Do you recognize the Armenian Genocide?

Question

I'm not here looking for trouble. I am American, my parents are both born in the US, my grandparents come from Turkey-after the Armenian Genocide, so I'm 2nd generation Armenian-American.

Growing up I lived in a non-Armenian area, just regular Americans, ironically at the age of 12 I made best friends with a girl who was Turkish- American, we ended our friendship but had nothing to do with her being Turkish- we just faded as friends. She even dated my brother.
I have friends who are Turkish as well, they wont discuss the Genocide with me at all. But were still friends.

So my question is Do Turkish people recognize there was an Armenian Genocide?
Do Turkish-Americans do?

And why do some Turks deny there was a genocide?

Thanks/

sultan im not trying to do anything, i just want some honest answers,
thanks for those who replied.

Is anyone friends with Armenians?
You all seem to not like them. just asking.
Thanks for the answers so far, I am getting alot of insight.

Answer 1

we take it as a big lie
even the postulate of your question is WRONG

you cannot blame us for not accepting a LIE

even all the world combine together to yell it outloud, this won't make it real.

Just like Galileo said after the Inquisiton trial "The world turns around nevertheless"

this armenian issue is a big lie nevertheless.
no matter how high you shout otherwise

Answer 2

"And why do some Turks deny there was a genocide?"

You evidently know nothing. "Some" Turks? None of us recognize it because it did not happen. Having some grand parents who suffered is not enough for a "genocide". So? I have many people in my family who suffered because of especially Russians and Armenians. Who remembers them now? Who is fighting for them? My people are a minority in their own country, who cares? These are real situations. And genocide? it didn't even happen. The Ottomans deported you, why would they pay for all that transportation costs if they were determined to wipe you out of earth? So called armenian genocide It is just being used as a political tool. Armenia is poor, spend the money to make your country a better place instead of wasting it on false propaganda.

Answer 3

Your questions is already loaded with a pre-judgement. You 'believe' there was a genocide, and Turks believe there wasn't one. Unless you both step outside your positions you cannot establish a proper communication.
The term 'genocide' was defined and accepted by the UN after World War II. What happened in eastern Turkey was far before that. It is an accepted rule that laws do not work backwards (simple first year knowledge at any law school).
Besides, there has been no proof of a deliberate, planned mass annihilation of Armenians. It is however, a recorded historical fact that Ottoman citizens of Armenian origin allied with the Russian Army in 1915 and betrayed their own state. They killed thousands of Muslim Turks. To prevent further bloodshed in the region, and to establish the securityof its army, the Ottoman state ordered the Armenians to be moved to southern Anatolia. Many lives were lost during this transportation for various reasons.
The British, French, and US authorities, after examining all official documents of the Ottoman Empire (and their own sources) decided there was not an ethnic cleansing. Please check official documents of the time for that.
I believe it is a futile attempt to try to corner present day Turkey to 'accept' a genocide for which she was not a part of. That will definitely create more enmity between the two peoples. Such a move I believe will bring to agenda 'genocide' resolutions against the Americans (for killing natives), the Spanish (for murduring Aztecs and Inkas), the French (for murduring Algerians) etc. etc.
We should all work for peace and understanding all over the world, not digging the history to create hatred.

Answer 4

The official line of the whole nation is, that the Armenians commit genocide against the Turks. And so did Greeks against Turks. And so do Kurds against Turks.Or any other nation that came to conflict with Turkey.
The important question is this simple one, based on the experience of the American Indian genocide or the Jewish Holocaust, and indeed on the international reality. Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cambodgia, and countless other countries.
If the Armenians, and the Greeks, and the Kurds, commited genocide against Turks, why did those who were fortunate to survive,escaped and fled the country? Why did they lose all their livelihood and their fortunes?
This is a world-wide first, the victorious escaping with barely their lifes from the terrain, they, allegedly, so brutally put down their opponents. Isn't this a contradiction by itself?
Now, accepting the genocides, will raise the question to compensate those who suffered, and that is the real reason behind the denial. It's only a matter of economics, rather than a matter of history. Even if all the world accepts the historical facts of those Genocides, as long as USA does not recognise it, and backs up their precious back-stabbing allies, rest assured that even in another 100 years from now, they will still deny it.

