by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 14, 2015
All Rights Reserved.

              Nearing the 100th anniversary of the Ottoman Turks massacre of 1.5 million Armenians April 24, today’s Ankara-based Turkish government refuses to take responsibility for what historians call a “genocide.”  Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Favutoglu ripped Pope Francis describing the tragedy as “genocide,” prompting Ankara to summon the Vatican ambassador and recall the Turkish envoy to the Holy See.  Calling Pope Francis’s remarks “one-sided” and “inappropriate,” Turkey has been threatening foreign governments for years if they dare to accept what scholars regard as well-documented history of the Turkish genocide of Armenians during WWI.  Turkey’s genocide denial would be comparable to German Chancellor Angela Merkel denying any modern-day German connection to Hitler’s Third Reich and genocide of some 6 million Jews in WWII.

             Facts are stubborn things once said President John Adams, regardless of how the Turks or any other groups wish to deny them.  Like the Nazis in WWII, the Ottoman Turks rounded up Armenians in Constantinople [today’s Instanbul], tortured and murdered unknown numbers and deported thousands in what became known as “death marches” into the Syrian desert.  Whether admitted to or not, the Ottomans joined the Germans in WWI, hoping to hold onto territory in the Balkans but, more importantly, defended the Gallipoli peninsula and Dardanelles strait from Russian, British and French intruders.  Ottoman authorities viewed the Armenians as aligned with the Russian Bolsheviks [communists] seeking to topple Tsar Nicholas II.  Today’s Turkish rulers want no part of revisiting the sins of their Ottoman forefathers, including branding Armenians as Bolshevik traitors and spies.

             Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, simply stated what historians outside Turkey have been saying for nearly 100 years:  That the Ottoman Turks systematic massacre of Armenians was a genocide.  “Mind your own business, Pope,” declared the pro-Ankara-government Star daily.  “The New Crusade,” read the headline of Turkey’s Aydinlik daily, expecting the Pope to butt out of the 100th commemoration of Armenian Genocide.  Turkey blames the 1915 Armenian massacre on Tsar Nicholas II attempt in WWI to takeover parts of Anatolia in Eastern Turkey.  Turkey denies that Armenians were singled out by Sultan Mehmed V for aligning themselves with Russian Bosheviks in WWI.  Armenia and the Armenian diaspora aren’t as concerned about the “why” but how, when and where the Ottoman Turks rounded up and systematically exterminated their ancestors.

             Ankara’s government, led by 61-year-old Islamic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan flatly rejects any Armenian claims to genocide by the Ottoman Turks.  Erdogan and Favutoglu insist Armenians in the Gallipoli Peninsula, Anatolia and eastern Turnkey were swept up in the WWI battles by the Ottoman Turks against the Russian Empire.  “It is unlikely that Turkey will change its position after Pope Francis’s statement,” said March Pierini, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe.  Erdogan has threatened the U.S. and European Union that any formal recognition by Washington and Brussels would result in a break-off of diplomatic relations.  Recognizing the 1915 Armenian genocide “clearly entails the risk of deterioration of the climate between Turkey and Western countries,” said Pierini   Whatever Turkey’s threats, Western countries led by the U.S. and EU must get history right not placate Ankara.

             Turkish officials refuse to acknowledge on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide that their ancestors bear any responsibility.  “There is no period of Time in Turkey’s history that it would be ashamed of,” said Europe Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir, rejecting the Pope’s statements as “null-and-void.”  Historians consider the Armenian massacre by the Ottoman Turks as the first genocide of the 20th century.  Armenians want their genocide recognized by world governments—especially Turkey—just like the Germans accepted responsibility for the Holocaust.  Attempted Rep. Robert J. Dodd (R-Ill.) and 44 U.S. lawmakers to pass a Congressional an Armenian Genocide Resolution won’t be easy with all the lobbying against it.  President Barack Obama hasn’t yet fulfilled his 2008 promise to recognize the Armenian genocide during his presidency.

             U.S. and EU officials must officially join 21 countries from the around the globe recognizing for posterity the 1915 Ottoman Empire genocide against Armenians.  “As president I will recognize the Armenian genocide,” Obama said while campaigning for president in 2008.  Fearing repercussions from Ankara isn’t enough to avoid recognizing historic facts about the Armenian genocide.  “America deserves a leader that speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides.  I intend to be that president,” Obama said in 2008.  One the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, only Pope Francis has told the truth.  Whatever the consequences, the historical record must be officially recognized by the United States.  With the U.S. housing the largest part of the Armenian diaspora next to Armenia, the time is long overdue to recognize the genocide.

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