For Armenians around the world, "April," to quote Eliot, is indeed "the cruelest month." On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government launched a genocidal campaign of deportation and extermination, effectively ending the millennia-old Armenian presence in eastern Turkey. Amazingly, to this day Turkey denies the genocide. And the U.S. goes along with this charade. A recent Congressional resolution recognizing the genocide was withdrawn under White House pressure. The administration cited national security concerns.

Peter Balakian
Peter Balakian, professor of English at Colgate University, is the author of the award-winning Black Dog of Fate. His latest book is The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide & America's Response. It was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.