Only in 2019 did the United States pass a resolution recognizing the massacre; yet, as of now, a US president has yet to do so. Are the tides finally turning?

By EMILY SCHRADER

The Biden administration reportedly will recognize the Armenian Genocide in a historic and long-overdue decision by the United States.In a morally inexcusable shortcoming, Israel and many other nations have failed or even refused to recognize the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 against Armenian Christians.

Only in 2019 did the United States pass a resolution recognizing the massacre; yet, as of now, a US president has yet to do so. Are the tides finally turning?The genocide is seen by many historians as a precursor to the Holocaust, and its lack of recognition has often been cited as evidence for why remembering the Holocaust is crucial to prevent genocides in the future. Despite overwhelming evidence and eyewitness testimonies, there has been controversy over recognition, due to Turkey’s adamant refusal to accept responsibility for the massacre.

In the case of Israel, the government has refused to recognize the Armenian Genocide, due to the volatile yet strategic political relationship with Turkey.For decades, Turkey has blackmailed and threatened nations if they even considered recognizing the Armenian Genocide.Initially, this wasn’t something Israel could politically afford. Israel relied heavily on Turkey as one of the only Muslim states with which it had cooperation and diplomatic relations. Yet through the decades, Turkey has become increasingly hostile to Israel with the dictatorial and Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Not only that, Turkey is increasingly aligned geopolitically with Iran.

Today, Israel is less dependent than ever on Turkey, especially with emerging relations with Arab states. Yet instead of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and unequivocally standing on the right side of history, the Israeli government has sold out the Armenian people even today, by selling weapons to Azerbaijan while it bombs Armenian cities.In the case of the United States, Armenian Genocide recognition has come up numerous times over the decades, yet there was only formal recognition in 2019. Forty years ago, US president Ronald Reagan used the word “genocide” to refer to the event, in a major step forward toward recognition; yet after a Turkish uproar, the US Congress failed repeatedly to recognize it, due to political interests. Similarly, US presidents from the Left and Right have avoided using the term “genocide” so as not to antagonize Turkey.In 2019, the US House of Representatives passed Resolution 401-11 recognizing the Armenian Genocide, followed by a unanimous decision in the US Senate. However, despite the fact that many US presidents have pledged to recognize the Armenian Genocide, none have followed through on their promise until now.This month, White House sources stated that the Biden administration will recognize the Armenian Genocide in a move that rights a historic wrong.It’s important to note that the Armenian Genocide was not simply a horrific event that occurred. It was arguably the most horrific orchestrated genocide the world had ever seen (at the time), and not in the context of a war, but because the Armenians were Christian.Persecution of Christians under the Ottomans occurred for years leading up to the Armenian Genocide, but escalated with the Tehcir Law, under which Armenians were robbed of their property and belongings and deported en masse, and sent on death marches into the Syrian desert in inhumane conditions.The Ottomans rounded up and murdered Armenian academics and intellectuals, they raped and enslaved Armenian women and girls, and those who survived were sent to concentration camps, executed, or left to die. Between 1914 and 1918, 1-1.5 million Armenians were murdered by Ottoman Turks, the direct predecessors of modern Turkey.It absolutely unconscionable that the community of nations has continued to allow Turkey to use its geopolitical position to bully other nations into denying or refusing to recognize the Armenian Genocide. For decades, Turkey has actively censored those who recognize the genocide in Turkey itself, and has even destroyed evidence. Previously, it even imprisoned academics who dared to call the Armenian Genocide a genocide.Whereas in Germany, the world demanded accountability and, even today, Holocaust denial is illegal, Turkey made it illegal not to deny the Armenian Genocide, and the entire world is complicit in allowing it to do so.If even a few of the world’s superpowers had recognized the Armenian Genocide from day one, we would be living in a different reality today, where smaller nations wouldn’t be afraid to acknowledge the obvious historical fact to the detriment of a people that was almost eliminated.The Biden administration recognizing the Armenian Genocide would not only send a morally necessary message to the people of Armenia on behalf of the United States, it also would send a message to the world. The time for recognition is now.The writer is the CEO of Social Lite Creative and a research fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute.

