Today is April 24. Here in Los Angeles, the city with a very large Armenian minority, preparations are on the way for what is expected to be a day of remembrance, hope, wishful thinking, or hate and anger, based on your understanding of the issue and how passionate your opinionated stance can be.
For many years, some of us Turks have been taught to regard those 'atrocities' as having occurred during the Ottoman Empire, and therefore as citizens of the modern republic of Turkey, were exempt from any guilt by association. Or at least that is the short version. The longer explanation of inquiries from interested parties requires the denial of any 'genocide,' at least by Turks against Armenians, and that the real reason behind a 're-placement' of Armenians of Turkey was the ensuing civil war between the two sides, as a result of the Armenians taking advantage of Ottoman Turkey's involvement in a world war. Not only that but there were many atrocities against Turks by Armenians, wherever the guilty Armenian minority had the majority within a given region. In fact, it was the Armenians who started it and the Turks were just defending themselves, whereby the rearrangement of the ethnic population was very appropriate.
After years of discussion, debate, and conflicting facts, it is clear that the orders for deportation, evacuation, or relocation, depending on your point of view, similar to the U.S. internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, was in fact made possible by 'Young Turks,' the nationalist movement within Ottoman Empire, responsible for the Turkification of all things Ottoman, including ethnic and racial harmony, and mutual respect, in the interest of neo-Turkish tendencies very popular at the time designed to unite the Turks against what seemed like everyone else who joined together to divide - what was once - a great empire.
No matter the origin, perpetrators, or excuse, it's about time for real debate and discussion by all relevant parties. It's the responsibility of both sides to resolve this issue once and for all. All guilty parties should admit guilt so that the long process of reconciliation and healing can then begin. History is full of unjust occurrences, as well as enough holocausts. We can only learn from the mistakes of the past as we play out the current chapter, and prepare future generations to become admirers of our courage and unselfish acts of global matrimony. Let's not allow pride and prejudice get in the way. Let's eliminate all of the reasons for the continued hatred that seems to serve the needs of a certain segment of the population who delight in continued discord. Let's beat them at their own game.
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