Mike Levin: “April 24, 1996 marks the 81st anniversary of one of the world's most tragic events--the genocide of the Armenian people…”

“April 24, 1996 marks the 81st anniversary of one of the world's most tragic events--the genocide of the Armenian people by the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire. The genocidal process which began in the 1890's, came to a peak in 1915 when the Turkish government began a systematic and willful attempt to wipe out the Armenian population of Anatolia, their historic homeland. The process continued in 1918 and 1920 when Turkish armies invaded the Armenian Republic in the Caucasus in a heartless attempt to eradicate the remnant of the Armenian people who had taken refuge in a newly freed homeland. The final act of genocide was committed in Smyrna in 1922 when the Turkish Nationalist armies burnt the beautiful coastal city on the Mediterranean and drove its Armenian and Greek population into the sea in full sight of American and other European warships. In all, over 1.5 million Armenians perished and over 500,000 more were left homeless and driven into exile.”