Joe Biden has become the first US president to issue a statement formally describing the 1915 massacre of Armenians as a genocide.
The killings took place in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, the forerunner of modern-day Turkey.
But the issue is highly sensitive, with Turkey acknowledging atrocities but rejecting the term "genocide".
A US official said the move was not meant to place blame on modern-day Turkey.
However, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu immediately tweeted that his government would "not take lessons from anyone on our history".
Previous US administrations have not used the term in formal statements amid concerns over damaging relations with Turkey, a Nato ally...
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Joe Biden a reconnu, samedi, le génocide arménien, une première pour un président des États-Unis. Immédiatement après cette annonce, son homologue turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a dénoncé "la politisation par des tiers" du débat autour de cette époque de l'Histoire.
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The systematic killing and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century was "genocide," the United States formally declared on Saturday, as President Joe Biden used that precise word after the White House had avoided it for decades for fear of alienating ally Turkey.
ReplyDeleteTurkey reacted with furor, with the foreign minister saying his country "will not be given lessons on our history from anyone." A grateful Armenia said it appreciated Biden's "principled position" as a step toward "the restoration of truth and historical justice."
Biden was following through on a campaign promise he made a year ago Saturday — the annual commemoration of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day — to recognize that the events that began in 1915 were a deliberate effort to wipe out Armenians.
While previous presidents have offered somber reflections of the dark moment in history, they have studiously avoided using the term genocide out of concern that it would complicate relations with Turkey, a NATO ally and important power in the Middle East.
But Biden campaigned on a promise to make human rights a central guidepost of his foreign policy. He argued last year that failing to call the atrocities against the Armenian people a genocide would pave the way for future mass atrocities. An estimated 2 million Armenians were deported and 1.5 million were killed in the events known as Metz Yeghern.
Turkey rebuffed the statement immediately, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the Armenian issue has been “politicized by third parties.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara “entirely rejects” Biden’s decision and added that the move would “open a deep wound that undermines our mutual trust and friendship” with the US.
ReplyDelete"After more than 100 years of this past suffering, instead of exerting sincere efforts to completely heal the wounds of the past and build the future together in our region, the US president’s statement will not yield any results other than polarizing the nations and hindering peace and stability in our region,” Cavusoglu said.
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