Meltha Magazine Online

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2002 May Conference page 12

Genocide and Identity: The consequence of the Genocide for the Assyrian Diaspora in the West and the struggle for international recognition of the historical facts

Dr. Gabriele YONAN

The Assyrian genocide was part of the Christian genocide, in consequence of the Jihad (Holy War) declared and incited by the Young Turks, shortly after the outbreak of World War I. It is one of the unresolved issues of the 20th century .

The descendants of the perpetrators themselves have not accepted responsibility for the massacres. Instead, they have resorted to a number of arguments to denying that such events took place. At the extreme end of this denial it is even alleged that Turks were victims of genocide perpetrated by the Armenians and other Christians of the Ottoman Empire. Nonetheless, it is a well-researched and historical fact that Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks were victims of a brutal and orchestrated campaign of annihilation.

In the Paris Peace Conference both Assyrians and the Armenians submitted their grievances against the Ottoman empire under the regime of the Young Turks, detailing the massacres carried out during World War I. Some discussions also took place during the conferences in Paris and Sevres (1919-20) but non at the conference of Lausanne (1924-1925). The Greco- Turkish War between 1919- 22 overshadowed any claims of genocide. In the ensuing years Armenians have been vocal and successful in publicizing the Armenian genocide, while until very recently the Assyrian genocide had remained largely unknown to the world.

The court case against the Syrian orthodox priest Yusuf Akbulut in 2000 was a turning point, which provided an impetus to publicize the Assyrian genocide to the world.

Greeks, Kurds and Turks are still burdened by the scale of the atrocities their grandfathers have committed. The Turks have on the whole treated the issues as a taboo and have discouraged any discussions on it. However, in the last few years for the first some historians, journalists and political activists have emerged in Turkey who are willing to deviate from the Turkish government official position on the genocide issue.

At this point, it is imperative that researchers document archival material and eyewitness accounts on the forgotten genocide against the Assyrians in the last century. International pressure, especially from the European countries, will further the case for the recognition of the Assyrian genocide by Turkey.