Anti-Armenianism
Encyclopedia
Armenophobia is the fear, dislike of, hatred or aversion to the Armenians
, Republic of Armenia and the Armenian culture
, which can range in expression from individual hatred
to institutionalized persecution
. Its opposite is Armenophilia
.
Several organizations have stated that difficulties currently experienced by the Armenian minority in Turkey
are a result of an anti-Armenian attitude by the Turkish
government as well as by ultra-nationalist
groups such as the Grey Wolves
. Such sentiments are also prevalent in Azerbaijan
as well, and stem from the loss of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
, the Khojaly Massacre
, and also for domestic political reasons.
Modern anti-Armenianism often seems to lack a racial and cultural basis and appears to be based more on geopolitics and history, in addition to diplomatic and strategic interests, involving the modern states of Turkey and Azerbaijan, although these prejudices usually extend to the widespread Armenian Diaspora
. The controversy and emotions surrounding the Armenian Genocide
and Nagorno-Karabakh
are two examples of intense anti-Armenianism in both countries. These facts do not themselves always imply a direct hate towards Armenians as a nation or ethnic group, as they tend to reflect the various historical and political tensions between these countries. Modern Anti-Armenianism is usually associated with either extreme opposition to the actions or existence of the Armenian Republic, belief in an Armenian conspiracy to fabricate history and manipulate public and political opinion for political gain, or belief that Armenia is attempting to unfairly annex land from neighboring states.
, as a community they were never accorded more than "second-class citizen" status and were regarded as fundamentally alien to the Muslim character of Ottoman society. In 1895, revolts among the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire
lead to Sultan Abdül Hamid
's decision to massacre tens of thousands of Armenians in the Hamidian massacres
. During World War I
, the Ottoman government massacred between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians in the Armenian Genocide
. The position of the current Turkish government, however, is that the Armenians who died were casualties of the expected hardships of war, the casualties cited are exaggerated, and that there was no genocide. This position has been criticized by international genocide scholars, and by several governments, which have resolutions affirming
the genocide.
Alparslan Türkeş
, a late Turkish politician considered by many to have fascist views, said:
In 2004, Belge Films, the film's distributor in Turkey
pulled the release of Atom Egoyan
's Ararat
film, about the Armenian Genocide, after receiving threats from the Ülkü Ocakları, an ultra nationalist organization in Turkey
that has ties to Grey Wolves
of Alparslan Türkeş.
The Ankara Chamber of Commerce included a documentary, accusing the Armenian people of slaughtering Turks, with their paid tourism advertisements in the June 6, 2005 edition of the magazine TIME Europe
. Time Europe later apologized for allowing the inclusion of the DVDs and published a critical letter signed by five French organizations. The February 12, 2007 edition of Time Europe included an acknowledgment of the truth of the Armenian Genocide and a DVD of a documentary by French director Laurence Jourdan about the genocide.
Hrant Dink
, the editor of the Agos
weekly Armenian newspaper, was assassinated in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, by Ogün Samast
. He was reportedly acting on the orders of Yasin Hayal
, a militant Turkish ultra-nationalist. For his statements on Armenian identity and the Armenian Genocide, Dink had been prosecuted three times under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for “insulting Turkishness.” He had also received numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists who viewed his "iconoclastic" journalism (particularly regarding the Armenian Genocide) as an act of treachery.
İbrahim Şahin
and 36 other alleged members of Turkish ultra-nationalist Ergenekon group were arrested on January, 2009 in Ankara
. The Turkish police said the round-up was triggered by orders Şahin gave to assassinate 12 Armenian community leaders in Sivas. According to the official investigation in Turkey, Ergenekon also had a role in the murder of Hrant Dink
.
broke out, however, this changed radically. There is an opinion that much of the anti-Armenian sentiments among the Azerbaijani people today stem from the loss of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
and the Khojaly Massacre
(1992) perpetrated by Armenian irregulars against the Azerbaijanis during the war. However, it should also be noted that among the events precipitating the conflict were pogrom
s perpetrated by Azerbaijanis against ethnic Armenians
in the Azerbaijani towns of Sumgait
(1988), Kirovabad
(Ganja
) (1988) and Baku
(1990) and that the Azerbaijanis themselves committed atrocities against Armenians during the war, such as the attack on the town of Maraghar
(1992).
