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When Iranian President Ahmadinejad said the Holocaust should be open to "debate" and convened a panel of scholars to discuss it, he was roundly denounced as an anti-Semitic Holocaust denier. (Personally I think anyone who thinks the Holocaust isn't a totally well-established fact is at best an ignorant jackass and very likely an anti-semite.)
When the Turkish President Ertogan just did exactly the same thing re: the Armenian genocide of 1915, calling for historians to get together to study it, this provoked no outrage in the western media.
At the time it occurred, the Armenian genocide was the subject of official government reports by the U.S. and other nations which left no doubt that it was nothing but an organized massacre. It wasn't part of a "civil war" or Armenian "uprising" or Armenian fifth column supporting a non-existent Russian invasion- all lies the Turkish Government currently promulgates. To pretend there's a "controversy" is to obfuscate historical fact. It is an assault on truth and memory, masquerading under a facade of reasonableness and open inquiry. No one says the Holocaust needs to be subject to a "debate" to decide if it really occurred. Except those who wish to rewrite history. It SHOULD BE the same with the Armenian Genocide. [Anyone who thinks there's uncertainly about what "really" happened should check out the historical record. Various nations issued reports at the time, including the U.S. State Dept., describing in graphic detail the organized extermination of the Armenians by the Turkish State. See International Affirmation of the Armenian Genocide
The BBC is probably the most shameful in this regard, repeating all the Turkish lies verbatim without contradiction, presenting totally one-sided reports that omit any Armenian or just honest voices, pushing two lines- the Turks are mad, and the Turks are a vital ally so saying anything about the Armenian genocide is dumb and a bad idea.
The Armenian Genocide paved the way for the Holocaust. It emboldened Hitler. As he told his associates: "Who remembers now the destruction of the Armenians?" (See full context at Hitler and the Armenian Genocide) Every suppression of memory of historical crimes helps pave the way for future criminals to commit such acts.
When the Turkish President Ertogan just did exactly the same thing re: the Armenian genocide of 1915, calling for historians to get together to study it, this provoked no outrage in the western media.
At the time it occurred, the Armenian genocide was the subject of official government reports by the U.S. and other nations which left no doubt that it was nothing but an organized massacre. It wasn't part of a "civil war" or Armenian "uprising" or Armenian fifth column supporting a non-existent Russian invasion- all lies the Turkish Government currently promulgates. To pretend there's a "controversy" is to obfuscate historical fact. It is an assault on truth and memory, masquerading under a facade of reasonableness and open inquiry. No one says the Holocaust needs to be subject to a "debate" to decide if it really occurred. Except those who wish to rewrite history. It SHOULD BE the same with the Armenian Genocide. [Anyone who thinks there's uncertainly about what "really" happened should check out the historical record. Various nations issued reports at the time, including the U.S. State Dept., describing in graphic detail the organized extermination of the Armenians by the Turkish State. See International Affirmation of the Armenian Genocide
The BBC is probably the most shameful in this regard, repeating all the Turkish lies verbatim without contradiction, presenting totally one-sided reports that omit any Armenian or just honest voices, pushing two lines- the Turks are mad, and the Turks are a vital ally so saying anything about the Armenian genocide is dumb and a bad idea.
The Armenian Genocide paved the way for the Holocaust. It emboldened Hitler. As he told his associates: "Who remembers now the destruction of the Armenians?" (See full context at Hitler and the Armenian Genocide) Every suppression of memory of historical crimes helps pave the way for future criminals to commit such acts.
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