Answer 5

I could not help but answer your question there are a lot of arguments and few with hard core facts and properly resourced information. I note one of your answerer's compares the OJ Simpson Trial to that of the Ottoman's well I would like to correct both zazoom and Blunt, there was the Malta Tribunals 144 Ottoman officials both Political and Military were arrested and conveyed to Malta for War Crimes investigations. This was done by the British after some 2 and a half years all 144 were released not one was CHARGED with any OFFENCE let alone TRIED. OJ Simpson was charged and acquitted out of the 144 Ottoman Officials (I repeat again ) NOT ONE WAS EVER CHARGED WITH ANY OFFENCE, they were allowed to leave and in fact the British made them pay their own fares back to Turkey. There is a big difference because the British could not even find enough evidence or in fact ANY EVIDENCE for ANY WAR CRIME let alone a pre planned pre determined action by the Ottoman Government to exterminate IT's ARMENIAN CITIZENS.

Further Still have a read of the latest article by a British Professor of History Norman Stone and I quote;-

Armenian story has another side
By Norman Stone, a historian and the author of "World War I: A Short
History"

All the world knows what the end of an empire looks like: hundreds
of thousands of people fleeing down dusty paths, taking what was left
of their possessions; crammed refugee trains puffing their way across
arid plains; and many, many people dying. For the Ottoman Empire that
process began in the Balkans, the Crimea and the Caucasus as Russia
and her satellites expanded. Seven million people -- we would now
call them Turks -- had to settle in Anatolia, the territory of modern
Turkey.

In 1914, when World War I began in earnest, Armenians living in what
is now Turkey attempted to set up a national state. Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman government, began what we would now
call "ethnic cleansing" of the local Turks. Their effort failed and
caused the government to deport most Armenians from the area of the
revolt for security reasons. Their sufferings en route are well-known.

Today, Armenian interests in America and abroad are well-organized.
What keeps them united is the collective memory of their historic
grievance. What happened was not in any way their fault, they
believe. If the drive to carve out an ethnically pure Armenian state
was a failure, they reason, it was only because the Turks
exterminated them.

For years, Armenians have urged the U.S. Congress to recognize their
fate as genocide. Many U.S. leaders -- including former secretaries
of state and defense and current high-ranking Bush administration
officials -- have urged Congress either not to consider or to vote
down the current genocide resolution primarily for strategic
purposes: Turkey is a critical ally to the U.S. in both Iraq and
Afghanistan and adoption of such a resolution would anger and offend
the Turkish population and jeopardize U.S.-Turkish relations.

Given this strong opposition, why would Congress, upon the advice of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, make itself arbiter of this
controversy? What makes the Armenians' dreadful fate so much worse
than the dreadful fates that come with every end of empire? It is
here that historians must come in.

First, allegedly critical evidence of the crime consists of
forgeries. The British were in occupation of Istanbul for four years
after the war and examined all of the files of the Ottoman
government. They found nothing, and therefore could not try the 100-
odd supposed Turkish war criminals that they were holding. Then,
documents turned up, allegedly telegrams from the interior ministry
to the effect that all Armenians should be wiped out. The signatures
turned out to be wrong, there were no back-up copies in the archives
and the dating system was misunderstood.

There are many other arguments against a supposed genocide of the
Armenians. Their leader was offered a post in the Turkish Cabinet in
1914, and turned it down. When the deportations were under way, the
populations of the big cities were exempted -- Istanbul, Izmir,
Aleppo, where there were huge concentrations of Armenians. There were
indeed well-documented and horrible massacres of the deportee
columns, and the Turks themselves tried more than 1,300 men for these
crimes in 1916, convicted many and executed several. None of this
squares with genocide, as we classically understand it. Finally, it
is just not true that historians as a whole support the genocide
thesis. The people who know the background and the language (Ottoman
Turkish is terribly difficult) are divided, and those who do not
accept the genocide thesis are weightier. The Armenian lobby contends
that these independent and highly esteemed historians are
simply "Ottomanists" -- a ridiculously arrogant dismissal.

Unfortunately, the issue has never reached a properly constituted
court. If the Armenians were convinced of their own case, they would
have taken it to one. Instead, they lobby bewildered or bored
parliamentary assemblies to "recognize the genocide."

Congress should not take a position, one way or the other, on this
affair. Let historians decide. The Turkish government has been saying
this for years. It is the Armenians who refuse to take part in a
joint historical review, even when organized by impeccably neutral
academics. This review is the logical and most sensible path forward.
Passage of the resolution by the full House of Representatives would
constitute an act of legislative vengeance and would shame well-
meaning scholars who want to explore this history from any vantage
point other than the one foisted upon the world by ultranationalist
Armenians

Answer 6

hi JettCity ,
please read these news and , firstly, this book.

