Marking the 100th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide Amid Ongoing Turkish Denial

"Democracy Now!" airs weekdays at 9 a.m. PT on KCET.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. On April 24, 1915, the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic, premeditated genocide against the Armenian people -- an unarmed Christian minority living under Turkish rule. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing, starvation, torture, and forced death marches. Another million fled into permanent exile.

Today, the Turkish government continues to deny this genocide, and since becoming president, Barack Obama has avoided using the term "genocide" to describe it.

"Democracy Now!" is joined by Peter Balakian, professor of humanities at Colgate University and author of "The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response"; Anahid Katchian, whose father was a survivor of the 1915 Armenian Genocide; and Simon Maghakyan, an activist with Armenians of Colorado. The show also plays a recording of Armenian broadcaster and writer David Barsamian's mother recalling her experience during the Armenian genocide as a young girl. Araxie Barsamian survived, but her parents and brothers did not.