In 2004, Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov
murdered the Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Markaryan
in his sleep at a Partnership for Peace
NATO program. Safarov's crime resulted in contradictory reactions in his home country: some propagated granting him the status of a national hero, while others expressed severe criticism and condemned Safarov for murder.
Starting in 1998, Armenia began accusing Azerbaijan of embarking on a campaign of destroying a cemetery of finely carved Armenian khachkar
s in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. On May 30, 2006, Azerbaijan barred the European Parliament
from inspecting and examining the ancient burial site. Charles Tannock
, British Conservative Party
foreign affairs spokesman in the European parliament, stated: "This is very similar to the Buddha statues
destroyed by the Taliban. They have concreted the area over and turned it into a military camp. If they have nothing to hide then we should be allowed to inspect the terrain." Hannes Swoboda
, an Austrian Socialist MEP and member of the committee barred from examining the site, said he hopes a visit can be arranged in the autumn. He stated that "if they do not allow us to go, we have a clear hint that something bad has happened. If something is hidden we want to ask why. It can only be because some of the allegations are true." He also warned: "One of the major elements of any country that wants to come close to Europe is that the cultural heritage of neighbors is respected." The seething anti-Armenian sentiment present in much of Azerbaijan, and which likely enabled the khachkar destruction, can perhaps best be sensed in the response that the leader of Azerbaijani national chess team, Teimour Radjabov
, gave to a question on how he felt about playing against the Armenian team: "[the] enemy is the enemy. We all hate them."
n chauvinist, Vasili Lvovich Velichko
, who was active during the period when the Russian tzarizm carried out a purposeful anti-Armenian policy, wrote:
The Second Chechen War
and the associated Chechen terrorism in Russia served as major factors in the growth of intolerance
, xenophobia
and racist
violence in Russia, directed in a great part against the people from the Caucasus. These include Chechens, Azerbaijanis
and Armenians
. Six Armenians were killed as a result of racially motivated attacks on non-Slavic immigrants in 2006. So far the reaction of the Russian government to these murders has been subdued, often failing to term the incidents hate crimes and declining to strongly condemn them.
n media began running several stories on the March 5 parliamentary elections in Abkhazia
, claiming that ethnic Armenians in the area, who make up roughly 20% of the local population, would be controlling the elections. The Georgian newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika predicted that much of the parliament would be Armenian and that there was even a chance of an Armenian president being elected. The paper also reported that the Abkazanian republic might already be receiving financial assistance from Armenians living in the United States.
Some Armenian groups believe such reports are attempting to create conflict between Armenians and ethnic Abkhazians to destabilize the region. The Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, which is believed by many Georgians to have been backed by Russia with Armenian assistance, has caused many problems for Georgia, as the Abkhazian separatist resulted in thousands of ethnic Georgians killed and displaced, and Armenians living in Abkhazian region did side with local Abkhazians. Reports such as these suggest growing animosity towards Armenians in the country.
Georgia has also actively pursued a policy of desecration of Armenian spiritual-cultural values, churches and historical monuments on the territory of Georgia. On November 16, 2008, Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed workers to raze to the ground the graves of patrons of art Mikhail and Lidia Tamamshev. The Armenian Church of Norashen
in Tbilisi
, built in the middle of the 15th century, has been vandalized and misappropriated by the Georgian government despite the fact that both Armenia's and Georgia's Prime-Ministers have reached an agreement on not to maltreat the church. Due to no law on religion, the status of Surb Norashen, Surb Nshan, Shamhoretsor Surb Astvatsatsin (Karmir Avetaran), Yerevanots Surb Minas and Mugni Surb Gevorg in Tbilisi and Surb Nshan in Akhaltsikhe
is unknown since being confiscated during the Soviet era. Since independence in 1991, Georgian clergy have occupied the Armenian churches. Armenians in Georgia
and Armenia have demonstrated against the destruction. On November 28, 2008, Armenian demonstrators in front of the Georgian embassy in Armenia demanded that the Georgian government immediately cease encroachments on the Armenian churches and punish those guilty, calling the Georgian party's actions White Genocide
.
In August, 2011, Georgia
's culture minister Nika Rurua
sacked Robert Sturua as head of the Tbilisi national theatre for "xenophobic" comments he made earlier this year, officials reported.
