It has been 98 years since – following a premeditated plan with a methodic implementation – one million and a half Armenians were massacred in the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian people were the victims of a genocide which would soon serve as a gruesome reference for those that followed.
Today in Turkey, the mere enunciation of this historical fact still provokes ferocious opposition, sometimes even physical threats. Genocide denial serves as an encouragement to racism and hate against Armenians and other non-Muslim minorities. Some want to pretend that acknowledging the reality of the Armenian Genocide is an attack on all Turkish people and on “Turkishness”. It is not: it is a step towards justice.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
