Please explain Turkiye to me

Why is it important national identity to deny the Armenian genocide?

In NYC no less.

Gemini's wisdom culled from the internet--a flawed base of knowledge:

While mainstream historians worldwide recognize the 1915–1917 destruction of the Ottoman Armenian population as a deliberate genocide that killed upwards of 1.5 million people, Turkey’s refusal to label it as such is driven by several main factors:

1. Protection of the National Founding Myth

The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 out of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The national story taught in Turkey frames this period as a heroic "War of Independence" against invading imperial powers (like Britain, France, and Greece).

Accepting that the immediate predecessors and some founding figures of the modern republic orchestrated a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing directly conflicts with this foundational narrative. Reconciling national pride with dark historical reality is difficult for any nation, and in Turkey, acknowledging genocide is often viewed as an assault on the honor of the Turkish nation itself.

2. State Continuity and Legal Liability Fears

From a legal and geopolitical perspective, the Turkish state harbors long-standing fears regarding what official recognition might trigger:

Reparations: Potential financial claims by descendants of victims whose land, property, and wealth were seized during the deportations.

Territorial Claims: Concerns that recognition could lead to political demands for land in Eastern Anatolia, historically home to large Armenian populations.

Even though legal experts debate whether an acknowledgment by modern Turkey would legally obligate it to grant land or reparations, the fear of setting a dangerous precedent remains a major policy driver.

To me, to base your identity on the denial of something that happened, well, that seems like a pore foundations for identity. You're starting off with a lie, and with fear based on the need to lie. 

USA killed many Native Americans. In it's past. It's not great, but denying it happened, that justs compounds the problem, makes it grow. Because it happens all the time everywhere, doesn't mean it's OK, and maybe moving forward we could avoid killing people. Keep trying.