The Armenian Genocide

Why in news?

This year (2020) marks the 105^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

What is the Armenian Genocide?

The Armenian Genocide is called the first genocide of the 20^th century.
It refers to the systematic annihilation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917.
Approximately 1.5 million Armenians died during the genocide, something Turkey has consistently denied.
The Armenian diaspora marks April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

Why did the Armenian Genocide occur?

The Armenian Genocide is a direct result of the developments during the First World War.
Although Armenians had always faced discrimination, harassment and persecution in Asia Minor, this heightened around 1908.
The Armenians were an educated and wealthy community, characteristics that drew resentment from others.
The Armenians in the Ottoman empire were Christians by faith.
The Ottoman Caliphate feared that they would bear allegiance to Russia with similar religious affiliations than the Ottoman Empire.
Hamidian Massacres (1894–1896) - It is the first state-sanctioned pogrom which is a result of the continued hostility towards Armenians.
[Pogrom - An organized massacre of a particular ethnic group]
The Hamidian Massacres were a prelude to the Armenian Genocide.
But, the reigning monarch, Abdul Hamid II was never held accountable for the massacres.

Who were the Young Turks?

In 1908, a political reform movement that called itself the Young Turks formed of intellectuals and revolutionaries.
It led a rebellion against Abdul Hamid II in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy in favour of a constitutional government.
When the monarchy was overthrown, Armenians believed they may finally get a chance at equality in the state.
However, as the political ideology of the Young Turks changed, they became less tolerant of Armenians.
The Russo-Turkish wars and the conflict in the Balkans and Russia further increased hostilities against the Armenians.

What happened during World War I?

After the World War I broke out in November 1914, the Ottoman Turks participated in the war, siding with Germany.
The Armenians began organising volunteer battalions to fight for Russia against the Ottoman Turks.
This resulted in the Ottoman Turks engaging in a mass-removal campaign of Armenians from the border areas along the Eastern Front.

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman Turkish government officials executed many Armenian intellectuals.
It was the start of the Armenian Genocide.
As the Armenian were forced to walk for days in the deserts of Syria and Arabia, many died in the journey.
They faced brutality in concentration camps across Syria and Iraq.
Armenians in villages were burned in large groups and were intentionally drowned in the Black Sea.

What happened in the aftermath?

Many documents and evidence pertaining to the Armenian Genocide were destroyed a few years before and after the end of the war.
Many Armenians were displaced.
They fled to countries around the world seeking refuge.
Diplomats posted in the region during the Armenian Genocide had documented the occurrences in personal diaries and official records.
Displaced Armenians were not permitted to reacquire the property that they were forced to leave behind during the genocide.

Does Turkey recognise the Armenian Genocide?

Turkey has dismissed the use of the term “Armenian genocide”.
In 2007, then Turkish Prime Minister, called for an alternative term to be used for the ‘Genocide’ - 1915 Olayları, the ‘Events of 1915’.
In Turkey, intellectuals who have openly written about the Armenian Genocide have faced violence, arrest and have even been killed.
As of 2020, 32 countries and Parliaments have formally recognised the Armenian Genocide.
Only Turkey and Azerbaijan openly deny its occurrence.
Remaining countries, including India, have not officially recognised the Armenian genocide.

Source: The Indian Express