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GRANDFATHER WAS 'GENOCIDE' VICTIM
Belfast Telegraph, Ireland
Feb 16 2015
A Northern Ireland man who believes his grandfather was killed and
buried in an Armenian mass grave has called on the British and Irish
governments to recognise the deaths as genocide.
Paul Manook said his grandfather was lined up alongside other men in
a village in modern-day eastern Turkey by Ottoman Turkish soldiers
a century ago. He was never seen again.
Turkey denies Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million people died in
an act of genocide during the First World War when troops targeted
the Christian minority.
Dr Manook said: "Because of the geopolitics of the region the UK
does not want to touch this. Ireland is a small country, probably
they will follow the UK because they are a small country and there
are quite a lot of links together."
Turkey has resisted widespread calls for it to recognise as genocide
the 1915-16 killings, which followed mass deportations, but apologised
for the deaths.
According to the UN, genocide involves acts intended "to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".
The dispute about whether deaths caused by the Ottomans represented
genocide centres on the degree to which the killings were orchestrated.
The most notorious example of genocide is the Nazis' attempted
extermination of the Jews. This year's Holocaust Memorial Day was
marked across Britain and Ireland.
Mr Manook, 64, from Millisle in Co Down, said his grandfather Manook
Dishchekenian was removed from his village along with many other men.
"They lined them up and took them."
He said his father was then aged six.
"My grandmother realised immediately, she just took my dad and four
aunts and they escaped the village. My father was a survivor of
the genocide."
He said the fate for men left behind was grim.
"I have a strong feeling that they must have killed them and buried
them in mass graves."
Armenians mark the date April 24 1915 as the start of what they regard
as genocide.
In Turkey public debate on the issue has been stifled, using the law
to prosecute writers who highlight the mass killings.
However last month Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, said:
"Having already underscored the inhumane consequences of the relocation
policies essentially enforced under wartime circumstances, including
that of 1915, Turkey shares the suffering of Armenians and, with
patience and resolve, is endeavouring to re-establish empathy between
the two peoples.
"Our 23 April 2014 message of condolence, which included elements
of how, primarily through dialogue, we may together bring an end to
the enmity that has kept our relations captive, was a testament to
this determination.
"Only by breaking taboos can we hope to begin addressing the great
trauma that froze time in 1915. For its part, Turkey has transcended
this critical threshold and relinquished the generalisations and
stereotypical assertions of the past."
Edward Horgan, a former UN soldier from Ireland and peace activist,
said a group of politicians from the Dail in Dublin was being created
to lobby on the issue.
"Clearly it is an issue of language but the fact is that the Turkish
government, who were not involved in the genocide, has consistently
denied and prosecuted people in Turkey for highlighting and proclaiming
it was a genocide, that does need to be addressed."
Last year previous Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
speaking on the eve of the 99th anniversary, offered condolences for
the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule.
Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller than Armenian
estimates.
A spokesman for the London embassy said: "Turkey is legitimately
challenging the Armenian views of history. This is based on documents
in archives, many scholarly studies as well as the memory of millions
of people in Turkey.
"I would like to highlight that genocide is a clearly defined crime
with specific conditions of proof. There is no verdict given by
a competent court or whatsoever, labelling the events of 1915 as
genocide."
Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay
recognise the conflict as genocide. The UK, US, Israel and others
use different names.
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: "While the
terrible suffering cannot be forgotten and we must continue to remember
and honour the victims of the past, we believe the UK's priority
today should be to promote reconciliation between the peoples and
governments of Turkey and Armenia and to find a way for these two
countries to face their joint history together."
Printed also in
http://www.farminglife.com/national/grandfather-was-genocide-victim-1-6581878
http://northernirelandweb.com/2015/02/16/grandfather-was-genocide-victim/
http://www.larnetimes.co.uk/news/national/grandfather-was-genocide-victim-1-6581878
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/grandfather-was-genocide-victim-30994932.html
Belfast Telegraph, Ireland
Feb 16 2015
A Northern Ireland man who believes his grandfather was killed and
buried in an Armenian mass grave has called on the British and Irish
governments to recognise the deaths as genocide.
