Obama sidesteps 'genocide' regarding 1915 events

As in previous years, US President Barack Obama has shunned uttering the word “genocide” in his Armenian Remembrance Day address to describe mass killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottomans in 1915 to avoid angering Turkey.

As a presidential candidate, Obama repeatedly vowed to recognize the Armenian “genocide” once in office, voicing his commitment to commemorating and ending genocide.

Since 2009, the Armenian diaspora in the US has waited for the president to honor his promise. Obama's repeated failure to use the word “genocide” in his Armenian Remembrance Day message has created deep disappointment in the community.

The US has not officially recognized the Armenians' claim that there was genocide in eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923. Before Obama's presidency, US leaders blocked attempts to pass resolutions recognizing the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

In previous years, Obama found himself between a rock and a hard place while trying to speak to both Turkish and Armenian claims over the events of 1915 to 1923.

On Wednesday Obama again described the 1915 events as “Meds Yeghern,” which means “Great Calamity” in Armenian. In previous speeches, Obama, for this phrase, has not only drawn a rebuff from both Turkey, who described the US president's wording as one-sided, but also from the Armenian population, given that he failed to label the events a genocide.

In a statement Obama released on Wednesday, he said “we commemorate the Meds Yeghern” and honor those who perished in one of the “worst atrocities of the 20th century.”

He said 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire 98 years ago.

“We pause to reflect on the lives extinguished and remember the unspeakable suffering that occurred. In so doing, we are joined by millions across the world and in the United States, where it is solemnly commemorated by our states, institutions, communities, and families. We also remind ourselves of our commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of history are not repeated,” he said in the statement.

Obama said that he has consistently stated his own view of what occurred in 1915, and that his view has not changed. He also implicitly urged Turkey to face its past and acknowledge painful elements.

“Nations grow stronger by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past, thereby building a foundation for a more just and tolerant future. We appreciate this lesson in the United States, as we strive to reconcile some of the darkest moments in our own history,” he added.

Obama said the US recognizes those courageous Armenians and Turks who have already taken this path, and encourages more to do so, with the backing of their governments and Washington.


/Todayszaman.Com/