Thursday, October 8, 2009

Turkey's Apology for the Armenian Genocide


Between 1915 and 1918, the Ottoman Empire led what is now known as the Armenian Genocide. During this time, the Turkish government led the killings of approximately 1.5 million Armenians for no reason other than the want of a completely Turkish society. The Turks forcefully removed most of the Armenian population from Turkey and Armenia to Syria, where they left them in the desert to die of hunger and thirst. For those Armenians who were not deported, they were subjected to torture, abduction, and mass executions, thereby wiping out the vast majority of Armenians.


It wasn’t until last year that Turkey issued some form of an apology for this atrocious event in history. About 200 Turks set up an internet website with a petition that said, "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them." Within a few days of the posting, over 10,000 Turks had signed this “apology.”


Some say that this apology was sufficient, that it did its job by showing the Armenians that they were sorry for the past. Many Armenians, however, view this apology as a pathetic attempt to make the Armenians stop complaining about the genocide. A major aspect of the apology that the Armenians don’t like is that the Turks don’t even admit to it being a genocide, rather they refer to it as the “Great Catastrophe.” Most Turks have been in denial of a genocide ever happening, and to not even refer to the event as a genocide in the apology really upset the Armenian population. In addition, Armenians were mad that the apology was in Internet form; many of them would have preferred a formal, oral speech given by the current president since it would have represented the entire Turkish population.
Click on this link to watch a video about some attitudes toward the apology.

28 comments:

  1. This is horrible. I have never heard about this previously, but I agree with the Armenians that the apology was not really sufficient. It was very impersonal in regards to the fact that it was done via technology. Furthermore, only 10,000 Turks actually signed the apology, which in the grand scheme of things is not that many. Also, because the Turks are trying to downsize the event by not recognizing it officially and referring to it with a less loaded name, they lack sincerity overall.

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  2. I agree with Elisha that the apology was impersonal and insincere. Merely signing your name on a petition does not account for much because there was nothing done to make reparations for the atrocity of the genocide. Instead, the government should perhaps, as some Armenians prefer, have the president give an oral apology acknowledging the genocide and expressing remorse for the innocent lives that were lost.

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  3. This was such a disastrous and horrible event that such a apology that seems so impersonal will just not do. Just signing an online form does not truly say sorry to all those poor people who lost their lives. A better attempt at an apology would be to have the president give the apology.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think your topic is really interesting considering that I have never really heard too much about the Armenian Genocide. I knew that the genocide existed but I have never known the details involved, and never have taken the opportunity to learn more about it. As for the apology itself I would have to say that I agree it is not sufficient for the murder of a million and a half people, and some sort of formal apology should be expected from the Turkish government. However, it is also very important to understand that the Turkish government today is quite different from the Turkish government in the early 20th century. Although the people are the same, I'm not sure that today's Turkish government can be responsible for the apology.

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