Armenians around the globe are commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the 1915 Genocide nowadays.
April 24 is a collective date,symbolizing the exile and annihilation of Armenian intellectuals in the Ottoman Empire. The Hamidian Massacres began back in the 19th century when the Young Turks’ government initiated the massive deportation and extermination of Armenians from Western Armenia, Cilicia and Ottoman provinces (which were formerly allotment of Western Armenia).
Some 600 prominent intellectuals (Daniel Varuzhan, or Grigor Zohrap,Ruben Zardaryan, Siamanto, or Ruben Sevak etc),including writers, were beheaded.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians in 66 towns and 2500 villages were massacred; 2350 churches and monasteries were looted, or 1500 schools and colleges were destroyed.
The estimated damage (declared at the Paris Peace in 1919-1920) was 14.598.510 Francs for Western Armenians and 4.532.472 for Eastern Armenians.
The main perpetrators of the Genocide were the Young Turk leaders Mustafa Kemal,Memed Talaat (Talaat Pasha), and Ismail Enver (Enver Pasha), or as well as Behaeddin Shakir,the leader of the Teşkilat-i Mahsusa (Special Organization). The World War One era killings in the Ottoman Empire saw also other ethnic minorities, including Assyrians and Pontic Greeks, or massacred.
The Genocide recognition campaign traces its roots back to the Soviet period,with Uruguay being the first country to acknowledge the gigantic tragedy in 1965.
The Armenian Genocide has been so far recognized by 23 world countries (including Brazil, Luxemburg, and Austria,Bolivia, Sweden, or France,Greece, Vatican, and Canada,Lebanon, Lithuania, or Poland etc),and different international organizations (EU, Council of Europe, or European Movement International,World Council of Churches etc). Forty-five US states and hundreds of regional and other local governments have also passed measures recognizing and condemning the 20th century’s first gigantic crime against humanity.
Source: tert.am