April 24, 2015, marks the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Beginning in 1915 in the midst of the strains of World War I, Ottoman officials oversaw the deportation and massacre of anywhere between several hundred thousand and 1.5 million Armenian people.
The result was the physical annihilation of the Armenian communities that had lived in the Anatolian Peninsula for more than 2,500 years. But labeling it as a “genocide” has proved controversial and unacceptable for the Turkish Republic.
In this edition of History Talk, hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy speak to Ronald Suny, Ayse Baltacioglu-Brammer and John Quigley to discuss what is now known about the history of these events, the meaning of the legal and historical label “genocide” and why coming to terms with mass atrocities is so difficult today.
*[This podcast was originally published by Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective.]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
Photo Credit: Everett Historical / Shutterstock.com
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