Turkish Armenians 1915-1918

Summary:
-The first genocide of the 20th Century was that of the Armenian Genocide. It occurred when two million Armenians living in Turkey were eliminated from their historic homeland through forced deportations and massacres.
- The death marches during the Armenian Genocide, involving over a million Armenians, covered hundreds of miles and lasted months.
- 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. If they couldn't continue they were shot.
- Great Britain, France and Russia (The Allied Powers) responded to rumour of the massacres by issuing a warning to Turkey: "...the Allied governments announce publicly...that they will hold all the members of the Ottoman Government, as well as such of their agents as are implicated, personally responsible for such matters."
- No Allied power came to the aid of the Armenian Republic and it collapsed.

Personal Response:
I had no idea this had ever taken place. Like Adolf Hitler once said “Who talk about the Armenian’s now a day’s anyway?” Sadly, I am agreeing with his spoken words. How are we so oblivious to mass atrocities which have taken place in society today? What can we do to raise awareness? I am taking a step in the direction I wish everyone would take; to gain more knowledge on our history and make our nations aware of future atrocities that may occur.

Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992-1995

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, conflict between the three main ethnic groups, the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, resulted in genocide committed by the Serbs against the Muslims in Bosnia. The war in Bosnia can thus be considered both genocide against Bosnia's Muslim population, and a genocide against Muslim men in particular. The atrocious maltreatment of other population groups included the destruction of entire cities and the mass rape of women.
Mark Danner summarized the Serbs' modus operandi as follows:
1. Concentration. Surround the area to be cleansed and after warning the resident Serbs -- often they are urged to leave or are at least told to mark their houses with white flags -- intimidate the target population with artillery fire and arbitrary executions and then bring them out into the streets.

2. Decapitation. Execute political leaders and those capable of taking their places: lawyers, judges, public officials, writers, professors.

3. Separation. Divide women, children, and old men from men of "fighting age" -- sixteen years to sixty years old.

4. Evacuation. Transport women, children, and old men to the border, expelling them into a neighboring territory or country.

5. Liquidation. Execute "fighting age" men, dispose of bodies.

Sabrina Ramet in Balkan Babel (p. 267), writes about the deaths "between 200,000 and 400,000 people had died since June 1991 as a result of the war between Serbs and non-Serbs, and at least 2.7 million people had been reduced to refugees. Estimated 20,000-50,000 Bosnian Muslim women had been raped by Bosnian Serb soldiers in a systematic campaign of humiliation and psychological terror."

"The tale of what happened during those dark days in Rwanda must be told again and again and again, not out of a morbid desire for gruesome tales, but out of a concern that the innocent dead should continuously sear the memories of the living. Only then can 'never again' cease to be an empty cry." -- Dr. Richard Sezibera, Rwandan Ambassador to the United States
This drawing was done by a child survivor as part of post-genocide trauma therapy. It is one of many such haunting pictures in Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda. Edited by Richard A. Salem.

Stalin’s Forced Famine 1932-1933

How did the world and country respond to the atrocities?

The sadistic mind of Stalin was beyond imagination. How could a leader get away with this atrocity? It was a sick way to build an economy. From an internationalist view, many perceived it as a “crime against humanity” and many were astonished. A quote from the website which distressed me was “desperate Ukrainians ate leaves off bushes and trees, killed dogs, cats, frogs, mice and birds then cooked them. Others, gone mad with hunger, resorted to cannibalism, with parents sometimes even eating their own children”. Many citizens also rebelled by burning their homes down rather than surrendering them.

What motivated the crimes?