By Dr. Garo Armen

n 2019, the U.S. government passed legislation that formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks from 1915-1923. Now just a year later, world leaders, including the executive branch of the U.S. government, are allowing the escalation of Azerbaijan’s attacks in the Caucasus region and the consequent threat of a second Armenian genocide to occur with little involvement. Have we not learned from what history has shown us?

Since September 27th, the tensions and fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have quickly escalated with no end in sight. Turkey has been pushing Azerbaijan into a war with Armenia to strengthen its own position and power.  With the world currently concentrating on other events, Turkey has taken this opportunity to seize what does not belong to them.  Since June, Turkey has provided training to the Azeri military with combined drill exercises and sold arms including ammunition, missiles, electronic warfare systems, and vehicles to Azerbaijan.  Turkey also publicly stated that it would provide support to Azerbaijan in its fight against Armenia. ^[1]

The Turkish government is encouraging militia fighters from the region to join the ranks of the Azeri military by offering incentives to these fighters and by labeling this war as a jihad. Armenian Christians are fearful that they will be exterminated for their Christian beliefs. This is a war over territory, yes, but the conflict arises fundamentally from a desire to exterminate the Christian religion from the region. Turkey has already shown its true colors in the region with its attempt to exterminate the Kurdish population in Iraq. My biggest fear is that my homeland of Armenia will cease to exist for future generations as the world watches its destruction with no intervention.

The Azeri government is being controlled and manipulated by the Turkish government to allow Turkey to achieve its end goal:  The Second Ottoman Empire. As Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, has stated, “The Armenians in the South Caucasus are the last impediment on Turkey’s way to expanding its imperial policy. We must look at it in the context of the general policy pursued by Turkey in the Mediterranean region. This policy implies use of terrorists and mercenaries. The international community, especially Europe, must take this fact very seriously. If Europe fails to do so, you will have to meet Turkey in Vienna.^[2]”  

Since September 27th, I have personally been affected by the atrocities of the ongoing violence in the region.  An organization I founded in 2003, the Children of Armenia Fund, has seen young people we have educated through our SMART Centers drafted into the military to fight. Ten young men from COAF-sponsored villages, whom I’ve known since they were young children, have perished protecting their homeland in the past two weeks.

This 60 second video exemplifies the unfolding human rights crisis in Armenia and Artsakh, which is rapidly amounting to a genocide with the use of modern warfare weaponry. The Turkish and Azeri governments are on a campaign to remove and exterminate the peaceful people of Artsakh, who have been living on these ancestral lands for 2,700 years. This is a clear attempt by the Turkish government to initiate a second Armenian genocide.

Although I am not on the ground to witness first-hand the horrific damage this war is causing, I hear daily the concern in the voices of my friends over the increasing insecurity in the region. It is always those that are less fortunate that are most impacted by war. The military death toll since September 27th has reached over 700 and that number does not include the civilian casualties.^[3] The unprovoked attacks from Azerbaijan and Turkey have become increasingly more violent, already causing nearly 100,000 women and children to be displaced from their homes.

My plea is that we do not merely watch an entire ethnic group be destroyed but act to bring lasting peace to the region. World leaders need to intervene to stop Turkey from instigating and interfering in geopolitics in the region and if they neglect to do so they should understand that the continued bloodshed will be on their hands.

Correspondent Jonah Fisher has investigated the “disappearance of an Armenian church” that changed hands to Azerbaijan in the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, BBC reported.

As per the respective online video, “Azerbaijan has said ethnic Armenians are welcome to stay in Nagorno-Karabakh but Armenia has accused it of damaging and destroying Armenian cultural heritage left behind in the region, including churches and monuments.”

To note, the report is about the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Mekhakavan (Jabrayil).

