Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

As members of the human family and especially as Christians, we should never forget the atrocities that took place in the infamous genocide of the Armenian people in 1915. This past week on April 24th, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, President Joseph Biden recognized the murder of the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as a genocide. Officially calling the killings a genocide was generally avoided by American presidents (except President Reagan), so as not to sour political and strategic relations with Turkey. Biden’s designation comes at a low point in relations with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan over issues such as arms purchases from Russia, human rights abuses and continued interference in Syria and Libya.

In his message commemorating the more than 1.2 million lives lost in Armenia in 1915, President Biden said that the “American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today. Let us renew our shared resolve to prevent future atrocities from occurring anywhere in the world. And let us pursue healing and reconciliation for all the people of the world.”

Armenian Americans hailed the president’s statement.

The prime minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said of the statement, “I highly appreciate your principled position, which is a powerful step on the way to acknowledging the truth, historical justice, and an invaluable of support for the descendants of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.” 

Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, said of the statement, “President Biden’s affirmation of the Armenian Genocide marks a critically important moment in the arc of history in defense of human rights.”

The genocide of the Armenians took place at the end of World War I in the time period that the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, and the new Turkish government was worried that Christian Armenians would join with Russia against them. The new government ordered mass deportations that led to the first genocide of the 20th century. More than 1.2 million Armenians were killed in massacres by Turkish soldiers and police, while others were forced to flee to the Syrian desert where they starved to death. While Turkey admits that atrocities against the Armenians took place during this time period, they adamantly deny that it was a genocide.

Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace marked the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day with the following statement, “April 24 is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, marking the 1915 start of a campaign that resulted in the death of as many as 1.2 million Armenian Christians, victims of mass shootings, death marches to distant camps, torture, assaults, starvation and disease. Thousands of Armenian children were torn from their families and forcibly converted (to Islam). This horrific tragedy was intended to eliminate the Armenian people and their culture in what has been called the ‘first genocide of the 20th century.’”

He added, “But Armenia and the Armenian people survived and endured despite their suffering and persecution. I echo the prayers of our Holy Father, Pope Francis when he offered his prayers for justice and peace following a trip to Armenia in 2016; ‘A people that suffered so much throughout its history, and faith alone, faith has kept this people on its feet. The fact that (Armenia) was the first Christian nation is not enough; it was the first Christian nation because the Lord blessed it, because it had its saints, it had its holy bishops and martyrs.’”

The Turkish response to Biden’s statement was predictable. “Words cannot change or rewrite history. We will not take lessons from anyone on our history,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu moments after the Biden statement. He added that Turkey “entirely rejects” the U.S. decision, “We will not take lessons from anyone on our history.” Turkish president Erdogan sent a message to the Armenian community and Patriarch of the Armenian Church calling on him not to allow “the culture of coexistence of Turks and Armenians … to be forgotten.”

As with any human genocides, we must never forget. Lest it happens again to another group of innocent human beings, anywhere in the world, at any time.