There is currently a proposal in Congress for the U.S. to recognize the WWI-era killing of approximately one million Armenians by the Ottomans as a genocide. Turkey, the modern-day successor to the Ottoman Empire, maintains an official position that it was not a genocide, but rather the Armenians were killed during the general unrest that happened during the Empire's fall, and that the modern state cannot be held accountable for what the Ottomans did. In Turkey, some critics who have called it a genocide have been harshly repressed and accused of insulting Turkishness. Turkey is an ally of the U.S.--we use some of Turkey's military infrastructure to wage our war in Iraq. If we anger Turkey, Turkey has threatened to bar our use of their military bases. What will happen?
Friday, October 12, 2007
Turkey Refuses to Recognize Armenian Genocide
There is currently a proposal in Congress for the U.S. to recognize the WWI-era killing of approximately one million Armenians by the Ottomans as a genocide. Turkey, the modern-day successor to the Ottoman Empire, maintains an official position that it was not a genocide, but rather the Armenians were killed during the general unrest that happened during the Empire's fall, and that the modern state cannot be held accountable for what the Ottomans did. In Turkey, some critics who have called it a genocide have been harshly repressed and accused of insulting Turkishness. Turkey is an ally of the U.S.--we use some of Turkey's military infrastructure to wage our war in Iraq. If we anger Turkey, Turkey has threatened to bar our use of their military bases. What will happen?
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