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DENIAL IS AN ASSAULT ON HISTORY
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
Raffi Sarkissian
Contributed to The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Nov. 21 2013, 7:00 AM EST
Last updated Thursday, Nov. 21 2013, 7:00 AM EST
11 comments
In April, 1915, two events unfolded that redefined the limits of
man's inhumanity toward his fellow man.
On April 22, 1915, German forces at Ypres, Belgium, launched lethal
chlorine gas shells at the trenches of opposing French forces, thus
introducing humanity to the horror of chemical warfare.
Two days later, on April 24, 1915, the Young Turk government of the
Ottoman Empire ordered the arrest of Armenian community leaders in
Constantinople as a prelude to its campaign to rid the empire of its
indigenous Armenian population, thus introducing the world to the
spectre of industrial-scale genocide. The international response to
these two events has influenced future events in very different ways.
As we were tragically reminded by recent events in Syria, the
world has drawn a red line on the use of chemical weapons in
conflict. International condemnation of chemical weapons after the
First World War was so severe that the Second World War's combatants
almost never used them on the battlefield. And yet, the world's silence
on the Armenian genocide emboldened the Nazis as they planned to rid
Europe of its Jewish and Roma populations.
If the international community expects to make genocide as intolerable
as chemical warfare, it must collectively commemorate the events of
1915 to 1923 and condemn their denial by Turkey's government.
The Turkish Republic began executing its denial campaign at the time
of its founding in 1923. It reinvented Ottoman history and therefore
failed to learn and teach the lessons of genocide. Minorities continued
to be persecuted and their historical presence in Asia Minor erased.
Today, Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is one of many mechanisms
of Turkey's denial. This law criminalizes insulting the "Turkish
Nation." Referring to the Armenian case as genocide qualifies. Turkish
intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, have been
punished under this law. In 2006, Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink was prosecuted and received a six-month suspended sentence. He
consequently became a target for extremists in Turkey, who assassinated
him a year later.
The Turkish government's denial is also an assault on Canada's
history. Canadians have been aware of the plight of Ottoman Armenians
since the late 19th century and have provided aid. The Globe and
Mail's predecessor, the Globe, led humanitarian aid campaigns after
the 1895-96 massacre of 300,000, the 1909 massacre of 30,000 and the
1915-23 genocide of 1.5 million.
Public support for the Armenians inspired Canada's government to accept
a proposal that allowed some orphaned boys and girls to be brought to
Canada. Between 1923 and 1927, 109 young survivors of the genocide
were settled on a farm in Georgetown, Ont. By providing assistance
to non-British Commonwealth refugees, the Armenian Boys' Farm Home
was the first international humanitarian effort of its kind in Canada.
This shared history gave Canada the confidence to stand up to Turkish
pressure and recognize the Armenian genocide in 2006.
Nearly 100 years after the first use of poison gas on Europe's
battlefields, the world has made it clear that chemical weapons use
is unacceptable and will be punished. Unfortunately, the same cannot
be said about genocide and genocide denial. Combatting denial is the
first step to drawing a red line against genocide. Commemoration,
education and justice are crucial as we stand at the doorstep of the
100th anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century.
Raffi Sarkissian is founder and chair of the Sara Corning Centre for
Genocide Education.
From: A. Papazian
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
Raffi Sarkissian
Contributed to The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Nov. 21 2013, 7:00 AM EST
Last updated Thursday, Nov. 21 2013, 7:00 AM EST
11 comments
In April, 1915, two events unfolded that redefined the limits of
man's inhumanity toward his fellow man.
On April 22, 1915, German forces at Ypres, Belgium, launched lethal
chlorine gas shells at the trenches of opposing French forces, thus
introducing humanity to the horror of chemical warfare.
Two days later, on April 24, 1915, the Young Turk government of the
Ottoman Empire ordered the arrest of Armenian community leaders in
Constantinople as a prelude to its campaign to rid the empire of its
indigenous Armenian population, thus introducing the world to the
spectre of industrial-scale genocide. The international response to
these two events has influenced future events in very different ways.
As we were tragically reminded by recent events in Syria, the
world has drawn a red line on the use of chemical weapons in
conflict. International condemnation of chemical weapons after the
First World War was so severe that the Second World War's combatants
almost never used them on the battlefield. And yet, the world's silence
on the Armenian genocide emboldened the Nazis as they planned to rid
Europe of its Jewish and Roma populations.
If the international community expects to make genocide as intolerable
as chemical warfare, it must collectively commemorate the events of
1915 to 1923 and condemn their denial by Turkey's government.
The Turkish Republic began executing its denial campaign at the time
of its founding in 1923. It reinvented Ottoman history and therefore
failed to learn and teach the lessons of genocide. Minorities continued
to be persecuted and their historical presence in Asia Minor erased.
Today, Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is one of many mechanisms
of Turkey's denial. This law criminalizes insulting the "Turkish
Nation." Referring to the Armenian case as genocide qualifies. Turkish
intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, have been
punished under this law. In 2006, Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink was prosecuted and received a six-month suspended sentence. He
consequently became a target for extremists in Turkey, who assassinated
him a year later.
The Turkish government's denial is also an assault on Canada's
history. Canadians have been aware of the plight of Ottoman Armenians
since the late 19th century and have provided aid. The Globe and
Mail's predecessor, the Globe, led humanitarian aid campaigns after
the 1895-96 massacre of 300,000, the 1909 massacre of 30,000 and the
1915-23 genocide of 1.5 million.
Public support for the Armenians inspired Canada's government to accept
a proposal that allowed some orphaned boys and girls to be brought to
Canada. Between 1923 and 1927, 109 young survivors of the genocide
were settled on a farm in Georgetown, Ont. By providing assistance
to non-British Commonwealth refugees, the Armenian Boys' Farm Home
was the first international humanitarian effort of its kind in Canada.
This shared history gave Canada the confidence to stand up to Turkish
pressure and recognize the Armenian genocide in 2006.
Nearly 100 years after the first use of poison gas on Europe's
battlefields, the world has made it clear that chemical weapons use
is unacceptable and will be punished. Unfortunately, the same cannot
be said about genocide and genocide denial. Combatting denial is the
first step to drawing a red line against genocide. Commemoration,
education and justice are crucial as we stand at the doorstep of the
100th anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century.
Raffi Sarkissian is founder and chair of the Sara Corning Centre for
Genocide Education.
From: A. Papazian