THE GUARDIAN: IS IT NOT TIME FOR TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE THIS CRIME?

“April 24, is the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Is it not time for Turkey to recognize this crime and enable a just closure?” Harry Hagopian writes in “Remembering Anatolia, 1915” article in The Guardian. “Between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Turkish government systematically targeted and killed Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Ultimately, well over 1 million Armenians lost their lives during this period, which is now widely regarded by most historians as the first genocide of the 20th century and one that is commemorated today the world over,” he continues, representing Mannig’s story: “I was six years old when we were deported from our lovely home in Adapazar, near Istanbul. I remember twirling in our parlor in my favorite yellow dress while my mother played the violin. It all ended when the Turkish police ordered us to leave town. The massacre of my family, of the Armenians, took place during a three-year trek of 600km across the Anatolian plateau and into the Mesopotamian desert. I can’t wipe out the horrific images of how my father and all the men in our foot caravan were shipped to their deaths. My cousin and all other males 12 years and older were shoved off the cliffs into the raging Euphrates river. My grandmother and the elderly were shot for slowing down the trekkers. Two of my siblings died of starvation. My aunt died of disease, and my mother survived the trek only to perish soon after from an influenza epidemic. Of my family, only my sister and I were still alive. The Turkish soldiers forced us, along with 900 other starving children, into the deepest part of the desert to perish in the scorching sun. Most did. But God must have been watching over me. He placed me in the path of the Bedouin Arabs who were on a search and rescue mission for Armenian victims. They saved me. I lived under the Bedouin tents for several months, before they led me to an orphanage in Mosul. I was sad about our separation, but the Bedouin assured me that the orphanage was sponsored by good people. To my delight, I was reunited with my sister at the orphanage. She, too, was saved by the Bedouin Arabs. The happiest days in my life were at the orphanage. We had soup and bread to eat every day and were sheltered under white army tents donated by the British. Above all, my sister and I were family again. This moving personal testimony was spoken by Mannig Dobajian Kouyoumjian, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, and written for the U.S. Holocaust Centre by her daughter, Aida Kouyoumjian, from Seattle.” “As an Armenian who was born after this grisly period of our history, I often wonder how our forbears managed to sustain their hope, faith and perseverance in the face of such immense suffering and painful adversity. How did those Armenian victims of the genocide find the personal resources, after what can only have been devastating and orphaned situations, to carry on to rediscover fulfilling and normal lives? Is it not time for Turkey to put nationalism, pride and fear aside and recognize this dark chapter of its history during the first world war? Is it not time for Armenians and Turks to move forward by seeking a just closure of this open sore?” Harry Hagopian resumes.

<< | Home | >>

E-mail article | Discuss article new!

RSS © Panarmenian

Headlines for April 28, 2008

ERDOGAN: TURKEY AND ARMENIA HAVE A PRIORITY TO BUILD UP GOOD-NEIGHBORLY RELATIONSHIP
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a congratulatory message to Tigran Sargsyan on appointment Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, the RA government’s press office reported. The ...
MAMMADYAROV: BAKU ALWAYS EXPECTS PROGRESS IN KARABAKH PROCESS
The Strasbourg May 6 meeting with Armenia’s new Foreign Minister will be apparently a familiarization, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister said. “Firstly familiarization envisages studying the reaction ...
DAY OF YEREVAN TO BE CELEBRATED OCTOBER 11
The 2790th birthday of Yerevan will be celebrated on October 11, said Kamo Movsisyan, head of the division for cultural, youth and sports affairs at the Yerevan Mayor’s Office. “The Day of Yerevan is ...
THE GUARDIAN: IS IT NOT TIME FOR TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE THIS CRIME?
“April 24, is the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Is it not time for Turkey to recognize this crime and enable a just closure?” Harry Hagopian writes in “Remembering Anatolia, 1915” article ...
LAWYERS: DINK MURDER WAS COMMITTED WITH SUPPORT OF SECURITY UNITS
The accused murderers of Hrant Dink, the editor of Agos Turkish-Armenian newspaper, will appear before the court for the fifth time 15 months after the murder. On 28 April hearing (Monday), the remaining ...
SAMVEL FARMANYAN TO BE APPOINTED RA PRESIDENT’S SPOKESMAN
Samvel Farmanyan, who was recently appointed as Serzh Sargsyan’s reviewer, will take the office of RA President’s Spokesman, an informed source told PanARMENIAN.Net. Farmanyan is a member of youth wing ...
ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS CALL ON KOSOVO NOT TO MONOPOLIZE RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND SOVEREIGNTY
Raffi K. Hovannisian, chairman of the Heritage Party and leader of its group in the National Assembly, took part from in a mission of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) to Serbia and Kosovo April ...
AZERBAIJAN KEEPS ON INCREASING DEFENSE EXPENSES
Within the scope of the 2008 state budget adjustment, Azerbaijan will add about AZM 320 million to the military spending, MP Zahid Oruj said. He said the bill on 2008 state budget amendments has been ...
ARMENIAN BORDER GUARDS TO REPLACE RUSSIANS AT RA FRONTIERS
The Russian conscripts guarding some segments of Armenia’s borders will be transferred to the reserve in May and will be replaced by Armenian servicemen, in compliance with the agreement signed by Armenia ...
RA MPS VOTE AGAINST INCLUSION OF NKR RECOGNITION BILL IN AGENDA
On April 28, with a vote 15 to 64, Armenian MPs refused to introduce a bill “On recognition of Nagorno Karabakh Republic” submitted by Heritage party leader Raffi K. Hovannisian in the parliament’s agenda. ...
AZERI SPECIAL FORCES TOOK ARMENIANS WHO LOST THEIR WAY FOR “SUBVERSIVES”?
The Azeri media’s reports that “the Azeri armed forces captured an Armenian subversive group” do not correspond to the truth, RA Defense Minister’s Spokesman, colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan PanARMENIAN.Net. ...