2006-06-29 23:58:10 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Yes. Turks killed 1.500.000 Armenians.
They completely destroyed the Greek provinces of Asia Minor and killed nearly 300.000 Greeks (in 1915-1922).
The Kurds are still being killed!
2006-06-30 22:40:22 · answer #1 · answered by ragzeus 6 · 4⤊ 3⤋
I am really afraid they are. No matter how much the Turkish people and government denies these events they can not hide the truth.
Technically there is no genocide and that is the main argument of the Turkish state. Genocide is when a Government sponsors events that result to the deaths of thousands or millions of people. The Turkish claim that in the case of the Armenians the Goverment did not sponsor the killings, in the case of the Greeks very few people were killed and in the case of the Kurds they claim that they are terrorists but they really want independence. I agree that there was only the genocide of the Armenians but what Turkey has done to the Greeks and the Kurdish are indeed very bad.
The genocide of the Armenians came in 1915-1917 after the Ottomans lost the war with Russia. The Turkish blamed the Armenians that Russia had attacked to protect them because they were Christians and that the Armenians assisted to the Russian victory. The Turkish Government then decided to create forced labor camps and to deport all the Armenian population from Anatolia. The Turkish did not do anything to aid people during the deportation but only ordered it. The Turkish put some soldiers to escort the Armenians to the borders but during the trip many civilians were attacking the Armenians to rob them. The escorting forces did not do anything to prevent this and in most of the cases assisted the attacking Turks. This lead to rapes, killings and mass executions. More than a million people died. The Turkish claim that it was a ethnic conflict inside the country and because it was not sponsored by the government is not a genocide. What the Turkish government did was that it had given orders to the troops not to protect the Armenians and had released all the dangerous criminals that were encouraged to create mobs and gangs against the Armenians. Almost all Armenian population wash eliminated from Turkey with the help of the Turkish army.
In the case of the Greeks it is true that they were not many killings so it is not a genocide but a pogrom. The impressive thing is that it happened under a very well organized plan that intended to terrorize the Greeks and make them leave the country. Note that most Greeks had Turkish citizenship. It happened in 1955 which was a very peaceful period. A Turkish spy that was arrested by the Greek authorities and confessed his actions, detonated a bomb in the Turkish consulate in Salonika, Greece so everything would look like it was caused by uncontrolled angry Turks that they were provoked. Turkish from all over Turkey were paid to go to Istanbul and commit a pogrom. Not many Greeks were killed. What happened is that they destroyed almost all the Greek houses, shops, factories, Churches, schools, cemeteries and basically everything Greek. The damages are estimated to 500 million USD. Many Greek women were raped and many men were violently circumcised and Christian Priests were the best targets to kill. After that from almost 500,000 Greeks in Turkey at that time there only about 3,000 elderly Greeks now. This is not a genocide but a pogrom but the results are the same.
Unfortunately the history for Kurdish people is now written and I can not make many comments expect the fact that they are the first Muslim population that is tried to be exterminated or forced to leave the country in Turkey. There are not tha many killings of Kurds to be considered a genocide. The Kurds are not allowed to speak their language, go to school and basicaly they do not have rights. Conflicts between the Kurds and the Turkish army are common and people from both sides are killed. Many countries including EU and US consider Kurds as terrorists. I believe they fight for their freedom.
The most important thing is that in Turkey they live in a denial. Some Turkish scholars and writers have produced good work on the subject and many journalists have commented on that. Unfortunately most of them are in prison or were in prison for insulting the Turkish state. If you do not know your past you can not have a better future.
As you understand I believe that Turkey is responsible for these atrocities and I am afraid that they will not stop. I want to make clear that untill now there is only been a genocide against the Armenias. Even in 1922 that Turks burned down Ismir they just made the Greeks leave and they killed few of them. Of course rapes, circumisisions and looting happened in the most extent.
Right now Turkey is the only European country that is occupying territory of another country and in Cyprus after the collapse of the Berlin wall is the only divided city in the world.
2006-06-30 00:52:07 · answer #2 · answered by Gke 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Ottoman Turks have had conflicts with a wide range. They've historically battled the Greeks a lot. However, I think the only group that can really claim genocide would be the Armenians and the tragedy inflicted upon them by the Turks. Unfortunately for the Armenians they've been a Christian country surrouned by Muslims and they've suffered the hand of defeat and hostility for a long time.
2006-06-30 00:16:13 · answer #3 · answered by Tristan K 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes in 1915 during W.W.1,the Turks pursued a polciy of genocide against the Armenian people. It is sad to this day the Turkish authorities remain in denial. When Hitler was proposing his "final solution" his doubters were met with the rhetorical question, "Who remembers the Armenians.?"
2006-06-30 04:08:28 · answer #4 · answered by Mannie H 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As a descendant of Turkish Armenians, I have heard first hand accounts of my great grandfather being killed in a raid on my family's village.
Was it genocide?
If a government does not protect a minority from the abuses of a majority, then it is complicit in the crime. A government's responsibility is to protect ALL of its citizens. The fact that Turkey may not have sponsored the genocide is irrelevant. The fact is that they did nothing to stop it.
Genocide has been prevalent throughout history, and still exists today.
2006-06-30 01:35:38 · answer #5 · answered by BlueDart 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Who do you punish,it was like 90 years ago? But I think the evidence I've heard suggests it was indeed a true Genocidal Act,not an "apparent genocide". But it was a time of extreme change in Turkey,so in their defense I will say that sometimes when massive change is taking place,sometimes innocent people get caught in the crossfire. That doesn't condone it,it's simply a fact of life proven by History over and over again. YTP
2016-03-26 22:49:20 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Many accounts show that the Turkish Junta at the time were responsible for the enforced march of Armenians into the deserts to die. British, American and French warships could see the assault of one city (i forget its name) and did nothing to help. Turkey should accept what it did and apologise
2006-06-30 00:01:26 · answer #7 · answered by thomas p 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
YES!!! Read the History of that area and it'll tell you.
2006-06-30 03:54:40 · answer #8 · answered by Vagabond5879 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