Stalin took over the country after the death of Lenin in 1924. He was said to be one of the “most ruthless humans ever to hold power”. One of the wealthier farms, the Kulaks, triggered Stalin’s revolt against the people. The collectivized land which the Kulaks wanted back was disputed among Stalin. In return, he wanted to abolish the Kulaks to prevent insurgence. Because production remained low because of the peasants’ resistance to collectivization, Stalin was forced to send the police into the countryside to raid farms for food. Ultimately, the army was used to force the peasants to work and send food to the cities. Furthermore, as punishment for not collectivizing, the farmers were given little or no food. Mass starvation occurred during this period, with close to 30 million peasants starving to death.
Was the conflict brought to a resolution?Stalin’s solution was to the extent of ending the famine. The crimes committed were never justified; he achieved in eliminating the Kulaks class as well as continued to indoctrinate people with in the country through government officials.

Personal Response:

I am clearly interested in Politics, but never knew how oblivious I was to in my eyes, one of the greatest atrocities that have ever happened in this world. It is devastating and to ultimately see the nations response is horrific. How could a substantial amount of justice not be served? It is just beyond my imagination what has been done; to be treated as low as any civilian could be. All I can truly say is we are blessed to live in such an amazing country where we don’t worry about such conflicts ever happening.

Facts:
-25,000 people perished per day because of starvation.
-The 7 August 1932 law drafted by Joseph Stalin on the protection of the socialist property stipulated the death penalty for "theft of socialist property". Ukrainian villagers were executed by firing squads for theft of a sack of wheat and in some cases even for two sheaves of corn or a husk of grain.
-Local granaries in Ukraine held large stockpiles of ‘state reserves' for emergencies, such as war, but the raging famine did not qualify as an emergency.
-Not a single Western newspaper or press agency protested publicly against the unprecedented confining of its correspondents in Moscow or bothered to investigate the reason for this extraordinary measure.

Cambodia 1994

On 17 April 1975, troops of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement entered Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, it is one of the poorest countries in the world and it relies heavily on aid. Foreign donors have urged the government to clamp down on corruption.

Facts:
Full name: Kingdom of Cambodia
Population: 13.7 million (via UN, 2006)
Capital and largest city: Phnom Penh

Area: 181,035 sq km (69,898 sq miles)
Major language: Khmer
Major religion: Buddhism
Life expectancy: 52 years (men), 60 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 riel = 100 sen
Main exports: Clothing, timber, rubber

The atrocities which took place in Cambodia is once again beyond imagination. We as a by-standard country should have stepped in when appropriate. How are we any better than the government who allows this? When we have power we should intervene, it’s horrifying to hear that cities were raided and people relocated to communal farms due to the goal of having a centralized communal organization.

Rwanda 1994

Between April and June of 1994, 800,000 Rwandans were killed in just 100 days. The Rwandan genocide occurred as part of the civil war between two ethnic groups — the Tutsis and the Hutus. The genocide was sparked by the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu. The mass murdering began with Hutus killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the thousands. Civilians were encouraged to take part, killing their neighbors for incentives like food and money. The international community ignored the atrocities being committed. The UN of all people should feel ashamed for pulling out because of their loss of 10 soldiers. That does not give motivation to pull out. It is especially disturbing when more lives were risked daily of the African American people; inconsideration such as that makes them the instigator as well. I feel greatly disturbed because of all the lying or so called ‘politics’ we deal with when it comes to human rights. An example of this was when Clinton lied about the Genocide in Rwanda; it was one of the greatest failures of his presidency 1994.

(To further my knowledge, I watched Hotel Rwanda, although not 100% accurate, did give me a mental picture of what took place)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The articles in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” which would be violated in an instance of genocide would be all of them. Any threat towards Human Rights becomes a violation or possible lead to genocide. The Declaration proclaims that “as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction”.

An example would be article 1 which states simply that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”. This declaration was obviously disregarded during World War II, as we know the Jewish race was treated unfairly compared to those who were not Jewish, as well as enduring harsh conditions.

The 8 Stages of Genocide

Reflecting back on the 8 Stages:

Classification: What a horrifying thought, to be categorized and then be targeted for destruction. It makes you question the sadistic minds of these people. But when you think of it, we stereotype, judge and point our fingers at those we despise. So how are we any different? Though we do not pursue thoughts of extermination, we all fall under the first category of the 8 stages; Classification.

