Garabed Bardakjian
Prof. Dania Adra
English 203
22 October 2015
As we proceed to read the text, that has been "adequately" conjured up by ethnic Turkish scholars at Stanford University, it is a blunt descriptive piece that approaches the topic of The Armenian Genocide. As though to add insult to injury from the beginning, the recorded killings of the Armenian race is referred to as "events of 1915" (SUTSA). Neglecting to identify the death of 1.5 million (Robert Fisk) men, women and children as something other than an event. However; later restating themselves, they speak of the events as to being "atrocities" carried out by the Ottoman Empire, atrocities which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's newly founded Turkey condemned and thereby expressed its grief to the Armenian people. In the text, it is written that The Armenian independence movement started somewhat
later than other nations, around the 1880s. However; it does not state the fact that during that period between 1880 and 1915 (1894-1896) (Sara Cohan), Sultan Abdul-Hamid II had already slaughtered thousands of Armenians, an event that will be later known as The Hamidian Massacres. Moreover; admitting to an order given by the Ottoman empire for "relocation" (SUTSA), sadly adding that during the said relocation, the Armenians were killed by attacks of local Muslims, gangs, hunger and
epidemic. And today, to be able to counter-argue, we have pictures of Ottoman empire soldiers posing next to the corpses of hanged Armenian men (Mark Tran, The Guardian). Even-though, in the text it is written, and I quote "The Ottoman state certainly deserves the blame
for letting this happen. However, the evidence tells that it is the inability of the state to control its
provinces, rather than its intended plan, that lead to the atrocities." (SUTSA) and so I guess that generals at the time were incompetent of not hanging these men neither did they order it to happen. And after seeing this picture, the Turks say the following "evidence tells that the
events were not the plan of a group of sick-minded officials that wanted to exterminate a race,
apparently in the need of a scapegoat. This was the result of inter-communal warfare that was like a
fire engulfing the whole region." there was a fiery warfare, ignited by the Young Turks, aka "The Three Pashas" (Robert Fisk) (Minister of the Interior; Mehmed Talaat Pasha, the Minister of War; Ismail Enver Pasha, the Minister of the Navy; Ahmed Djemal Pasha). The Turk scholars try to hard to cover up the truth of their bloody past, and I am against it. They even to this day praise the leaders who have killed thousands upon thousands of Armenians , calling them Heroes who vanquished the "traitors". 
Knowing the story as it was told from generation to generation, it is partial that the benefit of the doubt is given to the Turk scholars, whom believe that Armenians are generally emotional (SUTSA) when it comes to this part of their history, and given that the Republic of Armenia has declined any diplomatic or economic ties with Turkey before the recognition of the massacres as Genocide by the latter country. It is also true that during WWI, Armenian militias called guerrillas helped the Russian advance into Anatolia. causing uprisings in different parts of Anatolia such as Van, thus creating panic in the rear of the Turkish army (SUTSA). However; at that time, Historical Armenia had been divided into two sides: The Russian side and the Turkish side. So, as much as there were Armenian fighters in Russian troops, there were in Turkish troops. But it was a live or die situation, on the front-line during Turkish-Russian clashes, Armenians would unknowingly kill one another for the sake of their families well-being back home. We've had men like Tovmas Nazarbekian, who was a general in the Russian Caucasus army. And on the other hand, men like Sarkis Torossian, who was a decorated Ottoman captain, who fought in the Gallipoli campaign, and was the first person to sink a British battleship, only to return home and find his family massacred by the rule of the same Empire for which he risked his life. Saying that "This reluctance to give up politics in favor of historical research prevents the true story from being unearthed and the lessons to be learned from them" (SUTSA) is a very true statement, however through the years the Turkish government has failed to give up politics time and time again. Lobbying governments of major countries into not recognizing the "events" as Genocide, and one of the major benefectors? Non other than the major Ottoman Empire activist and extremist, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of modern day Turkey. the same person who greeted the Palestinian president at his controversial 1150 room, 490m € palace, with 16 warriors dressed in historical Ottoman Empire Armour and weapons (Agence France, The Guardian).
Works Cited
Stanford University Turkish Student Association. "The Armenian genocide: The Turkish side of the story.". Stanford University: Stanford University Turkish Student Association . Web.
Fisk, Robert. "Robert Fisk: The forgotten holocaust". Independent, 2007. Web.
Cohan, Sara. "A Brief History of The Armenian Genocide". Genocide Education Org.: Sara Cohan, 2005. Web.
Tran, Mark. "Background: the US Turkey-Armenia 'Genocide' ruling". The Guardian: Mark Tran, 2010. Web.
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