In days long numbered with the past, my college Political Science professor referred me to a historical novel based on a true incident called “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” by Franz Werfel. The book detailed the defense of Mount Moses by the Armenians facing deportation and genocide by the Ottoman Empire. As Turkey moves more and more into the Islamist camp – we should be reminded that the first 20th century genocide was against Armenia. Adolf Hitler was reported to have said to his Nazi acolytes regarding the coming extermination of the Jews “Who remembers the Armenians?” Remember that the next time the Turks start bellyaching about the Palestinians.
Side note – Armenia was the first nation to ever convert to Christianity.
by Giles Whittell
One of the worst massacres of the 20th-century came back to haunt international politics yesterday when a powerful Washington panel voted to call the murder of about 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey “genocide”.
After more than three hours of debate, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs narrowly approved a resolution calling on President Obama to “characterise the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide”.
The vote went ahead despite last-minute pleas from the White House and State Department and triggered a furious reaction from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister.
“We condemn this resolution, which accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it did not committ,” he said. As Armenian observers applauded the vote on Capitol Hill, the Turkish Ambassador to Washington was recalled.
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The vote, with 23 congressmen in favour and 22 against, will also jeopardise historic efforts begun last year to create normal diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia.
“We are seriously concerned that this resolution approved by the committee despite all our warnings will harm Turkey-US ties and efforts to nomalise Turkey-Armenia relations,” Mr Erdogan added.
Mr Obama promised as a candidate to break with longstanding US practice and start calling the First World War era killings genocide if elected to the White House. He broke the promise last year, refusing to use the word on a visit to Ankara, where he praised Turkey as a model Muslim democracy.
Read the rest here: Turkey recalls Ambassador after US vote on Armenia ‘genocide’
Tags: Armenia, Armenian Genocide, Giles Whittell