The Federal Secretary of Italy’s Lega Nord Party Matteo Salvini says it’s impossible to negotiate with Turkey as long as that country has not recognized the Armenian Genocide, ARMENPRESS reports Salvini said in his speech at the Senate, in response to the speech of Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

”Of course, you are trying to bring a miracle into life, forcing the Turkish regime to demonstrate a good behavior, but I wish to remind that that regime rejects not only women’s rights, but any kind of freedom and even denies historical justice. Let’s not forget that justice for Armenians has not yet prevailed, the Armenian Genocide is not recognized yet. And as long as all these exist, I don’t think we can share a table with someone who jails those who dare to remember about historical justice’’, Matteo Salvini said in his speech.

‘Exterminate Jews like the Germans,’ wrote Hüseyin Nihal Atsız.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL  

The Istanbul metropolitan municipality’s naming of a park after a writer who showed great sympathy for the Nazi movement’s lethal antisemitism, has largely been ignored in the media outside of the Republic of Turkey.In November, the Istanbul city government named a park after Hüseyin Nihal Atsız (1905–1975) who is considered by experts of Turkey to be a raging racist and antisemite.

“It’s not shocking for those who know Turkey well that Ekrem Imamoglu, the supposedly ‘social democrat’ mayor of Istanbul, supported and approved a bill to name a park in the city after a prominent ultra-nationalist writer and Nazi sympathizer. Turkish ultra-nationalist and supremacist ideology is not a marginal phenomenon, but rather the mainstream,” Dr. Nikos Michailidis Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Mediterranean Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and an expert on Turkey, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist and distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, documented a number of Atsiz’s tirades against Jews. Atsiz wrote that “The Jew here is like the Jew we see everywhere. Insidious, insolent, malevolent, cowardly, but opportunistic Jew; the Jewish neighborhood is the center of clamor, noise and filth here as [the Jewish neighborhoods] everywhere else… We do not want to see this treacherous and bastard nation of history as citizens among us anymore.”Atsiz wrote that “The creature called the Jew in the world is not loved by anyone but the Jew and the ignoble ones… Phrases in our language such as ‘like a Jew’, ‘do not act like a Jew’, ‘Jewish bazaar’, ‘to look like a synagogue’… shows the value given by our race to this vile nation.”ATSIZ’S RHETORIC mirrored the genocidal antisemitism of the Hitler movement. “As the mud will not be iron even if it is put into an oven, the Jew cannot be Turkish no matter how hard he tries,” Atsiz wrote in 1934. “Turkishness is a privilege; it is not granted to everyone, especially to those like Jews… If we get angry, we will not only exterminate Jews like the Germans did, we will go further…”

The academic Corry Guttstadt wrote in her book: Turkey, the Jews and the Holocaust that “Nihal Atsiz was an avid Nazi sympathizer. He called himself a ‘racist, pan-Turkist and Turanist’, and was an open antisemite.”Jacob M. Landau, the late professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote that “Atsiz was a great admirer of the race theories of Nazi Germany, expressing some of them repeatedly in his works during the 1930s and 1940s (with the Turks labeled as the ‘master race’). For years, his haircut resembled Hitler’s, and his posture had a military way to it.”Writing on the website of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Dr. Efrat Aviv, a senior lecturer in the Department of General History at Bar-Ilan University, noted that “Atsız still has many fans in Turkey. His commemorative ceremony, which is conducted by youngsters from the İyi Parti, is held in Istanbul, an event that attracts members of all other parties as well.”The Post sent press queries to Turkey’s embassy in Israel, the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara, and to Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), an opposition party and the oldest political party in Turkey.

MICHAILIDIS SAID that, “With the exception of the pro-Kurdish HDP, and some liberal as well as a few social democrat politicians, all the other parties in the Turkish parliament are inspired – to different degrees – by openly racist ideologies and employ relevant rhetoric, with either an Islamist or a Kemalist façade.” Kemalism is the founding ideology of modern, secular Turkey, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.He continued that, “if we consider the rhetoric of the regime media, then the situation becomes even more disturbing. It seems that this is an ideology that goes beyond one party and embraces the whole state system. Racism and hate speech against Jews, but also against Greeks, Armenians, and of course Kurds – all victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing –  is a constant characteristic of the Turkish Islamo-nationalist public rhetoric and ideology that is employed by even some so-called ‘left wing’ parties in Turkey.”When asked about the glorification of Atsız and what the EU and the US can do, Michailidis, who speaks Turkish, said that, “primarily through extensive sanctions and with the use of other innovative diplomatic, economic, educational and cultural tools, the EU and the US can design and implement policies for the ‘de-Nazification’ of the Turkish political system and its irredentist, nationalist ideology.

