Sunday, October 10, 2010

Partition of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey - Armenia relations

After World War I, the Partition of the Ottoman Empire started and it divided into several new nations. The partition brought the creation of new Arab nations and the Turkish Republic. After this partition, Armenia and Turkey fought for their independencia and this caused the Armenian - Turkish War from 24 September to 2 December, 1920. 

Turkey and Armenia are neighbors and their borders weren't really defined aftert the partition. Over More than 150,000 turkish civilians and 60,000 - 198,000 armenian civilians died in the war.
The Brown country is Turkey and the green one is Armenia
 
The first genocide of the 20th Century occurred when two million Armenians living in Turkey were eliminated from their historic homeland through forced deportations and massacres.
 
Along with the Young Turk's newfound "Turanism" there was a dramatic rise in Islamic fundamentalist agitation throughout Turkey. Christian Armenians were once again branded as infidels (non-believers in Islam). Anti-Armenian demonstrations were staged by young Islamic extremists, sometimes leading to violence. During one such outbreak in 1909, two hundred villages were plundered and over 30,000 persons massacred in the Cilicia district on the Mediterranean coast. Throughout Turkey, sporadic local attacks against Armenians continued unchecked.
 
Individual caravans consisting of thousands of deported Armenians were escorted by Turkish gendarmes. These guards allowed roving government units of hardened criminals known as the "Special Organization" to attack the defenseless people, killing anyone they pleased.
The death marches, involving over a million Armenians, covered hundreds of miles and lasted months. Indirect routes through mountains and wilderness areas were deliberately chosen in order to prolong the ordeal and to keep the caravans away from Turkish villages. Food supplies being carried by the people quickly ran out and they were usually denied further food or water. Anyone stopping to rest or lagging behind the caravan was mercilessly beaten until they rejoined the march.

1 comment:

  1. I´m happy you chose this topic. This is a crimethat Turkey still denies!

    ReplyDelete