We Must Never Forget
The Time is Now for President Biden to Recognize the Armenian Genocide
By David Ojakian
As we approach the 106th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide this Saturday, April 24, and await President Biden’s statement regarding the first genocide of the 20th century, I reflect on my grandfather’s story of survival and how devastated he would be that Armenian Christians were once again targeted during the 44-day war last Fall by Azerbaijan, with the full support of Turkey, in the historically Armenian territory of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
“We must never forget,” my late grandfather, Genocide survivor Hrant Torossian would tell me when I was a child, as he recalled the massacre of his father and infant brother at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish authorities. The leaders of the Young Turks, Talat, Enver, and Jemal, ordered the killing of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915–1923. This well-documented history, with eyewitness accounts by Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr., U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman, continues to be denied by the Turkish government.
In fact, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is vocal about finishing the ‘leftovers of the sword,’ referring to finishing the job their ancestors started.
Leading genocide scholars, including Turkish scholar Dr. Taner Akçam, have accepted the Armenian Genocide as historical fact, and spent decades researching evidence concealed by the Turkish government. Dr. Akçam published ‘smoking gun’ proof of the Young Turks’ orders to carry out the genocide in his 2018 book Killing Orders. Turkey’s NATO allies, France and Germany, have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, while Turkey denies the truth. Denial is the tenth and final stage of genocide, according to Genocide Watch.
Aggression towards Armenians struck home last year with hate crimes against the KZV Armenian School in San Francisco, which was vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti July 24, 2020, and shot at on September 19, 2020. In addition, St. Gregory Armenian Church in San Francisco was firebombed on September 17, 2020.
This aggression rocked our community and struck me at my core. These acts were part of global intimidation tactics targeting Armenians, with violent mobs of the Turkish ultranationalist Grey Wolves organization threatening Armenians in the streets of Lyon, France. The French government has banned the Grey Wolves, classifying them a terrorist organization.
Anti-Armenian ideology culminated as Azerbaijan and Turkey launched a brutal drone-fueled war against the Artsakh Armenians on September 27, 2020, resulting in more than 4,000 fallen Armenian soldiers, 72 civilians killed, and over 200 prisoners of war still in captivity including civilian men, women, and elderly.
Turkey recruited and transported Syrian jihadist mercenaries, who were ordered to kill every Armenian in the villages and paid a $200 bounty for every decapitation of an Armenian soldier.
This was not war. This was an attempt at ethnic cleansing, as missiles bombarded civilian targets including hospitals, schools, homes, and churches. The valiance of the Armenian soldier preserved what remains of Artsakh.
President Biden has made human rights a priority for his administration. He must adhere to his 30-year documented affirmation of the Armenian Genocide as a Senator and officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. The Executive Branch must follow the example of Congress, which overwhelmingly passed Armenian Genocide resolutions in 2019. This would give solace to the millions of Armenian Genocide descendants who have been contributing members of U.S. society for over a century.
Today, my involvement in the Armenian community is in honor of my late grandfather Hrant Torossian. Because of him, I work to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide. Despite Turkey and Azerbaijan’s ongoing denial and attempts to exterminate Armenians, we will never forget the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide and we will remain resilient in our efforts to rebuild.
David Ojakian is a second generation Armenian American and a descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area for over 37 years, David has made it his life work to advocate for the Armenian people.
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armenia
