Denialism: the Ethics of the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
From 1915 to 1917[1] the Young Turk regime in the Ottoman Empire carried out a systematic, premeditated, centrally-planned genocide against the Armenian people.
The term “genocide” was invented by Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish origin in 1943, when he applied it to Nazi Germany’s maccare of the Jews. The word first appeared in the book “Axis Rule in Occupied Europe”. However, Lemkin was first inspired to look into genocide after the ettempted extermination of Armenians. In a 1949 interview, Lemkin said "I became interested in genocide because it happened so many times. It happened to the Armenians, then after the Armenians, Hitler took action."
The Turkish government rejects the term genocide as well as the conclusions of historians and saying there was no premeditation in the deaths, no systematic attempt to destroy a people.
A tweet from the Turkish Government expressed this:
“The relocation of the Armenian gangs and their supporters, who massacred the Muslim people, including women and children, in eastern Anatolia, was the most reasonable action that could be taken in such a period.The doors of our archives are wide open to all seeking the truth.”
Turkey has even included necessary denial of the Armenian Genocide in law: prosecuting Turkish citizens that discuss the Armenian Genocide as a factual occurrence under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. The mere discussion of the genocide is an affront to the Turkish government (“Turkey,” 2016).[2]
Currently, only the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan deny that there was an Armenian genocide, while Pakistan does not recognize Armenia's existence as a country. Many other countries, most controversially the United States, have teetered on the fence of condemning the genocide or avoiding losing Turkey as an ally. President Obama, when he was a senator in January 2008, explained that “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President.”[3] But later in his April 24 statements, Obama explained that in his statements “[he] ha[d] consistently stated [his] own view of what occurred in 1915, and [his] view of that history has not changed […]”, but then proceeded to skirt around using the term “genocide”, instead saying he “Medz Yeghern”, meaning “great crime” in Armenian, and sometimes used by Armenians to refer to the Genocide of 1915, instead of “genocide.”[4]
The Turkish government itself has spent millions of dollars on Washington lobbying over the past decade, and has also been accused of attempting to intimidate and silence foreign investigative journalists and genocide scholars.
The effects of the Armenian genocide still haunt the Armenian population worldwide. In literature, music, drama, and film the genocide is often referred to as the Event (Eghern) or the Catastrophe (Aghed). Armenian descendants seeking recognition of their grandparents' suffering could find everything they wanted to see there, except one thing: the word "genocide.
For this reason, post-Armenian genocide literature, as well as all literature of the Armenian diaspora has a unique ethical role in reestablishing history, even serving as a facilitator of transitional justice. Modern writing in the diaspora reflects the split and transitional identity of the Armenian people: diverse, often fragmented, and concerned with themes like survival and identity. While Armenian literature produced in diaspora should not necessarily always be subject to interpretation as “genocide” literature, examining it as such can give us insight into the effects of an event that some completely deny the existence of. Armenian diaspora literature often describes the trauma of displacement, as well as the feeling of obligation one has to stay true to institutions, language, and customs. In some of the following pieces in this series, I will discuss the role of diaspora literature, as well as several works produced by Armenians in diaspora.
In the meantime, let us ponder, what does it mean to write about an event that some maintain never happened? How does one effectively write about genocide?
[1] Schaller, Dominik J; Zimmerer, Jürgen (2008). "Late Ottoman genocides: the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Young Turkish population and extermination policies – introduction". Journal of Genocide Research. 10 (1): 7–14. doi:10.1080/14623520801950820.
[2] Bolsajian, M. (2018). The Armenian Diaspora: Migration and its Influence on Identity and Politics. Global Societies Journal, 6. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/51x1r30s
[3] “ANCA condemns Sec. Clinton’s comments on Armenian Genocide”, Armenian Reporter, January 31, 2012.
[4] “Statement of President Barack Obama on Armenian Remembrance Day”, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, April 24, 2009, April 24, 2010, April 24, 2011, April 24, 2012, and April 24, 2013.
