Ruben Melkonyan: Obama will use Genocide term as soon as he comes up with follow-up plan

April 24, 2010 - 23:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - I did not expect Obama to use Genocide term in his annual address to Armenian Community, Armenian expert Ruben Melkonyan said.

As he told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, Obama will use Genocide term as soon as he comes up with follow-up plan, or in case Turkish society eventually comes to terms with its past.

“At present, Turkey is not ready to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” Melkonyan noted, adding that commemorative actions held by Turkish intellectual elite is a singular case.

In his annual address to US Armenian community President Obama once again termed the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire as “Mets Yeghern”.

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.