Perhaps you have never heard of the Armenian Genocide! Whether
we have personal knowledge of historical events or not or perhaps deny that
they ever happened, it does not mean that they can be erased or vanished. We
know that genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people which is
usually and mostly relevant to ethnicity. The Armenian Genocide was a very real
occurrence in history. I personally just recently became aware of this atrocity,
even though it took place a hundred years ago in Turkey. Most of us know about
the holocaust in which Hitler killed millions of human beings, mostly Jews, even
though there are still some that want to deny that this also ever happened.
Well, the Armenian Genocide is perhaps a 20th century precursor to
the holocaust in which more than a million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman
government between 1915 and 1923, actually by 1918 more than a million had
already been killed. If you wish to be more informed on this human history
event, you can contact the Armenian National Institute in Washington, DC or
visit the following link:
Of course, you may ask me why it is I am writing about this
on an ecumenism blog. My response is very simple and brief. Pope Francis recently brought up this genocide and
definitely raised awareness almost instantly!
Also, the WCC (World Council of Churches) Executive Committee released a statement on the Armenian Genocide on June 11th, 2015. In fact, the statement by
the WCC was a warning read aloud and in a public service of remembrance by Dr
Agnes Abuom in Yerevan on June 10th, 2015. The WCC said: “Denial, impunity and
the failure to remember such events encourage their repetition
(www.oikoumene.org).” You can get the full article for this WCC statement at
the following link:
References:
http://www.armenian-genocide.org/genocide.html
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/12/europe/pope-francis-turkey-armenia-genocide-reference/
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/wcc-executive-committee-releases-statement-on-armenian-genocide
