Beginning in 1915, the Ottoman Empire perpetrated a genocide, killing 1.5 million Armenians. For decades, American leaders did not acknowledge this fact, due to pressure from Turkey. Until today.
Some two million Armenian-Americans live in the United States, and most are descendants of genocide survivors or victims.
Today’s change in US policy happened because of the tireless work of these individuals, who campaigned for decades on behalf of recognition. 2/7
For survivors & their families, struggling to have their experiences recognized was extremely painful.
US officials were forced to pretend that historical facts were just opinions & to deploy euphemisms to describe cold truths. This was wrong. 3/7
Turkey is a powerful country in a critical region. It is part of NATO. Our relationship matters. But President Erdogan’s success in blackmailing & bullying the US (and other countries) not to recognize the Armenian Genocide likely emboldened him as he grew more repressive. 4/7
.@POTUS’s #ArmenianGenocide recognition comes at a critical time. Genocide denial is rising. Facts are under increasingly sophisticated attack, which helps those committing atrocities obscure their crimes& maintain impunity. Justice & accountability require telling the truth. 5/7
Today is about the truth:
That the Ottoman military marched the Armenians in this photo to their deaths.
That all but 4 of the Armenian kids pictured were killed.
That, as described in real-time by the US Ambassador there, a “campaign of race extermination” occurred. 6/7
On Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, as we mourn all those who lost their lives, we are reminded that—no matter how long it takes—we can never give up on the pursuit of truth. 7/7
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1) Sharing a few personal reflections on @POTUS Biden's immensely moving decision to recognize the #ArmenianGenocide at long last (1/10):
2) A quarter century ago, I began researching the major genocides of the 20th century. My research began, naturally enough, w/ the Ottoman slaughter & I discovered the extent to which Raphael Lemkin invented the word "genocide" in 1944 w/ the destruction of the Armenians in mind
3) With publication of "A Problem from Hell" in 2002, I was stunned & humbled by the response of Armenian-Americans who invited me into their homes&churches, & who attended public events to rebut the orchestrated lies of Turkish govt officials who tried to discredit my research.
On the eve of #ArmenianGenocide Remembrance Day, sad to think of all those who worked so hard for recognition but didn’t see it happen. First & foremost, the community of survivors—nearly all of whom have passed away. Genocide denial caused them & their families immense pain. 1/5
I’m also thinking of people like Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Dink's newspaper was unique in engaging Turkish & Armenian communities, promoting reconciliation & opposing nationalism. Dink wrote candidly on the genocide—& the Turkish govt frequently persecuted him. 2/5
In 2007, Dink was being prosecuted for “denigrating Turkishness” for discussing the genocide. He walked outside his Istanbul office and was murdered. Thousands took to the streets, and over 100k went to his funeral, chanting “We are all Hrant Dink, we are all Armenian!” 3/5
With long-overdue #ArmenianGenocide recognition seemingly near, it's worth recalling the courage of US diplomats who in 1915 exposed the massacres in real-time, trying in vain to get Washington to help the Armenian people. 1/6
Henry Morgenthau Sr., the US Ambassador on the ground, informed Washington in July 1915: “Persecution of Armenians assuming unprecedented proportions.”
He detailed “frequent instances of rape, pillage, and murder, turning into massacre, to bring destruction” to Armenians. 2/6
The information Morgenthau persisted in communicating back to America was stark and horrific:
- “A campaign of race extermination is in progress”
- “Armenians mostly women and children…have been massacred” 3/6
Since seeing @repjohnlewis visit Black Lives Matter Plaza this past weekend, I’ve been reflecting on how blessed we are to be inspired and led by an elected official of such decency and courage. 1/11
I immigrated to the US at age 9 & attended Lakeside High School in Atlanta, #Georgia, where parents & the @NAACP had been battling DeKalb County officials & resistant community members to enroll more black students at Lakeside.
Thankfully they won, & my class (Lakeside Class of 1988) became the first in the high school’s history in which African-American students outnumbered whites.
Thread showing that the very countries/leaders that the US wants to step up in the fight against #covid are horrified by Trump’s latest tantrum. The US #WHO funding cut off is both shameful & dumb.
African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat
Top European Union foreign affairs official Josep Borrell
Trump has put in place a de facto hold on funds to the @who, requiring agencies to obtain what appears to be @WhiteHouse clearance, which will cause needless delays & mean cuts at the worst possible time. A thread on why this is sheer madness: politico.eu/article/corona…
.@WHO needs $$ to urgently scale up in poor nations where #COVID is arriving&where death toll likely huge. @BillGates warns of some 10 mlln possible deaths in Africa. Trump may not care abt African lives, but he cares abt return to normalcy here-not poss when C19 raging elsewhere
See my @Nytimes op-Ed on how walls can’t protect us from large-scale outbreak in developing countries, as we are linked via family ties, global supply chains, and trading relations: nytimes.com/2020/04/07/opi…