Armenians, Assyrians and other Human Rights Activists brought signs and their voices to the Sydney suburb of Woollahra — protesting against atrocities committed during the early 20th century. The issue was the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire against (a reported) two and a half million people made up of predominantly Armenian, Assyrian and Greek people.
The opposition to the genocide recognition included anti-Armenian chants, jeering and attempts to provoke the demonstrators into retaliation. Though separated by a strong police presence, Turkish, flag-bearing deniers took to insisting that this first group was lying, that there was no evidence and more summarily and inflammatorily that the fathers of those that were demonstrating were Turks (possibly alluding the rape of women and children during the same, alleged genocide). It seemed relatively evident that there was little substance to the Turkish denial, whose entire presence reveled in chanting slander, inciting violent retaliation and otherwise ridiculing the attempts at pressing the cause for recognition and acceptance of the otherwise forgotten genocide of 1915 — 1920, encompassing Seyfo.
If anything this demonstration reflects a resurgence of consideration of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocide in contemporary world politics, as progressively there is pressure being placed upon the Turkish state to consider its history and in a sense "come clean."
The evidence is clear however, that Turkey both nationally and abroad is intent on denying and avoiding liability and admission of the genocide.
By Raymond Elishapour
www.assyriatimes.com
