Question

Explain the 3 stages of the Armenian Genocide?

Answer 1

The Armenian Genocide followed three main stages: initial arrests and killings of Armenian leaders, mass execution and deportation, and systemic murder on death marches and denial. Genocide scholar Gregory Stanton's framework of genocide includes denial as a critical stage, exemplified by Turkey's persistent denial of the genocide. Understanding the ten stages of genocide is key for analyzing past genocides and identifying future risks.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Armenian Genocide unfolded in three main stages under the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. The first stage began on April 24, 1915, with the rounding up, arrest, and then killing of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Following this, the Armenian population was subjected to further atrocity, including the conscription of Armenian males into labor battalions where they were subsequently killed. The second stage involved the wholesale massacre and deportation of Armenians. Adult and teenage males were frequently singled out for execution, while women, children, and the elderly were forced on death marches to the Syrian desert. The third stage of the genocide involved the outright murder of the surviving deportees through mass killings and additional death marches. A significant part of the Armenian population died due to systematic massacres, forced marches, starvation, and disease. Adding to this physical annihilation, the genocide has been continuously denied by subsequent generations of Turkish leaders, part of what genocide scholar Gregory Stanton mentions as the final stage of genocide: denial.

The story of the Armenian Genocide reflects the broader patterns found in historical genocides, including the ten stages identified by Genocide Watch. Through understanding these patterns—classification, symbolization, discrimination, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination, and denial—scholars can analyze past genocides and identify risks in the present. In the Armenian Genocide, systematic persecution led to the near annihilation of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire, with denial persisting to the present day.

Answer 2

The United States has not yet officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, although many American leading personalities, associations, U.S. States and institutions have done so, the U.S. Congress, mostly because of pressure from the executive branch, itself under Turkish pressure, has not legislated on that matter. The reasons why some, particularly among the executive branch, and usually including the President and the Secretary of State themselves, have blocked any progress of official recognition are mostly—although not only—geopolitical. The main idea against such opposition is the preservation of Turkey, traditionally and still today perceived as a major ally, and therefore the protection of U.S. geostrategic, geoeconomic, and diplomatic interests.