ACA disappointed over Barack Obama’s annual statement on Armenian Genocide

April 25, 2010 - 00:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 24th, the Armenian Council of America (ACA) and the Armenian American community received, with great disappointment, United States President Barack Obama’s annual statement on the Armenian Genocide. Although the President has gone further than previous U.S. Presidents in recent history and continuously states his “personal views have not changed,” the President, yet again has reneged on his pledge to clearly and precisely characterize the actions by the Turkish Ottoman Empire against their own ethnic Armenian citizens ninety five years ago as Genocide.

While Senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama pledged "As President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide." Now President Obama avoided his commitment to utilize the word Genocide and instead characterized the historical reality as "one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century" and "the terrible events of 1915" yet again.

While the Armenian Council of American is grateful that the President sees it “in all of our interest to see the achievement a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts,” recently, the Turkish government has used the signing of the Protocols as a pretense of harmony and good-will towards Armenia and a tool against genocide recognition. It is vital that the President and his advisors realize that Turkish-Armenian relations can never be normalized without Turkey coming to terms of what occurred to the 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire which constitutes Genocide. “It is truly regrettable that President Obama has yet again faltered on acknowledging historical truth by its rightful name, Armenians throughout the world, along with Turkish citizens struggling to change the propagated Turkish revisionist history, would obtain moral support in their endeavor if the President candidly spoke of the Armenian Genocide as genocide,” stated Sevak Khatchadourian, ACA board member.

“Historical truth that is the Armenian Genocide can never be put into question, the lack of undoubtedly identifying it as such caused great disappointment victims of genocides and advocates of humanity throughout the world,” ACA statement said.

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.