Paul Manook said his grandfather was lined up alongside other men in
a village in modern-day eastern Turkey by Ottoman Turkish soldiers
a century ago. He was never seen again.
Turkey denies Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million people died in
an act of genocide during the First World War when troops targeted
the Christian minority.
Dr Manook said: "Because of the geopolitics of the region the UK
does not want to touch this. Ireland is a small country, probably
they will follow the UK because they are a small country and there
are quite a lot of links together."
Turkey has resisted widespread calls for it to recognise as genocide
the 1915-16 killings, which followed mass deportations, but apologised
for the deaths.
According to the UN, genocide involves acts intended "to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".
The dispute about whether deaths caused by the Ottomans represented
genocide centres on the degree to which the killings were orchestrated.
The most notorious example of genocide is the Nazis' attempted
extermination of the Jews. This year's Holocaust Memorial Day was
marked across Britain and Ireland.
Mr Manook, 64, from Millisle in Co Down, said his grandfather Manook
Dishchekenian was removed from his village along with many other men.
"They lined them up and took them."
He said his father was then aged six.
"My grandmother realised immediately, she just took my dad and four
aunts and they escaped the village. My father was a survivor of
the genocide."
He said the fate for men left behind was grim.
"I have a strong feeling that they must have killed them and buried
them in mass graves."
Armenians mark the date April 24 1915 as the start of what they regard
as genocide.
In Turkey public debate on the issue has been stifled, using the law
to prosecute writers who highlight the mass killings.
However last month Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, said:
"Having already underscored the inhumane consequences of the relocation
policies essentially enforced under wartime circumstances, including
that of 1915, Turkey shares the suffering of Armenians and, with
patience and resolve, is endeavouring to re-establish empathy between
the two peoples.
"Our 23 April 2014 message of condolence, which included elements
of how, primarily through dialogue, we may together bring an end to
the enmity that has kept our relations captive, was a testament to
this determination.
"Only by breaking taboos can we hope to begin addressing the great
trauma that froze time in 1915. For its part, Turkey has transcended
this critical threshold and relinquished the generalisations and
stereotypical assertions of the past."
Edward Horgan, a former UN soldier from Ireland and peace activist,
said a group of politicians from the Dail in Dublin was being created
to lobby on the issue.
"Clearly it is an issue of language but the fact is that the Turkish
government, who were not involved in the genocide, has consistently
denied and prosecuted people in Turkey for highlighting and proclaiming
it was a genocide, that does need to be addressed."
Last year previous Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
speaking on the eve of the 99th anniversary, offered condolences for
the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule.
Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller than Armenian
estimates.
A spokesman for the London embassy said: "Turkey is legitimately
challenging the Armenian views of history. This is based on documents
in archives, many scholarly studies as well as the memory of millions
of people in Turkey.
"I would like to highlight that genocide is a clearly defined crime
with specific conditions of proof. There is no verdict given by
a competent court or whatsoever, labelling the events of 1915 as
genocide."
Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay
recognise the conflict as genocide. The UK, US, Israel and others
use different names.
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: "While the
terrible suffering cannot be forgotten and we must continue to remember
and honour the victims of the past, we believe the UK's priority
today should be to promote reconciliation between the peoples and
governments of Turkey and Armenia and to find a way for these two
countries to face their joint history together."
Printed also in
http://www.farminglife.com/national/grandfather-was-genocide-victim-1-6581878
http://northernirelandweb.com/2015/02/16/grandfather-was-genocide-victim/
http://www.larnetimes.co.uk/news/national/grandfather-was-genocide-victim-1-6581878
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/grandfather-was-genocide-victim-30994932.html