Essay On The Armenian Genocide

In 1915, the Turkish (Ittihad) government started deporting and massacring the Christian Armenian population. Based on the evidence, the Turkish government committed genocide. Beginning with the deportation of the Armenian intellectuals, the government began to create black lists, began to try to justify their reasons for deportation of the civilians, more deportations to Der Zor and Ankara and massacres of the Armenian civilians and intellectuals, started removing officials that did not comply with what the government wanted, and a few of the government officials gave statements—mostly evasive, and a few were openly declared—showing insight into how the Ottoman government had the intent to destroy the Armenians.

Before the government began massacring the Armenians, they deported the intellectuals and the most influential individuals in Constantinople. According to Balakian, one of the secret measures that the Turkish government took to stop their fear of further dismemberment from Russia and the Armenians was, “In order to neutralize from the start any possible attempts at resistance, in one blow the Turks arrested all well-known Armenian intellectuals and principal activists…any who were perceived as potential influences in an eventual Armenian movement” (43). Arresting all of the well-known Armenians shows a very premeditated and concise plan to get rid of the Armenian population because the government had to research who they would believe to give them the most trouble and then locate the individuals. Also, without these individuals, if Germany lost the war—which they thought was a small chance—there would be no one to voice the small surviving population.

Another very calculated decision from the government were the black ...

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...ll the dirty work, but if their backs are ever against the wall one day and there is a day of reckoning, they will escape and we minor officials will be trampled” (81). Asaf also shows the two a telegraph from Talaat saying, “Telegraph us immediately as to how many Armenians have already died and how many are left alive” (81).

With the deportations of both intellectuals and civilians, black lists, justification of their crimes, eradication of noncompliant officials and the declaration from officials, there is evidence that the killings can be considered genocide, instead of an unlikely coincidence from the war. The government officials created a complex plan to get rid of the Armenian population. These calculated decisions from the Turkish government explain that they wanted to rid the world of the Christian Armenians and would do anything to accomplish this feat.