"We are not going to finance xenophobia
. Georgia is a multicultural country," Rurua said. Provoking public outrage, Sturua said in an interview with local news agency that "Saakashvili doesn't know what Georgian people need because he is Armenian." "I do not want Georgia to be governed by a representative of a different ethnicity," he added.
' Managing Editor Douglas Frantz blocked a story on the Armenian Genocide
written by Mark Arax, allegedly citing the fact Arax was of Armenian descent and therefore had a biased opinion on the subject. However, other sources say that Frantz blocked Arax from completing the story not because of his descent, but rather because of his publicly political involvement in the topic and company policy that prohibited journalists from writing pieces on topics they were activists for in order to maintain the integrity of the paper that is closely linked with neutrality and unbiased journalism. Arax, who has published similar articles before has lodged a discrimination complaint and threatened a federal lawsuit. Frantz, who did not cite any specific factual errors in the article, is accused of having a bias obtained while being stationed in Istanbul
, Turkey. Harut Sassounian, an Armenian community leader accused Frantz, of having expressed support for denial of the Armenian Genocide
and has stated he personally believed that Armenians rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, an argument commonly used to justify the killings. Although Sassounian was unable to provide any proof of his allegations. Frantz resigned from the paper not long afterward, possibly due to the mounting requests for his dismissal from the Armenian community. Frantz however has also been stated to have been upholding company policy that prohibited journalists from doing articles on topics in which they have publicly expressed a bias or been involved in political activity concerning the issue, like the case for the article at hand, because journalists are meant to maintain an air of unbiased professionalism. Another incident that received less coverage was a series of hate mail
campaigns directed at Paul Krekorian, a city council candidate for California
n Democratic Primary, making racist remarks and accusations that the Armenian community was engaging in voter fraud.
The third act of alleged ethnic bias towards Armenians was on a KFI radio show with Bill Handel, who in attempt at humour said that Glendale should be sold to provide more money for the US economy due to the medical budget issue. When a listener replied to him via mail and said his actions were racist, a co-host replied "What the Turks started, Bill Handel will finish", the show was shortly afterwards made to apologize and has had subsequent Armenians whom they have interviewed.
On April 24, 2010, the day the Armenians mark the genocide of 1915, a group of Turkish-American protesters gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington
and protested the commemoration of the genocide, or what they call "Armenian Lies
", in an celebratory way. One sign at the protest read "Armenian Girls Like Turkish Guys"
claiming that the Armenian Genocide did not happen or that Armenians massacred Turks, on Usenet newsgroup
threads mentioning the word Turkey.
Samuel Weems
published the book Armenia: The Secrets of a "Christian" Terrorist State in May 2002. Weems has made such claims as the "number one export of Armenia is terrorism" and that there was no Armenian Genocide.
American historian Justin McCarthy
is known for his controversial view that no genocide was intended by the Ottoman Empire but that both Armenians and Turks died as the result of civil war. Some attribute his denial of the Armenian Genocide
to anti-Armenianism, but there is no independent evidence that he holds anti-Armenian views.
On more than one occasion, modern Azerbaijani historian Farida Mammadova
has made anti-Armenian statements. During one interview, she stated "it is known, that on the whole planet it is exactly the Armenian people who are distinguished by their absence of spiritual and other human values", in reference to supposed destruction of an Azerbaijani holy sanctuary, Aga-Dede south of Yerevan by Armenians in late 2005.
Barbaros Agri uses the social networking site Facebook to advocate anti-Armenianism by being the creator of "The Biggest Lie Ever Told: The Armenian Genocide". The cause has 93,000 plus members. Agri's final comment was, "After years of research I have come to the conclusion that there was an Armenian genocide. I can not with a clear conscience continue this cause."
In December 2009, the ARDARUTYUN (JUSTICE) project was launched (in Armenian, Russian and English) with the purpose of defending Armenian national dignity by thoroughly identifying, adequately countering and further neutralizing the consistent ideological hate campaigns, namely the malicious disinformation and defamation, inciting of intra-Armenian rivalry, crude falsification of Armenian history in its entirety, including the denial of the Armenian Genocide.
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Republic of Armenia and the Armenian culture
Culture of Armenia
The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people. The culture is similar to and yet distinct from many of the bordering countries like Russia, Georgia and Iran as well as Mediterranean nations such as Greece...
