Deportation and annihilation of Armenians wasn't caused by religionFebruary 21, 2007 - 18:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The idea of deporting Armenians from Anatolia occurred to Turkish leaders in 1913 after suffering a defeat in the Balkan war. At those times Turks concluded they can't live with Christians, Turkish historian Taner Akcam said in an interview with Minneapolis Star Tribune. "In October 1912 the Ottoman Empire lost 69% of its territory, a homeland for young Turks. They lost because of Christians. Armenians made 45% of the population of Anatolia," the Turkish historian said. According to him, in 1914 the Ottoman government proceeded to elaboration of a plan for deploying troops in Anatolia. "However, I do not think that religion was a cause for deportation and annihilation of Armenians. Majority of Armenians received education in Europe and were atheists. Religion was used for uniting the Muslim population against Armenians," Taner Akcam said, reports RFE/RL.Taner Akcam is one of the first Turkish historians to recognize the Armenian Genocide. In 1978 he immigrated to Germany and was granted the status of a political refugee. Presently he is a professor of history at the Minnesota University. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |