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Denying The Hidden Truth: The Armenian Genocide

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  • Denying The Hidden Truth: The Armenian Genocide

    DENYING THE HIDDEN TRUTH: THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
    Karolina Zydziak

    The Bottom Line
    http://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2012/01/denying-the-hidden-truth-the-armenian-genocide
    University of California, Santa Barbara
    Jan 31 2012

    Students from the Armenian Student Association gathered on Jan. 26 to
    protest the globally unrecognized genocide that occurred in 1915, and
    to raise awareness about the genocides that are currently taking place.

    "Our goal is to spread awareness rather than commemorate Armenian
    Genocide every April 24," said Leslie Aguilar, a third-year psychology
    major and secretary of ASA.

    Because of the lack of a world-wide acknowledgement of the Armenian
    Genocide, students are relentlessly working to make their voices
    heard so the United States will recognize what is going on to get
    Turkey to ultimately admit to their wrong doing.

    "We want America to recognize this [genocide] so that Turkey recognizes
    it as well, because America as a hegemony in the world is one of the
    most powerful, one of the most influential," said Adam Jaratanian, a
    third-year political science major. "The more nations that recognize
    this will cause Turkey to also recognize it; they will be forced
    politically not to ignore it."

    Beginning in the 1800s, the Armenians were treated unequally by Turkey,
    and were not allowed to own property or businesses. As the early 1900s
    came around, full discrimination against the people commenced as the
    "Young Turks" decided they wanted a country free of minorities.

    "The Turkish government rounded up Armenian intellectuals, which
    included teachers, artists, writers-anyone who could possibly be a
    leader and execute them, so this would make us a leaderless people,"
    Shant Mirzaians, a third-year political science major, said.

    ASA emphasizes that as these executions continued to take place, men
    like Adolf Hitler noticed that massacres were occurring and not much
    was being done about it, influencing him to believe actions such as
    these were acceptable.

    "If the Armenian Genocide had been recognized, there could have been
    a very good chance the Holocaust wouldn't have occurred," Jaratanian
    said. "Hitler is quoted, 'After all, who remembers the genocide of
    the Armenians today?' It made him think it was okay to do something
    like that onto another race."

    According to ASA, one critical thing to prevent genocide is
    recognition. Once a society becomes aware of the various genocides
    that take place, it will be able to step up and convey to the rest
    of the world that such behavior is not acceptable. Thus, future
    generations will perhaps refrain from committing the same mistakes.

    As a branch of the nationwide group, University of California Santa
    Barbara students continue to push their respected congressmen to pass
    a bill that would grant Armenians the justice they righteously deserve
    by officially recognizing the 1915 Armenian Genocide as a genocide.

    However, it has not been passed, and some believe the lack of passage
    to be an attempt to keep Turkey as an ally to the U.S.

    "Turkey is the one Muslim country that is an ally in the Middle East,
    so the United States wants to keep it on friendly terms with them,"
    Mirzaians said. "They [the U.S.] also have military bases in Turkey
    that they needed to use in the Iraq War and in Afghanistan. Turkey
    is also prominent member of NATO. It is because of these politics
    the U.S. doesn't want to upset Turkey."

    Other countries are beginning to recognize the event and making it
    clear that genocide is not tolerable.

    "Recently France recognized it and made it a crime to deny the
    genocide or any genocide," Jaratanian said. "We're here speaking out
    for every genocide."

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