, which can range in expression from individual hatred
Hatred
Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike, directed against a certain object or class of objects. The objects of such hatred can vary widely, from inanimate objects to animals, oneself or other people, entire groups of people, people in general, existence, or the whole world...
to institutionalized persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
. Its opposite is Armenophilia
Armenophile
An Armenophile is a non-Armenian person who expresses a strong interest in or appreciation for Armenian culture, Armenian History or the Armenian people. It may apply to both those who display an enthusiasm in Armenian culture and to those who support political or social causes associated with the...
.
Several organizations have stated that difficulties currently experienced by the Armenian minority in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000 . Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...
are a result of an anti-Armenian attitude by the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
government as well as by ultra-nationalist
Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.-Pan-Turkism:...
groups such as the Grey Wolves
Grey Wolves
The Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
. Such sentiments are also prevalent in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
as well, and stem from the loss of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
, the Khojaly Massacre
Khojaly Massacre
The Khojaly Massacre was the killing of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly on 25–26 February 1992 by the Armenian and Russian armed forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
, and also for domestic political reasons.
Modern anti-Armenianism often seems to lack a racial and cultural basis and appears to be based more on geopolitics and history, in addition to diplomatic and strategic interests, involving the modern states of Turkey and Azerbaijan, although these prejudices usually extend to the widespread Armenian Diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
. The controversy and emotions surrounding the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
and Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
are two examples of intense anti-Armenianism in both countries. These facts do not themselves always imply a direct hate towards Armenians as a nation or ethnic group, as they tend to reflect the various historical and political tensions between these countries. Modern Anti-Armenianism is usually associated with either extreme opposition to the actions or existence of the Armenian Republic, belief in an Armenian conspiracy to fabricate history and manipulate public and political opinion for political gain, or belief that Armenia is attempting to unfairly annex land from neighboring states.
Ottoman Empire and Turkey
The Armenian people have suffered persecution by the Turkish government for over a century. Although it was possible for Armenians to achieve status and wealth in the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, as a community they were never accorded more than "second-class citizen" status and were regarded as fundamentally alien to the Muslim character of Ottoman society. In 1895, revolts among the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
lead to Sultan Abdül Hamid
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
's decision to massacre tens of thousands of Armenians in the Hamidian massacres
Hamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres , also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, refers to the massacring of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Ottoman government massacred between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians in the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. The position of the current Turkish government, however, is that the Armenians who died were casualties of the expected hardships of war, the casualties cited are exaggerated, and that there was no genocide. This position has been criticized by international genocide scholars, and by several governments, which have resolutions affirming
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide recognition refers to the formal acceptance that the massacre and forced deportation of Armenians committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923 constitute genocide...
the genocide.
Alparslan Türkeş
Alparslan Türkes
Alparslan Türkeş was a Cypriot-born Turkish nationalist politician who was the founder and former president of the Nationalist Movement Party party...
, a late Turkish politician considered by many to have fascist views, said:
In 2004, Belge Films, the film's distributor in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
pulled the release of Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
's Ararat
Ararat (film)
Ararat is a 2002 film directed, written, and co-produced by Atom Egoyan based loosely on the Siege of Van during the Armenian Genocide, an event that is disputed by the government of Turkey. In addition to exploring the human impact of that specific historical event, the film also examines the...
film, about the Armenian Genocide, after receiving threats from the Ülkü Ocakları, an ultra nationalist organization in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
that has ties to Grey Wolves
Grey Wolves
The Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
of Alparslan Türkeş.
The Ankara Chamber of Commerce included a documentary, accusing the Armenian people of slaughtering Turks, with their paid tourism advertisements in the June 6, 2005 edition of the magazine TIME Europe
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
. Time Europe later apologized for allowing the inclusion of the DVDs and published a critical letter signed by five French organizations. The February 12, 2007 edition of Time Europe included an acknowledgment of the truth of the Armenian Genocide and a DVD of a documentary by French director Laurence Jourdan about the genocide.
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
, the editor of the Agos
Agos
Agos is an Armenian weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established on 5 April 1996. Today, it has a circulation of over 9,000. It has both Armenian and Turkish pages as well as an on-line English edition...
weekly Armenian newspaper, was assassinated in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, by Ogün Samast
Ogün Samast
Ogün Samast is a Turkish ultra-nationalist who killed Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on January 19, 2007 in front of the headquarters of his newspaper Agos, in Osmanbey, Istanbul.-Background:...
