Recognizing Fact of Genocide Should Be By-Product of Historian's Work
In the books "The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide" by Guenter Lewy and "The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians" by Donald Bloxham, the authors pay special attention to the term "genocide". Both Bloxham and Lewy dwell at length on genocide denial, and the appropriateness of genocide as a term. "Genocide," says Bloxham, is a 1940s word being applied as a "retrospective projection" upon historical events of decades before: [p.95] "...the killing did constitute a genocide - every aspect of the United Nations' definition of the crime is applicable - but recognizing that fact should be a by-product of the historian's work, not its ultimate aim or underpinning." The sticking point is the perpetrator's intent: without intent there cannot be genocide. But intent need not be a clear-cut, one time manifestation: it can develop, grow, and feed upon itself and events. Hence, says Bloxham: "[p.96]
Pinpointing the precise time within that period of radicalization at which a state framework that is demonstrably permissive of murder and atrocity becomes explicitly genocidal is extremely difficult and unlikely ever to be achieved definitively."
Meanwhile, Lewy finds little tangible evidence of premeditated mass homicide (i.e. genocide), of Armenians. Perhaps this evidence will be found, he allows, but it is not there yet. Apparently, crucial archival documents have gone missing, or have been destroyed, or have not been made available by Turkish authorities (even now, possibly due to archival disorganization). In addition, documentation might have been deemed spurious to begin with, or was used selectively for political purposes (e.g. to deflect blame for Armenian massacres, or, on the other hand, to build a case for creating an Armenian state in eastern Anatolia, or for keeping land and property out of Armenian hands after the collapse of the Ottoman empire). Lewy concludes that there is plenty of testimony and documentation that atrocities and massacres occurred, but, he cautions, premeditation has yet be ascertained.
Lewy analyzes what he calls the "politicization of history" regarding Ottomans and Armenians, and believes both sides are stuck in a semantic bind. He says that the legalistic definition of "genocide" has been conflated with the common use of the word as a term of opprobrium, and proposes that separating these two meanings just might provide the basis for more productive discussions between Turks and Armenians today. This is a point worth pondering, while not forgetting that the 1948 UN definition of genocide was based on writings by jurist Raphael Lemkin - who had precisely the Armenian, and other, massacres in mind.
Meanwhile, Lewy finds little tangible evidence of premeditated mass homicide (i.e. genocide), of Armenians. Perhaps this evidence will be found, he allows, but it is not there yet. Apparently, crucial archival documents have gone missing, or have been destroyed, or have not been made available by Turkish authorities (even now, possibly due to archival disorganization). In addition, documentation might have been deemed spurious to begin with, or was used selectively for political purposes (e.g. to deflect blame for Armenian massacres, or, on the other hand, to build a case for creating an Armenian state in eastern Anatolia, or for keeping land and property out of Armenian hands after the collapse of the Ottoman empire). Lewy concludes that there is plenty of testimony and documentation that atrocities and massacres occurred, but, he cautions, premeditation has yet be ascertained.
Lewy analyzes what he calls the "politicization of history" regarding Ottomans and Armenians, and believes both sides are stuck in a semantic bind. He says that the legalistic definition of "genocide" has been conflated with the common use of the word as a term of opprobrium, and proposes that separating these two meanings just might provide the basis for more productive discussions between Turks and Armenians today. This is a point worth pondering, while not forgetting that the 1948 UN definition of genocide was based on writings by jurist Raphael Lemkin - who had precisely the Armenian, and other, massacres in mind.
