Two Books on Armenian Genocide Published

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two recently published books "The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide" by Guenter Lewy and "The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians" by Donald Bloxham attempt tackle the complex subject: The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: a Disputed Genocide strives to demonstrate how elusive history can be when scrutinized closely; The Great Game of Genocide explores the causes and legacies of the 1915 massacres in an international context. Guenter Lewy, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst asserts that scholars on both sides of the debate have used data selectively. It should be noted that similar accusations have been leveled at him: in 2005 Lewy published articles summarizing his Armenian massacre findings in the Middle East Quarterly and in the journal Commentary - findings for which he was taken to task by the eminent Armenian genocide scholar Vahakn Dadrian. Dadrian accused Lewy, who does not speak Turkish or Armenian, or read Ottoman Turkish, of being out of his depth; Lewy riposted; and the scholarly "chewing" goes on.



Lewy's digressions help color in that turbulent period: [p.57] "If the Turkish authorities were unable or unwilling to provide adequate clothing, decent hygienic conditions, and appropriate medical attention for their Muslim soldiers, why should one expect them to be concerned about the fate of the Armenian deportees, whom they regarded as a fifth column?" And: [p.61] "…A government as callous about the suffering of its own population as was the Young Turk regime could hardly be expected to be very concerned about the terrible human misery that would rise from deporting its Armenian population, rightly or wrongly suspected of treason."



In The Great Game of Genocide, Donald Bloxham (a lecturer in 20th century history at the University of Edinburgh) shows how the "clean sweep" of 1915 was, in a sense, the culmination of a series of tragic events. Bloxham points to the fact that Ottoman Turks massacred masses of Armenians not once but several times: throughout the empire in 1894-96, and in Cilicia in 1909. By this time, 19th century Armenian communities had gained exposure to western education and philosophical trends - such as nationalism - and had grown increasingly restive under Ottoman rule. Nor was 1915 the end to violence: Turks and Armenians continued to commit atrocities against each other for the next few years, with no group enjoying a monopoly on suffering. The Great Game of Genocide examines the international context of the Armenian tragedy, and the response (or non-response) by other countries to what was looming as an ethnic disaster of unprecedented scale: [P.5] "...Great power involvement in Ottoman internal affairs was a key element in exacerbating the Ottoman-Armenian dynamic towards genocide while Turkish sensitivity about external intervention on behalf of the Armenians - whether directed towards reforms before 1914 or independence after 1918 - was a vital contributory factor to the emergence of denial," reported Eurasianet.