. He was reportedly acting on the orders of Yasin Hayal
Yasin Hayal
Yasin Hayal is a Turkish criminal who served a ten-month prison term for bombing a McDonald's restaurant in the city of Trabzon, Turkey, currently on trial for allegedly inciting Ogün Samast to assassinate Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink....
, a militant Turkish ultra-nationalist. For his statements on Armenian identity and the Armenian Genocide, Dink had been prosecuted three times under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for “insulting Turkishness.” He had also received numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists who viewed his "iconoclastic" journalism (particularly regarding the Armenian Genocide) as an act of treachery.
İbrahim Şahin
Ibrahim Sahin
İbrahim Şahin is a Turkish police and state security official who served from 1976 to 1996. He led General Directorate of Security's special forces unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contact killer...
and 36 other alleged members of Turkish ultra-nationalist Ergenekon group were arrested on January, 2009 in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. The Turkish police said the round-up was triggered by orders Şahin gave to assassinate 12 Armenian community leaders in Sivas. According to the official investigation in Turkey, Ergenekon also had a role in the murder of Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
.
Azerbaijan
Before and during the Revolution anti-Armenianism was the basis of Azeri nationalism, and under the Soviet regime Armenians remain the scapegoats who are responsible for every failure. During the Soviet era, Armenians and Azerbaijanis coexisted peacefully. When the conflict over Nagorno-KarabakhNagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
broke out, however, this changed radically. There is an opinion that much of the anti-Armenian sentiments among the Azerbaijani people today stem from the loss of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
and the Khojaly Massacre
Khojaly Massacre
The Khojaly Massacre was the killing of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly on 25–26 February 1992 by the Armenian and Russian armed forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
(1992) perpetrated by Armenian irregulars against the Azerbaijanis during the war. However, it should also be noted that among the events precipitating the conflict were pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s perpetrated by Azerbaijanis against ethnic Armenians
Armenians in Azerbaijan
Armenians in Azerbaijan are the Armenians who lived in great numbers in Azerbaijan . According to the statistics, about 400,000 Armenians lived in Azerbaijan in 1989...
in the Azerbaijani towns of Sumgait
Sumgait Pogrom
The Sumgait pogrom was a pogrom that targeted the Armenian population of the seaside town of Sumgait in Soviet Azerbaijan during February 1988...
(1988), Kirovabad
Kirovabad pogrom
The Kirovabad pogrom or the pogrom of Kirovabad was an Azeri-led pogrom that targeted Armenians living in the city of Kirovabad in Soviet Azerbaijan during November 1988....
(Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
) (1988) and Baku
Pogrom of Armenians in Baku
The Pogrom of Armenians in Baku was an anti-Armenian pogrom directed against the Armenian inhabitants of Baku, Azerbaijani SSR.From January 13, 1990, a seven-day pogrom broke out against Armenians in Baku. Most of the deaths were caused by beatings and knife wounds; there were no gunshot wounds....
(1990) and that the Azerbaijanis themselves committed atrocities against Armenians during the war, such as the attack on the town of Maraghar
Maraghar Massacre
The Maragha Massacre was the April 10, 1992 killing of a number of ethnic Armenians, during the capture of the village of Maragha by Azerbaijani troops, in the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
(1992).
In 2004, Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov
Ramil Safarov
Ramil Safarov was a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani Army who was convicted for the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in 2004, in Budapest. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary.-Biography:...
murdered the Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Markaryan
Gurgen Markaryan
Gurgen Margaryan was a lieutenant in the Armenian army who was murdered in Budapest, Hungary, on 19 February 2004 by Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani army.-Education:...
in his sleep at a Partnership for Peace
Partnership for Peace
Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...
NATO program. Safarov's crime resulted in contradictory reactions in his home country: some propagated granting him the status of a national hero, while others expressed severe criticism and condemned Safarov for murder.
