Armenian genocide

Armenian genocide
If you were to overhear the words "extermination of about 50% of a
population" in a conversation you would probably think that they were talking
about "the" holocaust in Nazi Germany. You probably would not suspect that
they were talking about Turkey and the Armenians. During the First World War,
the Turks set out to annihilate the entire population of Armenians living
within their borders (they almost did).
An area known as Historic Armenia lies right in the middle of what is now
modern day Turkey. This is where the Armenian's ancestors began one of the
first civilizations thousands of years ago. Historic Armenia has proved to be
an important strategical location for the many empires that have taken control
of it over the centuries since it is the bridge between three continents,
Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has been conquered by King Darius I of Persia in
521 B.C., by Media in 612 B.C., by King Cyrus of Persia in 549 B.C., by
Alexander the Great, by King Antiochos III of Syria in 212 B.C., By the Arabs
in 642 A.D., by the Mongols in 1240, by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th
century, and most recently by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR)
1922. During most of the time in between the Armenians had their
independence. Despite or perhaps because of the constant warfare and conquest
of that region and the oppression that the Armenians have faced over time they
have developed into a "… strong-willed people, self reliant and fiercely
independent"… The Armenians were the first country in the world to make
Christianity their country's official religion (20 years before St.
Constantine the Great in Rome). They also played an important role in the
crusades. Ever since then, the Muslim Turks (the vast majority in Turkey)
have not gotten along with the Armenian Turks.
When the Ottoman Empire took control of Turkey, they tried to assimilate the
Armenians by forbidding them to speak their native language in some places and
imposing an extortionary tax on them. They were sometimes called gavurs,
which means less than human. They were, however, allowed to attend their own
churches (The Armenian Apostolic Church).
In spite of the oppression that they faced they were able to adapt to Western
capitalism faster than their Muslim neighbors. More and more the Armenians
became the manufacturers, doctors, and teachers in Turkey. They had more
children in schools than before and their overall status in society was
beginning to rise. By the late 19th century, they began to understand the
concept of human rights. That is, people are people and one person should not
be treated better or worse than another because of their race, color, or
religion.
It was about that time, in 1891, that Sultan Abul-Hamid created the Hamidiye.
The Hamidiye were groups of Kurds armed by the government. Their official
duty was to protect the Russian border, but they spent most of their time
plundering and looting Armenian villages instead. The Armenians created
revolutionary groups called fedayees in response to this abuse.
In 1894, Armenians in Sassun refused to continue paying the extortionary tax
to the Kurdish. So Abdul-Hamid ordered Turkish along with Kurdish soldiers to
go over to Sassun and to put an end to the insubordinate uprising. The death
toll has been estimated at as low as 900 and as high as 60,000 Armenians.
International missionaries stationed in Turkey at that time reported these
atrocities to the European and American media. They (the media) in turn
demanded that Abdul-Hamid stop abusing the Armenians. Abdul-Hamid agreed to
stop, but instead he encouraged the Hamidayee to loot and kill Armenians. In
one reported incident 3,000 men, women, and children came to a fiery death
while huddled inside of a church for (ironically enough) protection. Between
1894 and 1896 about 200,000 Armenians were slaughtered. The primary goal of
these massacres was not for extermination however, but rather to teach the
Armenians that they had no choice but to accept their unequal status.
Of course Armenians didn't like the cruel and unjust rule of Abdul-Hamid, but
surprisingly some of the Muslim Turks didn't like him either. In 1908 Abdul-
Hamid was overthrown by The Young Turks (A.K.A. Committee of Union and
Progress) a rising group of liberals who were dissatisfied with Abdul-Hamid's
political repression. The new government brought with it new hope for both
Turks and Armenians. It was this hope that may have led the Turks to adapt
the philosophy of a homogeneous (of one race) nation. The Idea was to create
an empire that would unite Turks from the Mediterranean coast to central Asia.
This would exclude all non-Muslim minorities including the Armenians
In 1913 the triumverant of Enver Pasha (minister of war) Jalaat (minister of
Internal Affairs) and Jemal (minister of the navy) came into power under the
homogeneous nation ideality.
That same year ex-Sultan Abdul-Hamid attempted to regain power through a
short-lived counter-revolution. It was during this time that more than 20,000
Armenians were killed again.
The First World War began in August of 1914. Turkey entered the war and
sided with Germany and the central powers Nov. 2 of that year. The Turks
offered the Armenians a deal; if they would attack Russia, when the war was
over they would be rewarded with land. The Armenians refused saying that
there were a lot of Armenians in southern Russia; attacking them would be like