenia. The way Armenia was divided was called Wilisonian Armenia. Most of the six western provinces of the Ottoman were still included and also a gigantic coastline on the Black Sea. In addition, there was to be a French mandate called Cilicia, a separate Armenian region on the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, newly returned Armenian refugees and forces were pushed from these lands by the forces of Mustafa Kemal. The Armenian victims were insulted by the writing of a new treaty because they were basically told to never return and never expect any compensation. In an agreement with the Soviet Union, the Kars and Ardahan provinces were taken as well (2007).

Today and in the past few decades, the Turkish government has been denying that the horrid genocide ever took place. In addition, they have spent millions of dollars to expand that view (2007). There have even been books written about Turkey's denial and feelings on the event. One such book is a novel called "The Daydreaming Boy," written by Micheline Aharonian Marcom. In essence, it is about the impact the genocide had on the individual. "To Turkey, the event that Armenians call genocide was the unfortunate function of an environment of conflict in which Christians and Muslims alike died. Modern day Turkey would have to overcome generations of indoctrination to concede officially that its forefathers were racist murderers. Moreover, Turkish recognition of the genocide could expose the country to the risk of massive financial (as well as land) reparation claims, similar to those faced by Germany and German companies (Iskyan, 2004, p. 2)." Some countries are now starting to recognize the Armenian event as a genocide, which of course does not set well with Turkey. One of the most recent countries to do so was Canada. "Aris Babikian of the Armenian National Committee of Canada said he was elated by the vote, which Armenians in Canada had spent 25 years waiting for. 'This victory is not only for the victims of the Armenian genocide and the Armenian people, it is a victory for justice, truth, reconciliation, and healing,' he said. Canada joins a small number of other countries including France, Russia, Argentina, Greece, and Uruguay, in describing the events that occurred in Eastern Anatolia under the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923 as genocide. Turkey has furiously rejected the idea that the deaths and deportation of Armenians at that time can be described as such (Toronto Star, 2004, p. 2)."

After 50 years passed, the survivors of the genocide and their children all around the world marked April 24^th as a commemorating day because it was on the 24^th in 1915 that the full scale massacres began. Today there are monuments and plaques and dedications all around the globe to honor and remember those that perished (Kohuan, 2007). Hundreds of thousands of people gather each year at Armenia's capital holding carnations, tulips, daffodils, and wreaths to remember the horrible killings that took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey over 90 years ago. From the hill where they gather, they can see Mount Ararat, now in eastern turkey which is where the Armenians claim their people were slaughtered. "The mountain is a potent symbol for the Christian nation but it lies out of reach across a fortified frontier (Toronto Star, 2005, p. 1)." Even in America, thousands of Armenian-Americans gather for ceremonies and United States President George W. Bush has even issued a condolence statement (2005).

Hopefully, Armenia can continue to prosper as a country. Not all areas are hopeful though. At one time the hope was that hundreds of thousands of dispersed Armenians would flock back to the country. However, more than a million have departed for Russia and lands in the West. Thirty percent of their working age population now lives else where (Toronto Star, 2005). As far as the horrible genocide, well some want Turkey to pay. Who knows how long the strife and hard feelings will be shared? Hopefully all those that survived and their families can move forward with the best life possible.