Biden should call for open historical investigation of 1915 events - US expert

By Trend

If Biden really wants to make an international impact and be perceived as a promoter of human rights, he would call for an international and open historical investigation and call for scholarship and committee to study all war crimes and human rights abuses against all groups that had suffered injustice in the course of World War I, Irina Zuckerman, the US-based expert and analyst told Trend.

She was commenting on the recognition of the US President of so-called “Armenian genocide”.

As it stands now, the issue of so-called “Armenian genocide” has become a political football to be used as leverage when convenient, and does nothing to resolve either current political tension or to do justice to the families of everyone who has suffered from the injustices of the past, noted the expert.

“History should not be reduced to a matter of leverage over particular administrations or countries, but rather should be studied and understood to increase collaboration and cooperation and decrease opportunities for polarizing figures and demagogues to create and perpetuate divisions. There is no reason for Armenians, Turks, Greeks and others not to come together to understand past history, to find a way to overcome grievances, and to cooperate over a better future for the new generations rather than use past events merely as a way to antagoninze each other.

That is not in the interests of any people and any countries, and Biden, if he wants to be seen as a man of peace and concerned for human rights, should be pushing for a diplomatic push for unity and initiatives that bring a vision of peace and appreciation of each people's positive contributions and ability to overcome past wrongs, rather than for scoring cheap political points that kick the can down the road and only create opportunities for the US to be seen as a divisive forces that speaks loudly but plays no real role,” she said.