1) Dashnagtzoution Has Nothing to Do Anymore
Author : Hovhannes Katchaznouni
ISBN No : 975-343-453-7

Mr.Hovhannes Katchaznouni , He is primary minister of Armenia and very important politicians .He says you and all the Armenians somethings.Please read and write your's opinions about Mr.Hovhannes Katchaznouni's fixing.


Source(s)
1) THE WASHINGTON TIMES
By BRUCE FEIN
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070902/COMMENTARY02/109020014/1012
2)FPRI-FOREIGN POLİCY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Dangers of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
By Michael Radu
http://www.fpri.org/enotes/200703.radu.armeniangenocide.html
3)Washington Post
Belatedly, the House's History Lesson
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, October 11, 2007;
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/10/AR2007101002493.html
4) Washington Post
Armenians Who Need Help Today
By Fred Hiatt
Monday, October 15, 2007; Page A15
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101400957.html

and finally ,wellcome to TÜRKİYE!
this is for you from us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YAvfxA6a94

Answer 7

No i don't recognize it. It's a big lie, created with no facts or evidence. Just the brainwashing of their kids.

Answer 8

Hitler did a terrible genocide to Jews.
I can say it because, There are graves , pictures and people who saved their lives from that tragedy. 1938-1945 Turkey helped the Jews (especially scientist to come and work at Turkey with the letter of Einstein ).

BUT.
Number of Armenians at 1915 was 750.000 ( also in Istanbul) They say Turk's killed 1.500.000.
Did we killed same person 2 times ?

Where are these 1.500.000 ppl 's grave ? You cant hide it even if you burn them like Hitler.

At those days 1915 we were fighting at Dardanelles (Çanakkale ) with French ,UK , Indians , Anzac's and believe me we don't have 1.500.000 bullets and crematoriums for Armenians

AND
1915 to 1921 Armenians helped to Russian and French armies and killed thousands of Turk like my grand-mums dad. You can see the army notes of it from Russian and French documents.

So
This is a political game . Do we believe politics or history after 90 years later ?

Answer 9

Armanian people also hate this kind of question in Turkey. yes, there was all to all war in the past. but, today, we are civilized people.

Answer 10

An Example:
Do you believe Oj Simpson committed the gruesome murder of his ex wife and her friend?
All of us, and 85% of US populations knew he is the killer.
well, he got away, because of his big bank account.
Even after the trial, he wrote a book, with details.
That is the best example that I can connect Turkey's position.
Denying the genocide, that never took place, all of the world nations, are witness, that was a genocide.
New- york Times, had many articles on the genocide.
1920 in France, it was a Treaty.
"treaty of Sevres" the treaty was signed by Turks, Armenians, and french officials, in
the treaty says that, Turkey will return the Armenian lands to the Armenians.
Wise and snake Ataturk, as soon as that treaty was signed and to be executed.
He and his group young Turks revolted against the Ottoman Empire and formed new government as young Turks.
Changed the history books and the crimes against the Armenians.
Well, it work.
That is why the Turkish population don't know the whole truth about the genocide.
The history was given to them by Ataturk to learn., no question can be asked.
in the schools books never mentioned about the Armenians genocide.
Turks never committed a crime against the Armenians or others, like greeks, Assyrians,
Please do not waist your time, to get any decent answers from hypocrite uneducated Turks in here.
There are many decent Turks that are afraid to say out loud that the genocide had happend.
when spoken, some got killed, some in prisoned, some dishonored.
Turkeys Grand fathers have committed this crime, the grand sons, should accept, Turkey's dark passed.
We Americans, give Billions of dollars, year after year, to keep money socker Turks as our allied friend.
In return, what Turkey dose with that money, hires ex politicians to lobby against the Armenians.
One of the biggest one, Bush.

Answer 11

There are genocides against Turks in Turkey and in Azarbaijan done by Armenians in 1915-1918 and 1990s.

As Blunt said above: The Ottoman National assembly members were arrested, tried and acquitted in Malta Tribunals by UK. UK reached that Ottomans are not GUILTY due to 1915 happenings. You can esaily find information about this, if not we can provide you...