Senators call on Obama to recognize Armenian Genocide

April 21, 2010 - 11:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - California Senator Barbara Boxer (D) was joined this week by more than a dozen of her Senate colleagues in calling on President Obama "to stand on the right side of history and unequivocally affirm the Armenian Genocide," reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"We would like to thank Senator Boxer and her Senate colleagues for their effort to end Turkey's gag rule on U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide – a morally bankrupt policy that continues to undermine our nation's credibility in the fight to end the cycle of Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "President Obama has a clear choice to make on April 24th - to emerge as the torchbearer of truth regarding the Armenian Genocide or to remain the Turkish government's accomplice in the denial of this crime against humanity."

The letter, circulated by Senator Boxer and sent to the White House with the signatures of 14 Senators from 10 different states, underscored that, "despite an irrefutable body of evidence, the United States Government has yet to recognize the events of 1915-1923 by their rightful name." The signatories urged the President, this April 24 "to correct this injustice and finally acknowledge one of the greatest atrocities of the 20th century for what it was - genocide."

In comments to the ANCA, Senator John Ensign (R-NV), a co-signer of the letter, noted that, "This month will mark the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The atrocities that occurred 95 years ago have yet to be recognized by our government as a genocide. In this letter, my colleagues and I urge President Obama to once and for all declare that the lives lost during this dark period were a result of a deliberate and intentional massacre of innocent men, women, and children."

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.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.