THE roots of the Armenian "genocide" (Letters, April 15) lie in the collapse of the relatively benign Ottoman Empire which had allowed non-Muslims to maintain their religious and social structures.

The Christian Armenians were traditionally merchants in eastern Anatolia but by the 20th century they were also industrialists and much better off than their Turkish neighbours.

Armenians mark the event as starting on April 24, 1915 but there had been local atrocities for more than 20 years resulting in large-scale emigration to Europe and the Americas.

In its death throes the Ottoman Empire lost vast swathes of territory to Christians in the north and the sad fact is the Anatolian Christians were easily targets for Turkish paranoia.

I doubt Raphael Lemkin was justified in comparing it to the industrialised extermination of Europe's Jews - it was more like the fate of North and South America's native people.

One of the many incongruous features about these deplorable events is that Russia, the EU and South America regard them as "genocide" - the US, UK and Israel do not.

Rev Dr John Cameron,

10 Howard Place, St Andrews.