Genocide creates two inheritances: the stories survivors tell, and the silence surrounding the stories they cannot bear to speak about.
The Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides during the late Ottoman period (1914-1923) left consequences that did not end with the killing. Memories of violence and displacement persisted across time and place: in family silences, fragments of stories, expressions of grief, and the sense of responsibility felt by descendants to confront the past.
In Austral
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The reason why Australia (and also New Zealand) won’t recognize the Armenian Genocide is due to one major thing: Gallipoli.
If Australia were to recognize the Armenian Genocide, Turkey would ban ANZAC commemorations on Gallipoli peninsula and block Australian (and New Zealand) leaders, politicians, veterans and tourists from accessing the Gallipoli peninsula for these commemorations on ANZAC Day (which is an official holiday in both these countries), which is held on 25 April at dawn. In fact, the (ultimately failed) Allied landings on Gallipoli peninsula on 25 April 1915, was the other excuse and trigger for the Turks to start the Armenian Genocide, the day before. The disaster of Gallipoli, forged both Australian and New Zealand national identities and nationalisms, and they view the experience of Gallipoli and ANZAC Day, quasi-holy.
The state parliaments of New South Wales (2007), South Australia (2009), and Tasmania (2023) have all passed formal motions recognizing the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Genocides, but they don’t carry the same weight of a federal and binding recognition, and also because the federal Australian (as well New Zealand) governments don’t support this, because of Turkey’s threats.
Turkey uses this threat as a leverage, and that is why Australia and New Zealand won’t pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide (as well as the Greek and Assyrian Genocides).
Politics and reciprocity, at least the USA under Joe Biden recognised the genocide sadly it didn’t lead to others following in part due to Pashinyan abandoning the issue. Indeed why and why not is all about politics. Sadly in essence Turkey has got away with it.
Nevertheless in Europe the guilt tripping by Israel over the Holocaust has essentially run it’s course, Germany own masochism, passing of time, Israel own destruction of a society in Gaza and the demographic changes in Europe of masses of Africans and Asians who can’t be guilt tripped by Israel over actions in the 1940s by different peoples.
Turkey never actually ended its genocidal policies. Yet, unlike in the case of Israel, no one makes a big issue of it. The events in Dersim (the genocide of tens of thousands of Kurds, which are carefully blurred within Turkey) and the ongoing genocide—manifested in the deprivation of water and lands ( de-facto, aquae interdictio), the displacement of tens of thousands of people (Kurds), and the building of military bases—fall under the definition of genocidal practices. Türkiye is currently seeking to reclaim the Ottoman Empire’s maritime boundary rights in the Mediterranean as part of the *Mavi Vatan* program, yet for some reason, this does not concern anyone except Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.
If Türkiye will carry out all its ambitions to overturn the terms of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Israel will be the least of the problems in the Mediterranean (if it exists at all).
So you are saying that Germany bears no guilt for the Holocaust? That Germany was entitled to murder 6 million Jews and 6 million others (Romani, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others) and that their later recognition of what they had done and attempts to make amends to the extent possible constitute “masochism?” Hamas destroyed society in Gaza over the last 20 years, and only peace with Israel will enable Gaza to reconstruct itself.
Ironically, while the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne is extremely advantageous for Turkey, it had the opposite disastrous consequences for Greece, Armenia, and, of course, the stateless Kurds.
But Turkey, especially under Erdogan’s aggressive pan-Turkist neo-Ottoman irredentist megalomania, has become so arrogant that it even questions and proposes the abrogation of the Treaty of Lausanne!
Turkey has become spoiled, increasingly provocative and aggressive, and is getting away with it, because no one is confronting that country.
The same is true for Turkey’s sidekick, Azerbaijan.