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Golightly · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 1:40 pm Post subject: The Armenian Tragedy

OK, a sensitive topic, I know, but one that needs to be looked at. This issue is raising a considerable amount of steam in the Turkish community in the UK at the moment. What's your take on this? A tragic accident of war? Ethnic cleansing? Genocide? Or did the Armenians just decide to leave the east of Turkey?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

What are you talking about? Wink

molly farquharson · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 839 Location: istanbul

my understanding of it based on research i have read is that the russians stirred things up because they wanted to do a land grab (along with a bunch of other people at that time) and it got out of hand. the ottoman empire was falling apart and could not control it. thousands of people died on both sides. it seems to me that it is the armenians outside the region who are living on one-hundred-year-old hatred and need to move forward.

sandyhoney2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 189

I agree with Molly. There is evidence that Russia was pushing Armenians to separate from the Ottoman Empire, which at the time was considered treason punishable by death. Seems to me that Turkey has taken the "an innocent man needs no lawyer" approach and has frankly not been protesting enough.

Genocide is a tough lable to stick on a country, with serious repercussions. Why go through the bother of those horrible relocations when the plan was to kill them all in the first place? And remember, it was the Ottoman Empire. not Turkey.

The whole hundred-year hatred thing drives me nuts. Then you get Atom Egoyan stirring things up with his version of events in Ararat. Turks have been the boogeymen for a long time. I'm sick of it, personnally.

31 · Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 1797

[quote="sandyhoney2"]I agree with Molly. There is evidence that Russia was pushing Armenians to separate from the Ottoman Empire, which at the time was considered treason punishable by death.

True but did there have to be nearly 2 million deaths?

TeachEnglish · Joined: 09 Feb 2005 Posts: 239

Hmmm.. were there 2 million deaths..or is that an exaggeration? The last thing I read stated that there were only about 1.5 million Armenians living in the area at the time.. and it would have been very difficult to kill 2 million.. I think the Turks and the Armenians should agree to allow an unbiased 3rd party or group to do some research and come up with the truth.. Yes that would mean they would have to give up their records and open up their archives and allow people to study the records.. if there are any..and do some research.. This old crap needs to be settled.. who really gives a rats Xss about this.. this is old news.. war is not fun.. people always get killed..

molly farquharson · Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 839 Location: istanbul

the armenians abroad give a rat's ass, and they stir it up even more. Ever play the telephone game in class, where one sentence gets whispered around and by the time you get to the end it is completely different? iste... hardly anyone talks about how many turks were killed at the same time, which actually was about as many as the armenians.

genocide is defined as the methodical wiping out of a complete group of people, which is not what this was. it was war, pure and simple. is it genocidein iraq when the sunnis and shiites attack each other? no.

stupid. people are stupid and hateful, and ignorant people are stirred up to do hateful things.