newser.com
April 24 2010


Obama brands mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as `one of worst
atrocities' in 20th century

Obama cites `devastating chapter' in Armenia past

President Barack Obama calls it "one of the worst atrocities" of the
20th century _ the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks around
the time of World War I.

Saturday marks the 95th anniversary of the start of the slaughter in
1915, and Obama is taking time to remember "this solemn day."

A White House statement issued while Obama spends the weekend in
Asheville, N.C., calls the killings "a devastating chapter" in
Armenian history.

Obama says it's important to keep alive the memory of what happened
"so that we do not repeat the grave mistakes of the past."

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed.
Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, and says the toll
has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and
unrest.

http://www.newser.com/article/d9f9gv9 o0/obama-brands-mass-killings-of-armenians-in-1915 -as-one-of-worst-atrocities-in-20th-century.html