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Fresno Bee- CA
April 26 2013
Obama avoids term `Armenian genocide,' but Jerry Brown doesn't
By John Ellis The Fresno Bee
Modified Thu, Apr 25, 2013 06:35 AM
While speeches and a flag-raising marked the 98th anniversary of the
Armenian genocide Wednesday in Fresno, President Barack Obama and Gov.
Jerry Brown took different approaches to noting the atrocities of
1915.
President Obama issued the White House's standard April 24 statement
marking what he termed the "Meds Yeghern (an Armenian term meaning
great calamity) ... one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century."
Carefully avoiding the term "genocide" or phrase "Armenian genocide,"
Obama stated that "1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to
their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire."
Like other presidents before him, Obama had indicated while
campaigning his intention to apply the term genocide. That played well
among Armenian-American voters. Once in office, though, he shifted
position.
"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and
my view has not changed," Obama insisted.
Gov. Brown embraced using the term "genocide," adding in his
proclamation that the events were a "deliberate attempt by the Ottoman
Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization."
April 24 is Genocide Remembrance Day and is marked by Armenians
worldwide. It has also become a contentious day in American politics
as the word genocide is carefully avoided by U.S. presidents.
But it has been a different story in California. Back in 1985,
then-Gov. George Deukmejian said it was time for President Reagan and
Congress to "stop buckling under to Turkish pressure" on the genocide
issue.
Subsequent governors have used the term in annual proclamations.
In Fresno on Wednesday morning, a group of Homenetmen Sassoon Troup 12
scouts raised the Armenian flag in front of Fresno City Hall as part
of the annual commemoration.
Other Fresno events included a Tuesday evening prayer service. One
more Fresno event is planned: a commemoration Sunday at the Soghomon
Tehlirian Memorial Statue at the Masis-Ararat Cemetery, 250 N. Hughes
Ave. in Fresno west of Highway 99. The event begins at 1 p.m.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/24/3271962/gov-browns-proclamation-decries.html
April 26 2013
Obama avoids term `Armenian genocide,' but Jerry Brown doesn't
By John Ellis The Fresno Bee
Modified Thu, Apr 25, 2013 06:35 AM
While speeches and a flag-raising marked the 98th anniversary of the
Armenian genocide Wednesday in Fresno, President Barack Obama and Gov.
Jerry Brown took different approaches to noting the atrocities of
1915.
President Obama issued the White House's standard April 24 statement
marking what he termed the "Meds Yeghern (an Armenian term meaning
great calamity) ... one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century."
Carefully avoiding the term "genocide" or phrase "Armenian genocide,"
Obama stated that "1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to
their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire."
Like other presidents before him, Obama had indicated while
campaigning his intention to apply the term genocide. That played well
among Armenian-American voters. Once in office, though, he shifted
position.
"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and
my view has not changed," Obama insisted.
Gov. Brown embraced using the term "genocide," adding in his
proclamation that the events were a "deliberate attempt by the Ottoman
Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization."
April 24 is Genocide Remembrance Day and is marked by Armenians
worldwide. It has also become a contentious day in American politics
as the word genocide is carefully avoided by U.S. presidents.
But it has been a different story in California. Back in 1985,
then-Gov. George Deukmejian said it was time for President Reagan and
Congress to "stop buckling under to Turkish pressure" on the genocide
issue.
Subsequent governors have used the term in annual proclamations.
In Fresno on Wednesday morning, a group of Homenetmen Sassoon Troup 12
scouts raised the Armenian flag in front of Fresno City Hall as part
of the annual commemoration.
Other Fresno events included a Tuesday evening prayer service. One
more Fresno event is planned: a commemoration Sunday at the Soghomon
Tehlirian Memorial Statue at the Masis-Ararat Cemetery, 250 N. Hughes
Ave. in Fresno west of Highway 99. The event begins at 1 p.m.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/24/3271962/gov-browns-proclamation-decries.html