Assyrian Genocide

The Assyrian and Armenian peoples were itching for autonomy. No longer did they want to be under complete control by their Muslim rulers. The Young Turks, who established firm control over the Ottoman sultanate by 1908 under the banner of secular pan-Turkism, were growing concerned with the attitudes of the Christians of the Ottoman empire. More and more evidence crept to Istanbul that the Russians began aiding the Assyrians and Armenians with troops and money. The new Ottoman government viewed the Assyrian and the Armenian communities as a threat to the state and the Turkish nation. They believed that by ethnically cleansing most of Anatolia of these non-Muslim peoples by deporting them to the unforgiving Syrian desert, they could rid themselves of these rebels. These deportations became known as the 'Death Marches'. These marches lead to the holocaust of an entire people.

During these deportations in what would later be known as the Assyrian Genocide, Assyrians and Armenians died of systematic starvation and dehydration. Those who tried to flee were executed in public which accounted for a large portion of the fatalities of the Armenians and Assyrians. By December 4th, 1922, the Assyro-Chaldean National Council declared that approximately 275,000 "Assyro-Chaldeans" died between 1914 and 1918. However, scholars today think that around 500,000 to 750,000 Assyrians died during the course of genocide.

The Ottoman Empire took part in the First World War from 29 October 1914. Half of Assyrians prior to the Assyrian genocide lived in present-day southern Turkey before the beginning of WWI. The Young Turks, the actual controllers of the Ottoman Empire, had taken power just five years before WW1 began and alongside their conservative Islamists counterparts decided to join the war on the side central powers. The Assyrians in what is now territory of the Republic of Turkey, lived in the southern provinces of Hakkari, Şırnak and Mardin. These areas also had a relatively large Kurdish minority but were dominated by Armenians.

By April 1915, the Assyrian genocide began. Kurdish militiamen cleansed almost all of Southern Turkey of it's Assyrians. The Young Turks turned a blind eye to the slaughtering of these peoples. A prominent leader of the Assyrian church, Reverend Gabriel in Tel Mozilt was among the thousands of victims of the slaughter. In rows of four captives would be shot by Kurdish militiamen and Ottoman soldiers. Men, women, children and the elderly all perished.

During the course of the supposed Assyrian Genocide, Arabs and Turks who resided in Assyrian and Armenian villages were killed alongside their neighbors by Kurdish militiamen. Arab and Turkish imams were reported by the British to have been trying to save their Christian neighbors from the death marches. The arguments of the Imams went unheard by the secularists in control. A further 5,000 died in the winter of 1915 during the death marches.

Today, the genocide of the Assyrians is not officially recognized by any country, in contrast to the Armenian genocide by many countries and international organizations was recognized. Assyrian historians explain that the reason for this is that Assyrians held no or very little political power in the 20th century, being a very small group of people in comparison to the Armenians and Turks. Moreover, the slaughter of Christians in Asia Minor affiliated with the controversial Armenian genocide.

The only governments that have allowed the Assyrians to build a monument to commemorate the Assyrian genocide are France, Sweden and the United States. The government of Sweden has pledged to pay all costs for a future Assyrian Genocide monument, after strong lobbying by the large Assyrian community in Sweden led by Konstantin Sabo. In the United States are two Assyrian Genocide monuments were created: one in Chicago and one in Tarzana (California). In France there is an Assyrian Genocide memorial in Sarcelles, near Paris.

References:

"Assyrian Genocide -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 09 June 2009 .

"Assyrian Genocide." LookLex [Travel guides / Encyclopaedia / Language course]. 09 June 2009 .

"Assyrian Genocide." PHOTOS OF CONSTANTINOPLE - HISTORY OF BYZANTIUM. 09 June 2009 .

Assyrian International News Agency. 09 June 2009

"Assyrische genocide - Wikipedia." Wikipedia, de vrije encyclopedie. 09 June 2009 .