Symbolization: Symbolizing people is more of a tactic to raise awareness. Such as the Jew’s who had to wear the yellow star. It was as if the Jew’s had been spotlighted because of religion. The minds which created the symbolizing tactic were to raise awareness among everything else. They wanted their targets to receive as much negative attention as possible.

Dehumanization: At this point in the genocide process, you have got to be mentally ill or unstable. To deny someone’s ethnic group or pretend they do not exist is beyond imagination. At this stage, an international intervention should take place and become recognized. From this point on, it is almost determined it will lead to mass murder.

Organization: This stage is still unclear. How could one leader, change the mindset of a group of militia or an entire government? I believe it takes someone who is loved and praised among by all the people, a leader which captivates his audience and is very convincing yet conniving. Hitler is a perfect example.

Polarization: In order for this stage to take place, strong government forces must be powerful enough to change the laws and convince the citizens to abide by them. This stage shows the political instability of the government and later, draws negative attention towards the accepted laws.

Preparation: I feel as though at this point, government as complete and unforgiving control over the country and people. There becomes isolation amongst countries. Many hints of genocide are leaked out by this point.

Extermination: To actually follow through with such a malicious and inhumanly plan, requires a cold hearted leader who tricked the country into believing it is for the better good. This is by far the most distressing stage. I’m engulfed with rage when the thought hits my head.

Denial: I have no remorse for the punishments which contain the leaders behind the acts of genocide. It is an unlawful crime that should go with punishment and no remorse.

An International Crime

Genocide in my opinion is no doubt an international issue. Cooperation across the globe is required to maintain a balance of peace. By-standard countries are unacceptable, as it takes more than just one country to stop mass atrocities to humanity. Not only do the community, nation and country need to be aware, they must also take specific steps in the right direction, i.e. putting a halt on economic consumer and producer goods. Many countries refuse to cooperate as they cannot risk jeopardizing their economic sanctions or political strength. Getting involved in such an issue does arise problems within the political structure of the country. First off it puts economic strain on the countries income and political stress on the various governments. This is due to the fact the governments often believe that they must first deal with the conflicts within their own country before dealing with human rights outside of the country. Truth is, it is only when an international community comes together that the problems are put to an end.

The Word Genocide

Genocide, “crimes against humanity” or “mass atrocity crimes” are unique because it targets, in whole a specific religious, racial, national, or ethnic group for extinction. Referring to the international convention, genocide can include any of the following criteria targeted in the groups listed above:

-Causing serious bodily or mental harm

-Killing

-Deliberately inflicting “conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”

-Imposing measures to prevent birth

-Forcibly transferring children from a targeted group

I feel as though politics and diplomacy play a large part in what we label conflict. Obligations arise if mass murders became named Genocide. So where do we draw the line between War and Genocide? Where do we draw the line between War and terrorism? The fact is, there is no answer. According to the government, given the situation, conflicts are labelled differently to best suit the convenience of the political and economic situation of the government.

Crime Without a Name

The short article “Crime without a name” was a written piece which expressed World War II’s destruction culturally and geographically. The Nazi Party was held responsible for the atrocities which took place among the concentration camps. Its obliteration plan first started within Germany, but quickly transitioned across Europe, causing a conflict in political interrelationships throughout Europe. This article quickly opened my eyes, as previously, I was oblivious to other examples of ‘destruction of whole populations’. I soon realized that other nations, religious and ethnic groups have been targeted to be eliminated. Examples of these include the destruction of Carthage, the war between two religious groups; the Islam and Crusaders, and the massacre of the Albigenses, Waldenses (a rationalism conflict), and the Armenians. Reading this article not only gave me insight on our historic world, but also alarmed me of our country’s lack of acknowledgment of important matters such as this one are not publicized enough or given a great deal of credit. I feel that in order to first move forward and continue our stride for world peace, we must first understand and learn from past mistakes and the put a stop to the particular countries we choose to neglect.