Atonement

Before we get into what the US congress is discussing, a clear line must be drawn between the two most heinous crimes of the last century:The Holocaust is the tragedy that the Germans inflicted upon the Jews, it was a form of genocide, the worst in modern history.
Whereas the Armenians were victims of attempted genocide by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire during the First World War, which resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians. This is an irrefutable event in Europe's history, as is the Holocaust. As the Holocaust is always spelt with an upper case H, it is also now called the Armenian Genocide.
Here are the OED's definitions:

holocaust-ˈhɒləkɔ:st noun. In sense 4 also H-

4 spec. The (period of the) mass murder of the Jews (or transf. of other groups) by the Nazis in the Second World War.

F. Forsyth Yad Vashem,…the shrine to six million…Jews who died in the holocaust. M. French My students…don't even care about World War II or the Holocaust.

Comb.: Holocaust denial the mistaken belief or assertion that the Holocaust did not happen, or was greatly exaggerated.


genocide dʒɛnəsʌɪd
ORIGIN from geno- + -cide.]

The (attempted) deliberate and systematic extermination of an ethnic or national group.



The US congress has begun a debate as to whether to classify the Armenian Genocide as genocide. Not for the first time Turkey has decided to deal with this shameful episode in their history by threatening punitive measures against the US if it goes ahead, the measures include canceling arms deals!, and no longer allowing US troops to use its airbases(not a bad thing really).The point though, is that they feel the need to threaten. ...

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." From Hamlet (III, ii, 239)

....and so too does Turkey.
Why not face your past, we have all had to at some point.The Germans have made it a crime to deny their past! The Japanese have at least acknowledged that they were wrong(although China still believes their apologies less than sincere). Our actions in India (and elsewhere) were wrong, we know that.
It is only by facing your past mistakes that you can ensure you don't repeat them.
Every parent knows that it is no use just punishing your kids until they have told you what they have done wrong.

Follow the link to find out more



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7037048.stm

US to debate Turkey genocide bill

Turkey denies genocide, saying the deaths were a result of fighting

A key US congressional committee is to debate whether to classify as genocide the deaths of 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians between 1915 and 1917.

Turkey - which strongly denies Armenian claims that the killings amounted to genocide - has warned of "serious consequences" if the bill is passed.

Ankara has threatened to restrict US access to a key military base used for its operations in Iraq...........(follow the link to continue)