Ankara angered by Trump's statement on Armenian Genocide

April 25, 2017 - 11:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish foreign ministry has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for his statement in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, saying that his words are historically inaccurate and based on a one-sided approach to the event, Sputnik reports.

Trump commemorated the anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide in a statement released by the White House, saying that “Meds Yeghern,” a term used by the Armenians to describe the 1915 events, was one the worst atrocities in history of 20th century.

“We consider that the misinformation and false definitions contained in U.S. President Trump’s written statement of April 24, 2017 regarding the 1915 events are derived from the information pollution created over the years by some Armenian circles in the U.S. by means of propaganda methods,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Ankara noted that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has attended the ceremony in commemoration of the event at the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul on Monday, April 24, according to the statement.

About 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1923, hundreds of thousands were forced out of the country, in a campaign by the Ottoman forces.

Sputnik. Ankara Slams Trump's Statement on Armenian Genocide as 'Misinformation'

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.