White House signals Obama will continue to eschew ‘genocide’ termApril 17, 2015 - 16:01 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The White House signaled Thursday, April 16 that President Barack Obama won’t use the word “genocide” to describe the killing of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Empire — continuing to break a longstanding pledge, The Wall Street Journal reports. As a candidate for office, Obama said he would use the word “genocide” to describe the killings. In a strongly worded statement in 2008, Obama said: “The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence." He added: “As president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.” But since taking office, geopolitical concerns about the strategic relationship with Turkey have kept the Obama administration from fulfilling that 2008 promise. The White House has been under pressure to use the term this year but a spokesman said Thursday, April 16, that there was no shift in its longstanding policy to eschew the term genocide. “The president and other senior administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged as historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the finals days of the Ottoman Empire,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. “We’ve further stated that we mourn those deaths and that a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in the interest of everybody, including Turkey, Armenia and the United States,” he added. But Earnest said the longstanding position of the U.S. of avoiding the term would likely remain in place when the White House puts out a statement later this month. “I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed,” Obama said last year, without using term “genocide.” On Sunday, Pope Francis referred to the mass killings as the “first genocide of the 20th century”. Related links: The Armenian Genocide The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |