It has been almost 90 years since the Armenian genocide began,
but according to many Armenians, justice has not been served.
Today, UCLA students and people across the globe will remember
the 1.5 million Armenians allegedly exterminated by Ottoman Turks
between 1915 and 1922.
On Wednesday, Armenian students voiced the genocide’s
existence by holding a rally in Westwood Plaza to commemorate their
dead ancestors.
Many states throughout the country, and many nations around the
world, have acknowledged and passed resolutions condemning the
genocide as an act of ethnic cleansing.
But the U.S. government has not acknowledged the genocide, and
Turkey denies its categorization as a genocide.
Armenian students have recently received support on the issue
from both UCLA student governments.
Last week, the Undergraduate Students Association Council and
the Graduate Student Association passed resolutions acknowledging
the Armenian genocide ““ something the U.S. government has not
done.
Andrew LaFlamme, USAC financial support commissioner, said many
people ““ including some UCLA students ““ are unaware
there ever was an Armenian genocide.
“It was important to try to educate UCLA students about
this issue,” LaFlamme said
USAC finance committee chairman Hrug DerManuelian said he was
amazed at the unanimity with which the resolution passed.
“USAC is extremely politically divided, and for them to
come together on this means a lot,” he said.
The GSA resolution was passed because the genocide directly
affects students at UCLA, said GSA president Charles Harless.
“We have graduate students here at UCLA who are
Armenian,” Harless said. “Some of them are direct
descendants of people who may have been killed in the
genocide.”
DerManuelian said the resolutions were a joint effort by USAC
and GSA, aimed at sending a message to Chancellor Albert
Carnesale.
The Armenian Student Association has also been active in
informing the UCLA campus about the reality of the Armenian
genocide.
“Students feel justice was not served and it is their duty
to carry this out until the U.S. recognizes this officially,”
said ASA President Ani Gasparyan.
“Instead of using the words “˜alleged massacre’
or “˜casualties of war,’ I would like to see the word
“˜genocide’ actually used,” she added.
Though recent presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were
unsuccessful in producing a resolution recognizing that a genocide
occurred, many historians believe it did happen.
“The evidence of the genocide is overwhelming,” said
Richard Hovannisian, chairman of the Armenian Education Foundation
in Modern Armenian History.
However, the belief that the genocide occurred is not accepted
throughout the world. Modern-day Turkey contends that only 300,000
Armenians were killed, and that it was an act of war, not ethnic
cleansing.
Many Turks have said the actions that have been deemed genocide
were a part of a civil war, started when Armenians led an uprising
against the Ottoman government.
Hovannisian said in the past the United States has acknowledged
and condemned the actions of Turkey against the Armenian people as
genocide, but political ties with the nation have stopped the U.S.
government from doing so.
“Because of the growing strategic military and economic
importance of the new Turkish state … it was swept under the rug
for a long time,” he said. “It faced the danger of
becoming the forgotten genocide.”
But to many, this genocide will not be forgotten ““ not
until Turkey acknowledges it happened.
“This is a fresh wound that will not close until the
Armenians receive recognition,” DerManuelian said.
For many Armenians, remembering the genocide is about paying
tribute to their ancestors and reminding the world that genocides
have occurred, and continue to do so.
“If no one takes a stand against this, it keeps on
happening,” said Sharis Minassian, a fourth-year business
economics student and Alpha Omega Alpha president.
Armenians often express strong emotions when discussing the
remark that this was the first genocide of the twentieth century
and a precursor for genocides to come ““ starting with the
Holocaust.
The USAC resolution mentions a statement Adolf Hitler made to
motivate his commanders to ethnically cleanse the German population
by killing Jews and Poles.
“Who after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians,” Hitler said.
DerManuelian said the genocide was a part of his history, and
that it is important for him to honor his murdered ancestors
today.
“You deny your history, you deny your existence,” he
said.