Starting in 1998, Armenia began accusing Azerbaijan of embarking on a campaign of destroying a cemetery of finely carved Armenian khachkar
Khachkar
A khachkar or khatchkar is a carved, cross-bearing, memorial stele covered with rosettes and other botanical motifs. Khachkars are characteristic of Medieval Christian Armenian art found in Armenia.-Description:...
s in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. On May 30, 2006, Azerbaijan barred the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from inspecting and examining the ancient burial site. Charles Tannock
Charles Tannock
Dr Timothy Charles Ayrton Tannock is a British politician, psychiatrist, and Member of the European Parliament for London for the Conservative Party. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999...
, British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
foreign affairs spokesman in the European parliament, stated: "This is very similar to the Buddha statues
Buddhas of Bamiyan
The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2,500 meters...
destroyed by the Taliban. They have concreted the area over and turned it into a military camp. If they have nothing to hide then we should be allowed to inspect the terrain." Hannes Swoboda
Hannes Swoboda
Hannes Swoboda aka Johannes Swoboda is an Austrian social democratic politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament since 1996...
, an Austrian Socialist MEP and member of the committee barred from examining the site, said he hopes a visit can be arranged in the autumn. He stated that "if they do not allow us to go, we have a clear hint that something bad has happened. If something is hidden we want to ask why. It can only be because some of the allegations are true." He also warned: "One of the major elements of any country that wants to come close to Europe is that the cultural heritage of neighbors is respected." The seething anti-Armenian sentiment present in much of Azerbaijan, and which likely enabled the khachkar destruction, can perhaps best be sensed in the response that the leader of Azerbaijani national chess team, Teimour Radjabov
Teimour Radjabov
Radjabov's knight sacrifice, 21. ... Ngxe5, was praised by several strong players for its bravery, including English grandmaster Nigel Short. Said Short of the move, "Radjabov plays very imaginatively... he just won't give up, he is extremely tenacious and will always find a way to muddy the...
, gave to a question on how he felt about playing against the Armenian team: "[the] enemy is the enemy. We all hate them."
Russia
A 19th century RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n chauvinist, Vasili Lvovich Velichko
Vasili Lvovich Velichko
Vasili Lvovich Velichko was a Russian explorer, and editor of the semi-official Kavkaz gazette.Known as a Russian chauvinist, he demonstrated blatant intolerance to the Armenians and tried to set them on other populations in the Caucasus...
, who was active during the period when the Russian tzarizm carried out a purposeful anti-Armenian policy, wrote:
"Armenians are the extreme instance of brachycephaly; their actual racial instinct make them naturally hostile to the State".
The Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
and the associated Chechen terrorism in Russia served as major factors in the growth of intolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
, xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
and racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
violence in Russia, directed in a great part against the people from the Caucasus. These include Chechens, Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
. Six Armenians were killed as a result of racially motivated attacks on non-Slavic immigrants in 2006. So far the reaction of the Russian government to these murders has been subdued, often failing to term the incidents hate crimes and declining to strongly condemn them.
Georgia
In 2007, the GeorgiaGeorgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
n media began running several stories on the March 5 parliamentary elections in Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, claiming that ethnic Armenians in the area, who make up roughly 20% of the local population, would be controlling the elections. The Georgian newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika predicted that much of the parliament would be Armenian and that there was even a chance of an Armenian president being elected. The paper also reported that the Abkazanian republic might already be receiving financial assistance from Armenians living in the United States.
Some Armenian groups believe such reports are attempting to create conflict between Armenians and ethnic Abkhazians to destabilize the region. The Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, which is believed by many Georgians to have been backed by Russia with Armenian assistance, has caused many problems for Georgia, as the Abkhazian separatist resulted in thousands of ethnic Georgians killed and displaced, and Armenians living in Abkhazian region did side with local Abkhazians. Reports such as these suggest growing animosity towards Armenians in the country.
