Newsgroup: italia.bologna.politica
Titolo: Giorno della memoria...

news.bbc.co.uk
 
Sunday, 26 January, 2003, 01:40 GMT 
Armenians say US failed them over 'genocide'
[[Picture] Victims of one of the worst crimes of our age]
By Fergal Keane 
Reporting from Turkey for Correspondent  
President Bush is counting his allies in Europe and the Middle East 
in preparation for conflict in Iraq. One of the key US allies is 
Turkey.
But the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in 1915 - 
some estimates run to more than a million - still troubles America's 
diplomatic relations with Turkey. 
[[Picture] Few escaped the brutality]
Armenian communities have long pressed America to recognise the 
slaughter in Ottoman Turkey as genocide.
But the Turks have always denied genocide and the scale of killing. 
Turkey says the deaths were the consequence of civil war. 
America regards Turkey as being strategically vital in any 
potential conflict with Iraq. 
The Western allies will need Turkish bases from which to launch air 
and land strikes. 
Turkish politicians have consistently urged America not to 
recognise the Armenian claims. 
The Armenians feel they have been failed by President Bush, and 
President Clinton before him, in not already branding the slaughter 
as genocide - as they both had pledged to do. 
 
[[Link] : Armenia - 1915 
Armenia - The Betrayed - picture gallery]
'Systematic extermination'
The Armenians were victims of one of the worst crimes of our age.
Militant nationalists, who ruled Ottoman Turkey at the time, had 
long regarded the Armenians as a treacherous minority. 
As the Ottoman Turks prepared for entry to the First World War, 
they started the deportation of the Armenians from their traditional 
lands. 
[Box] It's absolutely incorrect, inaccurate and we feel very insulted
Tayyibe Gulek, former Turkish MP]
 
Thriving Armenian communities vanished. Those who made it to 
America were the lucky few. 
But many thousands were either left to starve in the mountains or, 
as Professor Halil Bergtai explained, "They fell victim to 
systematic extermination by vengeful tribes acting as government 
agents."
The Armenians have always maintained these actions were a 
calculated genocide.
However, former Turkish MP, Tayyibe Gulek rejects the accusations, 
saying: "Accusing people of genocide, of wanting to eradicate a 
whole group of people simply because of who they are, is absolutely 
incorrect, inaccurate and we feel very insulted."
American warnings
Turkey has never denied forcing the Armenians out but says this did 
not amount to genocide. 
 
[[Picture] The government order sealed Armenian fate]
Filed away in the Ottoman archives is an extraordinary document. 
Signed in 1915 by the government's cabinet, it is an official order 
for the deportation of all Armenians. 
Men, women and children were all classified as the enemy and were 
to be driven out.
The American Ambassador in Constantinople at the time, Henry 
Morgenthau, urgently contacted the Secretary of State in Washington.
He wrote: "Deportation of and excesses against peaceful Armenians 
is increasing, and from harrowing reports of eye witnesses it 
appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress under a 
pretext of reprisal against rebellion".
It is clear that America was made aware of the extent of the 
atrocities at an early stage.
Presidents' dilemma
Just prior to the American presidential elections in 2000, 
President Clinton shocked the majority of Congress. 
[[Picture] Was Turkish pressure heavy on his mind?]
He asked the Speaker of the House to withdraw a bill that would 
have recognised the Armenian slaughter as "genocide". 
His reason was for "grave national security and concerns, 
endangering American lives". 
But, Turkish Ambassador, Solmaz Unaydin said: "I think it was 
President Clinton's very good foresight, appreciation and evaluation 
of Turkey's position in the region, and the value they attach to our 
'friendship and collaboration' as a Nato ally."
Now, with war looming against Iraq, President Bush needs Turkey 
even more than his predecessor. 
This has meant breaking a pledge he made to the Armenian community. 
In the run-up to the presidential elections, President Bush stated: 
"The Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign...if elected 
president, I would ensure our nation properly recognises the tragic 
suffering of the Armenian people". 
[[Picture] Turkey could play a key role in any Iraqi conflict] 
Bedros Gezoulin is a 96-year-old survivor of the slaughter who 
vividly remembers the massacres and starvation.
He said: "After I die, I will be finished. But I will wait for that 
day. I will wait till I die to hear them say: 'yes we have done it'."
But with President Bush dependent on Turkish support the survivors 
may be waiting for a long time.
© MMIII
© BBC
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Alla vigilia del giorno della memoria, č bene ricordare che la
Turchia č colpevole di genocidio, e che ancora oggi il governo
turco rifiuta di riconoscere le gravissime responsabilitą del
passato.
E' ammissibile che uno stato colpevole di genocidio sia candidato
a diventare membro dell'Unione Europea ?
Forse gli Armeni hanno avuto pochi registi e attori a Hollywood...
I turchi sono sempre stati un popolo brutale e assetato di
sangue europeo, non dobbiamo consentire che possano diventare
cittadini dell'Unione Europea, per nessuna ragione.
--

 cittadini dell'Unione Europea, per nessuna ragione.
????????????????
Quando sarà il giorno della memoria per i crimini contro l'umanità
effettuato da Americani nei confronti dei Nativi di quella terra?
Quando il Giorno della memoria per i crimini Spagnoli nei confronti
degli Indios?
Quando il giorno della memoria per i crimini della chiesa in tutta
europa nei confronti dei nostri Avi?
Dal TG3 "Per colpa di quei 5 personaggi che non credono che il
genocidio nei confronti degli ebrei non ci sia stato....."
Ma cari.... Non è questione di non credere ciò che è stato il nazismo.
La questione è che il nazismo in confronto a quello che lo ha ispirato
(leggi sopra la storia) non è nulla.
Occidente civile ....dove? quando?
No alla turchia?
 :-) vi hanno forse appannato la mente?