.jpg "Obama Administration Vague on Genocide Recognition")
Obama is facing growing pressure from the Armenian community in the United States to finally honor his 2008 campaign pledges to recognize the genocide on its 100th anniversary that will be marked on April 24.
Armenian-American leaders have urged him in recent days to follow the example of Pope Francis who described the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians as “the first genocide of the 20th century” during a landmark Vatican Mass on Sunday. They have also seized upon a similar resolution that was passed by the European Parliament earlier this week.
“The president and senior administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged as historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,” the White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, told a news briefing in Washington late on Thursday.
“We have further stated that we mourn those deaths and that a full, frank and just acknowledgement of facts is in the interests of everybody, including Turkey, Armenia and the United States. That is our position,” he said.
Asked whether Obama will utter the word genocide on April 24, Earnest said, “This has been our policy, position and approach to this issue for a number of years now. It is customary for the president to issue a statement on this terrible historical event later in the month of April and I wouldn’t anticipate any updates on our policy until then.”
Obama vowed to ensure an explicit U.S. recognition of the genocide when he ran for president in 2008. “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that president,” he said at the time.
Obama backpedaled on that pledge after becoming president, anxious not to anger Turkey. In his statements on the subject made until now he has used instead the Armenian phrase Meds Yeghern, or Great Calamity, to honor the Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Turks.................http://asbarez.com/134169/obama-administration-vague-on-genocide-recognition/
17/4/15
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Related:
1915 killings of Armenians "atrocity crimes" (Ban Ki-moon)
Turkey slams pope’s comments on Armenian genocide. (recalled its ambassador to the Vatican "for consultations")
Turkey slams European Parliament’s call to recognize ‘Armenian genocide’
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Members of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) held a demonstration today in front of the German Consulate in Los Angeles calling on the government of Germany to follow the lead of the European Parliament in adopting a resolution commemorating the centennial of the Armenian Genocide and urging the Turkish government to come to terms with its violent past...
ReplyDelete“Having atoned for the dark chapter in their own history, Germany has led efforts to condemn genocide since the Holocaust of World War II,” said Joseph Kaskanian, a member of the AYF Central Executive. “In light of their efforts, it is a moral imperative for them to condemn the Armenian Genocide for what it is. Instead, the German government has taken a step backwards in their progress by avoiding the use of the word genocide to describe the events of 1915.”
AYF and ARF youth organizations across the globe have held demonstrations in front of German consulates and embassies in recent weeks, calling for justice, recognition and restitution. AYF members in Los Angeles took part in the worldwide effort, delivering a letter to the German Consulate that presses the government to pass the resolution.
Despite this documented awareness of the Armenian Genocide, the German government has taken little action condemning its strong ally, Turkey. On April 24, the German Parliament will hold an hour of debate regarding the Armenian Genocide in Bundestag, the lower house of the federal legislature in Germany.
“Other countries — those who value justice over politics — plan to commemorate the centennial of the genocide by confronting the true version of history,” Kaskanian said. “The euphemisms and deceitful diplomacy displayed by the German government will never allow for justice and closure for the Armenian Genocide.”.......asbarez.com
18/4/15
La tragédie de 1915 hante toujours ces jeunes Arméniens de Los Angeles...
Delete"Depuis qu'on est enfants, on nous parle du génocide, alors j'y pense chaque jour, ça m'attriste", confie Edward Papikian. Comme ses camarade du collège arménien Pilibos de Los Angeles, il s'apprête à commémorer le centenaire des massacres de l'empire Ottoman contre son peuple.
"Je veux que tout le monde sache ce qui s'est passé. Il y a eu 1,5 million d'Arméniens massacrés, mes arrières grands-parents ont été déportés, on veut que la Turquie reconnaisse ce génocide, demande pardon", ajoute Nancy Bosnian, autre lycéenne de cette école de la dite "petite Arménie" de la Cité des Anges.
Le 24 avril, près de 170.000 membres de la communauté arménienne de Los Angeles, l'une des plus importantes au monde, vont manifester pour marquer le centenaire de ce qu'ils considèrent comme le début du génocide de leur peuple par l'empire Ottoman, pendant la première guerre mondiale.
La Turquie reconnaît environ 500.000 victimes lors des déportations, mais nie catégoriquement une planification systématique et le terme de génocide.....rtbf.be
18/4/15
Les Arméniens cachés de Turquie en quête d’identité...
ReplyDeleteÀ une semaine de la commémoration du centenaire du génocide des Arméniens, nos reporters ont accompagné les descendants de ceux qui ont survécu : les Arméniens cachés de Turquie. Des montagnes d’Anatolie jusqu’aux rives du Bosphore, combien sont-il aujourd’hui à s’interroger sur les silences d’un parent, en quête de leur identité ? Ils brisent aujourd’hui le mensonge dans lequel leurs ainés ont été enfermés.
Ce fut le premier génocide du XXe siècle. En 1915, environ 1,5 million d’Arméniens de l’Empire ottoman sont exterminés au nom de l'homogénéité ethnique et religieuse de la Turquie. Mais parmi eux, entre 100 000 et 200 000 femmes et enfants seront sauvés par des familles turques et kurdes, puis islamisés.
"J'ai toujours su que j'étais arménien, mais j'ai ressenti l'envie et le désir de vivre pleinement mon arménité il y a quatre ou cinq ans seulement", confie Armenak Sarica, turc du Dersim d'origine arménienne.........france24.com
ARMENIEN: Bundestag wird Völkermord benennen...
ReplyDeleteDas Gedenken an die ermordeten Armenier im Osmanischen Reich berührt auch die Beziehungen zur Türkei. Der Bundestag will den Genozid nun doch beim Namen nennen.
Die Union will die Massenmorde an Armeniern vor hundert Jahren als Völkermord bezeichnen, türkischen Protesten zum Trotz. An einer entsprechenden Formulierung werde derzeit in der großen Koalition gearbeitet, sagte der für Außenpolitik zuständige Unions-Fraktionsvize Franz Josef Jung (CDU) der Saarbrücker Zeitung. Das Wort solle in einer Resolution genannt werden, die der Bundestag in der kommenden Woche verabschieden will. Bundesaußenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) will den Begriff hingegen weiter vermeiden.
Anlässlich des 100. Jahrestags der Verbrechen an den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich hat der Bundestag für kommenden Freitag eine Debatte angesetzt. Im bisherigen Entwurf der Bundesregierung für die Gedenkstunde war zwar von "Vernichtung der Armenier" die Rede, der Begriff "Völkermord" wurde aber auf Wunsch der Koalitionsspitzen und der Regierung wieder gestrichen.........zeit.de
19/4/15