Armenia, Indonesia, and Iraq: Massacre or Genocide?

            In the late 19th century, the Turks and Armenians lived mostly at peace with each other. However, when the Ottoman Empire began to lose power and the Armenians progressively developed self-determination and nationalism, quarrels broke out. From the years 1894 to 1896, Sultan Hamid II ordered the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. A group of Young Turks replaced the old system of sultans in the coming years, and they promised reforms to the Armenians. Some extreme Turkish nationalists took complete dictatorial control over the country. Enver, Jemal and Talat were the three who masterminded the plan to rid their empire of Armenians and fulfill their pan-Turkic dreams. In 1915, hundreds of Armenian leaders were summoned to Istanbul where they were slaughtered mercilessly. Relocation of the leaderless Armenians began to happen all over the country. It was similar to what happened during the Holocaust in later years. Armenians were told that they had to move for their own good. They were taken to communities just for them to live in. At first, the government had them make weapons to aid in the war effort. The government then claimed that the weapons were being built in plan for a rebellion, and then shipped many able-bodied men off to war. With only the women, children, and elderly left in the towns, the communities were emptied. The people were told to bring only what they could carry and were led on death marches across Anatolia. They were raped, starved, dehydrated, murdered, and kidnapped along the way. Those who lived to see the destination, the Syrian Desert, were simply killed. Some managed to escape, with the help of kind-hearted Turkish soldiers, and managed to tell their story to Arab missionaries. The Armenian Genocide was an actual genocide. The Turks attempted to systematically and ruthlessly exterminate an entire race with no other goal than the perfect pan-Turkic civilization.

            The Indonesians suffer a large debt, causing their entire country to suffer in poverty. Although this is tragic and there are many deaths every day, it is not occurring out of attempt to wipe them off the face of the planet. There is no Indonesian genocide occurring, although there is inequality and unfairness. Maybe even too much apathy about the matter.

            Murders, killings and massacres are all easily defined. Genocide is slightly different. It is more systematic, with an ultimate goal of eliminating, in whole or in part, a race, ethnic group or religious sect. Through my own personal understanding of genocide, I have identified the Armenian-Turk conflict to be genocide. However, what happened in Iraq and what is currently going on in Indonesia, I see only as unfair prejudice. Hopefully, we’ll see even less of this in coming years.