10 Despicable War Crimes That Were Shamefully Denied

3. Armenian Genocide World War One

One of the most hotly denied genocides which ever occurred, the beleaguered Armenians have had considerable problems in getting their WW1 era genocide recognised by the international community. The problems started in 1915 when Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire and the Turk-led administration rounded up 250 Armenian intellectuals and shot them. Throughout the war, the Ottoman regime continued to make life hard for the Armenians. Able bodied Armenian men were killed in vast numbers, there was forced labour and a 'Death March' to the Syrian deserts in which the frail and elderly were forced to participate in to hurry up their deaths. Casualty estimates run between 1-1.5 million dead Armenians. Unfortunately for the surviving Armenian population, the Turkish government does not recognise the genocide and does not like to discuss it. As a result of the Armenians' dogged devotion to getting their pain recognised and made official in international relations, 22 countries have adopted resolutions that formally acknowledge the Armenian genocide. In March 2010, driven by influential Armenian lobby groups, the US Congress narrowly voted to recognise the events in Armenia as a genocide. Turkey was not a happy camper with this turn of events and condemned the resolution. However they might be slightly mollified by the fact that to this day, when talking of Armenian politics and aid, Obama has refrained from using the word 'genocide' outright. Bit of a political hot potato then.