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ON ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE DAY, OBAMA AGAIN AVOIDS THE WORD "GENOCIDE" DESPITE CAMPAIGN PROMISE TO CONTRARY
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/on-armenian-remembrance-day-obama-again-avoids-the-word-genocide-despite-campaign-promise-to-contrary/
Apr 24, 2012 8:40am
On the fourth Armenian Remembrance Day of his presidency, President
Obama has for the fourth time in a row broken his promise to the
Armenian community to use the word "genocide" in describing what
happened at the hands of the Turks roughly a century ago.
As a senator, and then as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama often
talked about how bold he was to call the slaughter of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire just what
it was: a genocide.
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides," he said. "I intend
to be that president." In a January 2008 letter to the Armenian
Reporter, Mr. Obama said he shared "with Armenian Americans - so
many of whom are descended from genocide survivors - a principled
commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with
acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history."
In 2006, Mr. Obama noted, "I criticized the secretary of state
[Condoleezza Rice] for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to describe Turkey's
slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with
Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide
is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but
rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of
historical evidence."
Asserted Mr. Obama, back then: "The facts are undeniable. An official
policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an
untenable policy."
That was then, this is now. As previous presidents have concluded, Mr.
Obama has decided that distorting the historical facts is better than
alienating ally Turkey, which disputes that term. And that policy
has been, at least in the short term, quite tenable.
The president in his statement today said "I have consistently stated
my own view of what occurred in 1915. My view of that history has not
changed. A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in
all of our interests. Moving forward with the future cannot be done
without reckoning with the facts of the past. ...Some individuals have
already taken this courageous step forward. We applaud those Armenians
and Turks who have taken this path, and we hope that many more will
choose it, with the support of their governments, as well as mine."
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/on-armenian-remembrance-day-obama-again-avoids-the-word-genocide-despite-campaign-promise-to-contrary/
Apr 24, 2012 8:40am
On the fourth Armenian Remembrance Day of his presidency, President
Obama has for the fourth time in a row broken his promise to the
Armenian community to use the word "genocide" in describing what
happened at the hands of the Turks roughly a century ago.
As a senator, and then as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama often
talked about how bold he was to call the slaughter of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire just what
it was: a genocide.
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides," he said. "I intend
to be that president." In a January 2008 letter to the Armenian
Reporter, Mr. Obama said he shared "with Armenian Americans - so
many of whom are descended from genocide survivors - a principled
commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with
acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history."
In 2006, Mr. Obama noted, "I criticized the secretary of state
[Condoleezza Rice] for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to describe Turkey's
slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with
Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide
is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but
rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of
historical evidence."
Asserted Mr. Obama, back then: "The facts are undeniable. An official
policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an
untenable policy."
That was then, this is now. As previous presidents have concluded, Mr.
Obama has decided that distorting the historical facts is better than
alienating ally Turkey, which disputes that term. And that policy
has been, at least in the short term, quite tenable.
The president in his statement today said "I have consistently stated
my own view of what occurred in 1915. My view of that history has not
changed. A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in
all of our interests. Moving forward with the future cannot be done
without reckoning with the facts of the past. ...Some individuals have
already taken this courageous step forward. We applaud those Armenians
and Turks who have taken this path, and we hope that many more will
choose it, with the support of their governments, as well as mine."