Turkey boosts efforts to further deny Armenian Genocide

March 22, 2016 - 14:29 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Historical Society (TTK) compiles data, articles and "other works" to further deny the Armenian Genocide, Daily Sabah reports.

1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World War I in 1915. Turkey accepts the mass deaths of Armenians during their forced deportation during the war, but claims the death toll was much lower and attributes mass deaths to diseases and isolated cases of attacks.

TTK started compiling all articles on the issue written in Turkey and throughout the world to publish books on the genocide. The organization plans to sent the books to libraries across the country as well as international historians.

Speaking to Habertürk daily, TTK President Refik Turan said articles included “indisputable scientific facts.”

In April 2014, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time, offered condolences for “the Armenian deaths” that occurred in 1915 - a first for a Turkish leader.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.