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This article probes the place of Armenia and (Ottoman) Armenians in the Belgian imagination in the last three decades prior to 1914. Whereas “ Oriental Christians” had until then attracted mainly scholarly and clerical interest, attention for the Ottoman Armenians in Belgium increased and broadened after the 1894-1896 massacres. Eliciting no public judgement from the Catholic government (bent on safeguarding the interests of Belgian capital in the Ottoman Empire), these killings sparked a major outrage in the domestic press and saw the foundation of several relief committees throughout the country. In parliament a new generation of left-wing politicians and intellectuals virulently criticized the Hamidian regime. We argue that the “ Armenian Question” was pivotal in the emergence of a new internationalist and “ humanitarian” concern in Belgian politics that was mainly of liberal and socialist making, but that also appealed to Christian-democrats. Both on the Left and the Right, this question was basically perceived as a clash between civilization and barbarism (and often Christendom and Islam). We show, however, how racialism and paternalism were intrinsic and foundational to the making of “ liberal” emancipatory discourses and an Armenophile movement, which ultimately remained a minority movement in Belgium.
Keywords: Humanitarisme, Armeense diaspora, Osmaanse Armeniërs, Belgische diplomatie, Belgische politiek, Oriëntalisme, Belgian diplomacy, Humanitarianism, Orientalism, Belgian politics, Ottoman Armenians, Armenian diaspora, Hamidian massacres, Orientalisme, massacres hamidiennes, diaspora arménienne, Arméniens ottomans, Humanitarisme, diplomatie belge, politique belge
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A Millennium Year ; The Ethiopian calendar was beginning the third millennium on 11th of September 2007. This year 2000 was punctuated by celebrations as well as social and political big promises. Boosted from the head of the state, the huge marketing campaign once more announced the Renaissance of the Ethiopian state, thus echoing old Panafricanist views chronically used by the past or current leaders. The following chronology aims at replacing, without analysis, the millennium celebrations in the political, economic and social events of the year 2007-2008.