Tweet
OBAMA AVOIDS G-WORD IN APRIL 24 STATEMENT
Today's Zaman
April 24 2012
Turkey
US President Barack Obama avoided using the word "genocide" in an
annual statement commemorating Armenians who perished during World
War I in Anatolia, referring to the killings as "Meds Yeghern" --
meaning Great Tragedy in Armenian -- instead.
"Today, we commemorate the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst atrocities of
the 20th century. In doing so, we honor the memory of the 1.5 million
Armenians who were brutally massacred or marched to their deaths in
the waning days of the Ottoman Empire," Obama said in his statement.
Obama was widely expected to avoid the word genocide in his annual
message, the fourth since he came to the office in 2009. Turkey,
a key US ally, has repeatedly warned in the past that referring to
the World War I events during the Ottoman Empire as the "Armenian
genocide" would cause irreparable damage to ties.
Turkey denies Armenian claims of genocide, saying there were deaths
on both sides as Armenians revolted against the Ottoman Empire in
collaboration with the Russian army, which was then invading eastern
Anatolia, to establish an independent Armenian state.
Obama had promised Armenian voters to recognize the World War I events
as genocide during his election campaign, but later backtracked,
saying efforts aimed at Turkish-Armenian reconciliation should not
be undermined.
In his message on Tuesday, Obama said: "I have consistently stated
my own view of what occurred in 1915. My view of that history has not
changed." He also called for "a full, frank, and just acknowledgement
of the facts" about the history, saying that "moving forward with the
future cannot be done without reckoning with the facts of the past."
"Some individuals have already taken this courageous step forward. We
applaud those Armenians and Turks who have taken this path, and we hope
that many more will choose it, with the support of their governments,
as well as mine," said Obama.
Today's Zaman
April 24 2012
Turkey
US President Barack Obama avoided using the word "genocide" in an
annual statement commemorating Armenians who perished during World
War I in Anatolia, referring to the killings as "Meds Yeghern" --
meaning Great Tragedy in Armenian -- instead.
"Today, we commemorate the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst atrocities of
the 20th century. In doing so, we honor the memory of the 1.5 million
Armenians who were brutally massacred or marched to their deaths in
the waning days of the Ottoman Empire," Obama said in his statement.
Obama was widely expected to avoid the word genocide in his annual
message, the fourth since he came to the office in 2009. Turkey,
a key US ally, has repeatedly warned in the past that referring to
the World War I events during the Ottoman Empire as the "Armenian
genocide" would cause irreparable damage to ties.
Turkey denies Armenian claims of genocide, saying there were deaths
on both sides as Armenians revolted against the Ottoman Empire in
collaboration with the Russian army, which was then invading eastern
Anatolia, to establish an independent Armenian state.
Obama had promised Armenian voters to recognize the World War I events
as genocide during his election campaign, but later backtracked,
saying efforts aimed at Turkish-Armenian reconciliation should not
be undermined.
In his message on Tuesday, Obama said: "I have consistently stated
my own view of what occurred in 1915. My view of that history has not
changed." He also called for "a full, frank, and just acknowledgement
of the facts" about the history, saying that "moving forward with the
future cannot be done without reckoning with the facts of the past."
"Some individuals have already taken this courageous step forward. We
applaud those Armenians and Turks who have taken this path, and we hope
that many more will choose it, with the support of their governments,
as well as mine," said Obama.