“The current US administration can very well start by recognizing the genocide of the Armenians and the other Christians of Asia Minor committed by the Young Turks and their successors,” he said. “The Turkish state’s persistent denial of atrocities committed in the past enhances and reproduces hate speech, racism and aggressive behavior against citizens (Kurds, Alevis and others) and neighboring countries today.”Michailidis added that “We are talking about an ideological and political cancer that has been normalized and whitewashed for decades. This is a huge problem and the key to understanding Turkish internal and foreign policies. While the EU and the US strongly criticize and oppose the rise of Nazi ideologies in European countries, and rightly so, they fail to raise the same criticism when it comes to Turkey, a NATO member-state and once an aspiring candidate for EU membership. This is especially troubling when considering that in Turkey, this phenomenon is not marginal, but rather mainstream.”The Post also contacted members from Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, who have seats on the Istanbul Municipal Council.

By Harut Sassounian,

Last month, California Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s refusal to accept the Parole Board’s decision to release Hampig Sassounian from jail. I was under the wrong impression that the Governor’s decision on pardons was final and not subject to a review or reversal by the courts. It turns out that the law requires the Governor to consider “all relevant, reliable information available” and his parole decisions must not be arbitrary or capricious. This article is based on a copy of the Judge’s 19-page ruling.

Hampig Sassounian, not related to this writer, was convicted on June 29, 1984 of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, but was resentenced to a term of 25 years to life in 2002, making him eligible for parole. Sassounian assassinated Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan in Los Angeles on January 28, 1982 when he was 19 years old. He is now 58.

On December 27, 2019, the Board of Parole Hearings, found Sassounian suitable for release on parole. However, on May 25, 2020, Gov. Newsom rejected the Board’s decision based on the prisoner’s crime, “outsized political import,” and that his insight was “relatively new.”

On August 14, 2020, Sassounian filed a petition to the Superior Court challenging the Governor’s reversal of the Parole Board’s decision. He argued that the Governor’s decision is not supported by evidence that he posed an unreasonable danger to society, if released. Sassounian also contended that the “Governor imposed an unlawfully heightened standard of parole suitability illegally founded upon the circumstances of Sassounian’s life crime.” He contended that there is no evidence that he lacked “insight” and “the Governor’s conclusion that Sassounian has not demonstrated insight ‘for a sufficiently long period’ is an illegal reason to deny parole.”

On October 7, 2020, the court issued an Order to Show Cause. The Governor’s office filed its response on January 11, 2021, repeating the reasons why he refused parole for the prisoner. Sassounian then submitted his response on January 26, 2021 rejecting the Governor’s claims against him.

Judge Ryan ruled that Sassounian’s record does not contain any evidence to support the Governor’s contention that he is not suitable for release on parole. In addition, the Judge found that the Governor used an improper standard when considering both the “import” of Sassounian’s offense and the notoriety of his victim, as well as the recency of his insight. Therefore, the Judge ordered the release of Sassounian from jail.

Judge Ryan, in his verdict, mentioned Sassounian’s description of his background “as an Armenian born and raised until the age of 13 in Lebanon. During this time, they lived in an ‘active war zone and would routinely see dead bodies,’ including those of women and children. His father was an alcoholic who was often gone for weeks at a time, though Petitioner [Sassounian] had a good, loving relationship with his mother. He lived with his many siblings and extended family members, including his grandparents who were victims of the ‘Armenian Genocide.’ His grandmother often told Petitioner of how she lost her entire family to the genocide and that she only narrowly escaped death herself.”

