959) Las Vegas Gambling on Alleged Armenian Genocide

Dear Mayor Oscar Goodman and the Honourable Councillors of the City of Las Vegas:

I write to you as a concerned person, and firstly I must admit that I am not a resident of your beautiful city nor a US citizen.

I am concerned that you will be perpetuating a lie with a political agenda and wasting community resources that could otherwise be used for genuine reasons. That being your proposal to erect a memorial for a false Armenian Genocide. The allegation that the Ottoman Turks carried out a genocide against their Armenian citizens is a proven lie and proven not only by Ottoman and modern day Turks but many prominent Christian US and European scholars.

There is no denying that many thousands of Armenians died during that period but their lives are not worth more than the many more thousands of Turkish lives that were taken by the Armenians and the invading Russian forces during World War I.

Before you expend community resources in Las Vegas in order to perpetuate a fallacious Armenian Genocide, in my very humble view there needs to be at least an inquiry where by both sides of the story can be investigated and the community and citizens of Las Vegas can make up their own minds as to whether or not the Ottoman Empire carried out a systematic, deliberate extermination plan of their Armenian citizens. Only once an inquiry has been conducted, the truth of the matter decided upon or determined by the good citizens of Las Vegas and then they decide a genocide was in fact committed and a memorial is required then that should justify the expenditure of community resources.

The historical facts need to be explored and examined before the citizens of Las Vegas can make an informed decision. Irrefutable fundamental facts such as the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I and ceased to exist thereafter. The United Kingdom took control of the old Ottoman Capital Istanbul including all archives. They arrested 144 individual Ottoman officials including Military and Political, (including the then Prime Minister, or equivalent to) conveyed them to the island colony of Malta, (akin to the Guantanamo Bay detainees of modern times) with a view of investigating and prosecuting them for war crimes.

After approximately two and half years, all persons were released and none was ever charged. The senior investigator wrote back to the UK and informed the government of the day that the requisite evidence did not exist. Not even to prima facie level. That is equivalent to a Grand Jury hearing that is, there was not even enough evidence to put before a Grand Jury to determine. This was undertaken not by the Turks themselves but by the British.

Now if you truly believe that the Ottoman Turks committed a Genocide then you are morally obliged to convince your Federal Government to commence action against The Republic of Turkiye for war crimes. The problem with that will obviously be if the evidence was not, there in 1918 it certainly will not be there in 2006. The UK requested assistance from the US government of the day during that period to provide any and all information that could be used with a view of prosecuting those 144 individuals mentioned above and the response from your own Federal Government of the day was there was no information or evidence that they could provide to assist the British.

Therefore, prior to expending community resources on a fallacious genocide allegation it is the right of the entire Las Vegas Community not a certain section to know the full facts before the decision to spend the money to perpetuate a proven lie is made.

Yours Sincerely

Ataman Atlas
Atlas Legal