Comments on: Tribute to the Armenian Genocide

By: 27 not so foolish Americans at Serving Bread

27 not so foolish Americans at Serving Bread — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:34:32 +0000

[...] HR 106 which would recognize the Armenian genocide as a genocide. I’ve mentioned before that the healing of a nation does not come because of government resolutions, and I think that the Armenian-American lobby has spent way too much time and money to force such a [...]

By: Eddy E

Eddy E — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:12:01 +0000

Thanks Samer about that book. I don’t know about it. I’d be curious to read what he says and the context it’s used in.

By: Samer Farhat

Samer Farhat — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 23:55:39 +0000

Eddy, those are 5 great points that would apply to many other peoples, including Palestinians. I am not sure which is the most challenging to live out.

Have you read the book My Big Father by Bruce Farnham? He gives a great contemporaneous account of the Armenian genocide even though it is more a side story to the main biography.

By: Eddy E

Eddy E — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:13:22 +0000

Your last sentence is exactly why. The genocide has been investigated by countless historians, governments, authors, writers–including Turks, Armenians and others—and most reliable/reasonable sources have concluded that there was a genocide committed by the government at the time against the Armenian people.

A commission that would examine the Turks’ role in the atrocities would make sense, but anything that begins with a zero-base assumption is futile. The Jews would not accept such a thing, neither should Armenians.

By: Tyler Watson

Tyler Watson — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:20:32 +0000

Thanks for posting this Eddy. I think you’re right in calling people to acknowledge the truth reminding all people that forgiveness is not dependent upon someone’s apology; reconciliation might be, but forgiveness isn’t.

It’s sad that the majority of the states in the US acknowledge the genocide and label it as such, but the federal government won’t. It saddens me when our “interests” trump exposing the truth.

I’d like to hear more about your views on why the commission would be unnecessary. I think it is reasonable to be skeptical that the genocide-deniers could spin such a commission and force it into endless bureaucracy, but I think it could also be a moment of bringing out the truth and having people acknowledge it. It could be worthwhile for everyone — I imagine many people living in Turkey today either aren’t aware of the genocide or think it of something as a myth. On the other hand, depending on who is brought onto the commission, it could be something ridiculous like Iran’s similar commission about the Holocaust last year, headed by Ahmadinejad and attended by David Duke.