Georgia has also actively pursued a policy of desecration of Armenian spiritual-cultural values, churches and historical monuments on the territory of Georgia. On November 16, 2008, Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed workers to raze to the ground the graves of patrons of art Mikhail and Lidia Tamamshev. The Armenian Church of Norashen
Norashen Church, Tbilisi
Norashen Holy Mother of God Church or Norashen Sourb Astvatzatzin Church is a 15th century Armenian church in Old Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1467 and renovated in 1650. It also underwent renovations later in 1795, 1808, and 1875...
in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, built in the middle of the 15th century, has been vandalized and misappropriated by the Georgian government despite the fact that both Armenia's and Georgia's Prime-Ministers have reached an agreement on not to maltreat the church. Due to no law on religion, the status of Surb Norashen, Surb Nshan, Shamhoretsor Surb Astvatsatsin (Karmir Avetaran), Yerevanots Surb Minas and Mugni Surb Gevorg in Tbilisi and Surb Nshan in Akhaltsikhe
Akhaltsikhe
Akhaltsikhe is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. It is situated on the both banks of a small river Potskhovi, which separates the city to the old city in the north and new in the south. The name of the city translates from Georgian as "new fortress".- History...
is unknown since being confiscated during the Soviet era. Since independence in 1991, Georgian clergy have occupied the Armenian churches. Armenians in Georgia
Armenians in Georgia
Armenians in Georgia are ethnic Armenians living within the country of Georgia. Armenians are the second largest ethnic minority in Georgia at about 5.7% of the population. The Armenian community is mostly concentrated in the capital Tbilisi and the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, which borders Armenia...
and Armenia have demonstrated against the destruction. On November 28, 2008, Armenian demonstrators in front of the Georgian embassy in Armenia demanded that the Georgian government immediately cease encroachments on the Armenian churches and punish those guilty, calling the Georgian party's actions White Genocide
White Genocide
White Genocide is the term Western Armenians use to describe assimilation in the West . Armenians were forcibly deported from their homeland in Anatolia during the Armenian Genocide in 1915-1923, and never allowed to return....
.
In August, 2011, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
's culture minister Nika Rurua
Nika Rurua
Nikoloz "Nika" Rurua is a Georgian politician, and a member of the Cabinet of Georgia in the capacity of Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, appointed on December 10, 2008....
sacked Robert Sturua as head of the Tbilisi national theatre for "xenophobic" comments he made earlier this year, officials reported.
"We are not going to finance xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
. Georgia is a multicultural country," Rurua said. Provoking public outrage, Sturua said in an interview with local news agency that "Saakashvili doesn't know what Georgian people need because he is Armenian." "I do not want Georgia to be governed by a representative of a different ethnicity," he added.
United States
While prejudice against ethnic Armenians in the United States is not widespread today, three notable cases do exist. In April 2007, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
' Managing Editor Douglas Frantz blocked a story on the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
written by Mark Arax, allegedly citing the fact Arax was of Armenian descent and therefore had a biased opinion on the subject. However, other sources say that Frantz blocked Arax from completing the story not because of his descent, but rather because of his publicly political involvement in the topic and company policy that prohibited journalists from writing pieces on topics they were activists for in order to maintain the integrity of the paper that is closely linked with neutrality and unbiased journalism. Arax, who has published similar articles before has lodged a discrimination complaint and threatened a federal lawsuit. Frantz, who did not cite any specific factual errors in the article, is accused of having a bias obtained while being stationed in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey. Harut Sassounian, an Armenian community leader accused Frantz, of having expressed support for denial of the Armenian Genocide
Denial of the Armenian Genocide
The denial of the Armenian Genocide is the assertion that the Armenian Genocide did not occur in the manner or to the extent described by scholarship...
and has stated he personally believed that Armenians rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, an argument commonly used to justify the killings. Although Sassounian was unable to provide any proof of his allegations. Frantz resigned from the paper not long afterward, possibly due to the mounting requests for his dismissal from the Armenian community. Frantz however has also been stated to have been upholding company policy that prohibited journalists from doing articles on topics in which they have publicly expressed a bias or been involved in political activity concerning the issue, like the case for the article at hand, because journalists are meant to maintain an air of unbiased professionalism. Another incident that received less coverage was a series of hate mail
Hate mail
Hate mail is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient...
campaigns directed at Paul Krekorian, a city council candidate for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n Democratic Primary, making racist remarks and accusations that the Armenian community was engaging in voter fraud.
The third act of alleged ethnic bias towards Armenians was on a KFI radio show with Bill Handel, who in attempt at humour said that Glendale should be sold to provide more money for the US economy due to the medical budget issue. When a listener replied to him via mail and said his actions were racist, a co-host replied "What the Turks started, Bill Handel will finish", the show was shortly afterwards made to apologize and has had subsequent Armenians whom they have interviewed.
