In response to the controversy surrounding the presentation given by professor McCarthy Friday, I wish to voice both my opinion and knowledge regarding the factuality of the Armenian genocide orchestrated by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.
Denying that such an atrocious event took place is not only shortsighted, but also ignorant, insensitive and cruel. Many U.S. state governments, as well as international governments and countless organizations, have recognized the occurrence as a mass killing set in place by a Turkish party with the goal of eradicating an undesirable ethnic population from the Ottoman Empire.
It is also absurd to deny the existence of evidence supporting the genocide. Besides telegrams, diplomatic letters, public debate, property records and deportation logs that all exist in hard copy, there are also countless personal and family oral histories that tell of the horrific acts committed during the Armenian genocide.
Many Armenians were subjected to rape, beatings, murder, starvation and forced labor. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were taken from their homes and killed - men, women and children alike. An entire branch of my family tree was pruned on the Anatolian Peninsula in 1915.
Let's all stop living in denial and recognize our mistakes. I reach out to the Turkish government, Turkish-American population and Turkish people around the world to admit your nation's past grievances and to move on with the rest of us in the modern world.
