SINS OF THE PAST; ARMENIANS DEMAND RECOGNITION OF GENOCIDE.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Hoping the world's focus on the Kosovo crisis might generate empathy for their cause, hundreds of Armenian-Americans held their annual protest at the Turkish Consulate on Friday to demand recognition of the Armenian genocide that began in World War I.

``Kosovo is coming up in the same context. People are more aware of what a genocide is,'' newly elected Glendale Councilman Rafi Manoukian said before the protest in Los Angeles.

``When you talk about forced marches and starvation in Armenia, people understand what you mean. They are relating to it more because they see it on television.''

For Armenian-Americans, Turkish recognition of the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as genocide is the first step in healing a bitter feud between Turks and Armenians. Like the feud between the Serbs and Kosovars, the animosity between Turks and Armenians has continued to fester.

``These disputes are going on and on,'' said Ara Bedrosian, director of development for the local chapter of the Armenian National Committee. ``The only way I see any resolution is if everything comes out in the open. If the Turkish government were to come out and recognize the genocide and the U.S. government recognized the genocide, those would be the first steps in the right direction.''

The United States government refers to the killings as a massacre.

Armenians hold commemorative events in the third week of April because on April 24, 1915, hundreds of Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders were rounded up, exiled and eventually slain by Turkish armies serving the Ottoman Empire, Bedrosian said.

The killing of Armenians, who are Christian, at the hands of the Turks, who are Muslim, continued for another eight years, he said. Most of the Armenians, who the Turks deported to Syria, died along the way of starvation, he said.

Kurdet Oytan, consul for the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles, said Turkey has no intention of recognizing what occurred as genocide.

To Turks, the deaths were related to a civil war in which Armenians were attempting to break away from the Ottoman empire. The Ottoman authorities decided to expel Armenians because they feared Armenian revolutionaries would aid Russia's efforts to invade the Ottoman Empire, Oytan said.

``They are asking for the impossible,'' Oytan said. ``Ottoman authorities took all the Armenians and sent them to Syria on foot. Many of them died along the way. This is what happened due to World War I and a civil war. It wasn't a genocide.''

While Turkey's economic blockade causes major problems for Armenia, Bedrosian said the genocide disagreement is what keeps Armenians and Turks from resolving current disputes.

``The issues all start from genocide,'' Bedrosian said.

The protest Friday was organized by the Armenian Youth Federation and was attended by more than 500 people, including Assemblyman Scott Wildman, D-Glendale. Wildman has attended the protest for the last three years.

``It was something I was educated about by my constituents,'' Wildman said. ``It was really the first major genocide that Hitler referred to as a basis for him being able to get away with carrying out the Holocaust.''

Earlier in the week, Rep. James Rogan, R-Pasadena, co-sponsored a resolution in the House of Representatives to commemorate the genocide.

``We must work together today to put to rest the painful memories,'' Rogan said to the House. ``As we strive to ensure peace between all mankind, we must properly acknowledge the sins of the past.''

But Sako Aslanian, chairman of the Armenian Youth Federation, said that while Rogan's resolution is appreciated, it does not change the State Department's official stance on the killings as a massacre.

``The state department has ties with the Turkish government. That's the reason why they always deny the genocide,'' Aslanian said.

Many local Armenians sympathize with Kosovars today.

``It's very similar. There were a lot more Armenians who died, but there was no international response like there is in Kosovo today,'' Aslanian said. ``The Armenian genocide was done and forgotten about. At least the international community is trying to stop it now in Kosovo.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Members of the Armenian Youth Federation protest Friday outside the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles. The event drew more than 500 people.

(2) Protesters demand Turkish recognition of the 1915-1923 slaughter of Armenians.

David Sprague/Daily News