Video: 'The Unspeakable Things That Happened In The Armenian Genocide'
(Saturday, April 24, 1915 early morning ; during the Armenian genocide, part of World War I) — Ottoman authorities arrested and deported hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders from Constantinople today, marking the start of what observers describe as a sweeping campaign against the Armenian population of the empire.
Early this morning, police rounded up at least 235 prominent Armenians in the capital (now Istanbul[b] is the largest city in Turkey), including poets, physicians, clergy, and political figures. Many are believed to be facing torture or execution in the coming months, according to reports from local sources and foreign diplomats.
Video: 'The Armenian Genocide'
The arrests come amid rising tensions and suspicions toward Armenians, whom the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) accuses of collaborating with enemy forces during the ongoing world war.
The detentions are widely seen as the opening move in a systematic effort to eliminate the Armenian presence in the Ottoman Empire.
In the weeks leading up to today’s events, Armenians in several provinces were subjected to mass killings, forced marches, and deportations. Survivors recount being deprived of food and water and subjected to violence as they are driven toward the Syrian desert.
Video: 'The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century - #3 Total War' (Apr. 24, 1915, at 47:27)
Ottoman officials claim the measures are necessary for national security, but international observers and Armenian leaders say the campaign amounts to a coordinated attempt to destroy the Armenian people and their culture. Estimates of the Armenian population in the empire range from 1 to 1.5 million, with early reports indicating that hundreds of thousands may be at risk.
Today’s arrests are expected to be followed by further deportations and violence in the provinces. The international community has yet to respond formally, but relief organizations are already warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in the making.
April 24 is now being recognized as the symbolic beginning of what many are calling the first genocide of the twentieth century