On April 24, 2010, the day the Armenians mark the genocide of 1915, a group of Turkish-American protesters gathered in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and protested the commemoration of the genocide, or what they call "Armenian Lies
Denial of the Armenian Genocide
The denial of the Armenian Genocide is the assertion that the Armenian Genocide did not occur in the manner or to the extent described by scholarship...
", in an celebratory way. One sign at the protest read "Armenian Girls Like Turkish Guys"
By individuals
For several months in 1994, someone posted messages under the alias Serdar ArgicSerdar Argic
Serdar Argic was the alias used in one of the first automated newsgroup spam incidents on Usenet, with the objective of refuting the Armenian Genocide.-Usenet posts:...
claiming that the Armenian Genocide did not happen or that Armenians massacred Turks, on Usenet newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
threads mentioning the word Turkey.
Samuel Weems
Samuel Weems
Samuel A. Weems was the writer of the book Armenia: The Secrets of a "Christian" Terrorist State and a disbarred Arkansas lawyer from Hazen, Arkansas. He was disbarred while holding the office of prosecuting attorney for mixing his clients' money with his own...
published the book Armenia: The Secrets of a "Christian" Terrorist State in May 2002. Weems has made such claims as the "number one export of Armenia is terrorism" and that there was no Armenian Genocide.
American historian Justin McCarthy
Justin McCarthy (American historian)
Justin A. McCarthy is an American demographer, professor of history at the University of Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky. He holds an honorary doctorate from Boğaziçi University, Turkey, and is a board member of the Institute of Turkish Studies...
is known for his controversial view that no genocide was intended by the Ottoman Empire but that both Armenians and Turks died as the result of civil war. Some attribute his denial of the Armenian Genocide
Denial of the Armenian Genocide
The denial of the Armenian Genocide is the assertion that the Armenian Genocide did not occur in the manner or to the extent described by scholarship...
to anti-Armenianism, but there is no independent evidence that he holds anti-Armenian views.
On more than one occasion, modern Azerbaijani historian Farida Mammadova
Farida Mammadova
Farida Jafar gizi Mammadova is an Azerbaijani historian who specialises in the history of ancient Caucasian Albania.She is the author of numerous research papers, articles and books on Azerbaijani ancient and medieval history...
has made anti-Armenian statements. During one interview, she stated "it is known, that on the whole planet it is exactly the Armenian people who are distinguished by their absence of spiritual and other human values", in reference to supposed destruction of an Azerbaijani holy sanctuary, Aga-Dede south of Yerevan by Armenians in late 2005.
Barbaros Agri uses the social networking site Facebook to advocate anti-Armenianism by being the creator of "The Biggest Lie Ever Told: The Armenian Genocide". The cause has 93,000 plus members. Agri's final comment was, "After years of research I have come to the conclusion that there was an Armenian genocide. I can not with a clear conscience continue this cause."
Monitoring Anti-Armenian Activities
With the recent rapid increase in anti-Armenian propaganda, the need for a constant monitoring has emerged.In December 2009, the ARDARUTYUN (JUSTICE) project was launched (in Armenian, Russian and English) with the purpose of defending Armenian national dignity by thoroughly identifying, adequately countering and further neutralizing the consistent ideological hate campaigns, namely the malicious disinformation and defamation, inciting of intra-Armenian rivalry, crude falsification of Armenian history in its entirety, including the denial of the Armenian Genocide.
See also
- List of Armenian massacres
- September DaysSeptember DaysThe September Days refers to a period during the Russian Civil War in September 1918 when ethnic Armenians were massacred by Enver Pasha's Army of Islam and their local Azeri allies when they captured Baku, the soon-to-be capital of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic...
- White GenocideWhite GenocideWhite Genocide is the term Western Armenians use to describe assimilation in the West . Armenians were forcibly deported from their homeland in Anatolia during the Armenian Genocide in 1915-1923, and never allowed to return....
- Anti-TurkismAnti-TurkismAnti-Turkism, also known as Turcophobia or anti-Turkish sentiment, is the hostility, intolerance or racism against the Turkish people, Turkish culture, or Turkey ....
Further reading
- Hilmar Kaiser: Imperialism, Racism, and Development Theories. The Construction of a Dominant Paradigm on Ottoman Armenians, Gomidas Institute, Ann Arbor (MI) 1997