The Judge continued: “At 13, his [Sassounian’s] family immigrated to the United States to escape the violence in Lebanon, but the family dynamic remained challenging. They moved to Pasadena where there was a large Armenian population. He joined the Armenian Boy Scouts and the Armenian Youth Federation. This is where he met his crime partner, Krikor ‘Koko’ Saliba. They became friendly a year or two before the crime and would discuss politics and the history between Armenia and Turkey, including the genocide. They also noted and discussed that there were ‘a lot of political assassinations going on’ at the time. That is, ‘Armenians were assassinating Turkish diplomats in Europe mostly because they were angry that … after the genocide Turkey would deny the genocide…. Young Armenians were upset about this and — they thought that — Turkey should step up and acknowledge the genocide…and get into dialogue with the Armenian people or make peace with them.’ Because this was not happening, ‘young Armenians decided to resort to violence….[They had] given up that… peaceful dialogue with Turkey was… going to happen.’ During this time Petitioner [Sassounian] and his crime partner, who was a few years older than Petitioner, discussed going to Europe to carry out an assassination like they had been seeing take place. At some point, Arikan, however, made a public address calling all Armenians ‘liars’ and declared there was no Armenian genocide. Saliba showed Petitioner an article regarding Arikan’s statement. ‘Being the grandsons of survivors of the Armenian genocide, we took that to be very insulting. And we took very deep offense about that.’”

Judge Ryan decided that “there is no evidence in the record to support the Governor’s finding of lack of insight, such the commitment offense of nearly 40 years is still probative of Petitioner’s current dangerousness.”

The Judge challenged the Governor’s contention that Sassounian’s insight into his crime was “very recent.” Judge Ryan stated that “the case law establishes there is no predetermined amount of time an inmate must demonstrate or possess insight such that it is sufficient for the purposes of suitability.” The Judge ruled that “the insight standard the Governor used to guide his decision was incorrect… and held Sassounian to a different ‘arbitrary’ standard.”

Regarding the issue of Sassounian being a danger to society, “the court notes that the psychologist found Petitioner to represent a low risk of violence upon release,” wrote the Judge. “Petitioner wrote a victim apology letter to Mr. Arikan’s family, friends, and colleagues, as well as one to the ‘Nation of Turkey, the Turkish government, and Turkish Communities of the World,’” stated Judge Ryan. “The court finds the Governor’s decision was both arbitrary and procedurally flawed,” ruled the Judge. He also noted that Sassounian “has comprehensive release plans for both the United States and Armenia.” This is in reference to Sassounian’s statement that he may relocate to Armenia after his release from prison.

At the end, the Judge pronounced that Sassounian “committed a murder for which he has been appropriately punished…. The Governor’s reversal is vacated, the Board’s grant of parole from December 27, 2019, is hereby reinstated. The Board is directed ‘to proceed in accordance with its usual procedures for release of an inmate on parole unless within 30 days of the finality of this decision the Board determines in good faith that cause for rescission of parole may exist and initiates appropriate proceedings to determine that question.’” Gov. Newsom decided not to appeal the Judge’s ruling, allowing the pardon go into effect which would set Sassounian free shortly.

In my opinion, violence is never justified regardless of the reason. Consul General Arikan was not guilty of committing genocide against the Armenian people. He was not even born during the genocide. Armenians have demands from the Government of Turkey, not individual Turks. Sassounian committed a crime for which he was punished by serving almost 40 years in jail. The complaints by the Turkish government about Sassounian’s release are not credible. The Turkish government pressured the Federal Government to urge Gov. Newsom in 2020 and previously Gov. Brown in 2017 to reject the Parole Board’s decisions to release Sassounian. Even less credible, not to say completely shameful, are the protests of the Azerbaijani government against Sassounian’s release. Azerbaijan awarded Azeri axe murderer Ramil Safarov the title of national hero for butchering an Armenian soldier while he was sleeping. Safarov served not a single day in jail in Azerbaijan after his extradition from Hungary.

Finally, it is completely unacceptable that the Turkish Government would demand excessive punishment for an Armenian who murdered a Turk, while Turkey itself continues to deny the mass murder of 1.5 million innocent Armenians. Only after the Turkish government acknowledges the Armenian Genocide and makes appropriate amends for it, Armenians can consider apologizing for the murder of a single Turk!