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TURKEY 'DEEPLY REGRETS' OBAMA'S ARMENIAN ADDRESS
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24559754.html
25.04.2012
U.S. -- President Barack Obama (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan shake hands in New York, 20 Sep 2011
Turkey accused U.S. President Barack Obama late on Tuesday of
"distorting historical facts" in his statement on the 97th anniversary
of the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire.
In that statement, Obama said 1.5 million Armenians were "brutally
massacred or marched to their deaths" by the Ottoman Turks in
"one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century." In an apparent
appeal to modern-day Turkey, he called for a "full, frank, and just
acknowledgement of the facts."
Still, Obama again avoided describing the massacres as genocide, using
instead the Armenian phrase Meds Yeghern (Great Calamity). He at the
same time made clear that he stands by his past public recognitions
of the genocide.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized the statement as "one-sided."
"We find the statement that distorts historical facts as very
problematic in every respect and deeply regret it," the ministry said
in a written statement cited by the AFP news agency.
"We expect an important ally like the United States not to deepen the
problem by adopting an approach harming Turkish-Armenian relations,
but to contribute to a solution in a constructive manner," added
the statement.
Successive Turkish governments have claimed that Armenians died in much
smaller numbers and not as a result of a premeditated government policy
of extermination. They have also justified the forcible displacement
of a key Christian minority in the crumbling Ottoman Empire, saying
that it sided with invading Russian troops during World War One.
Obama's April 24 statement was also criticized on Tuesday by the
leading Armenian advocacy groups in the United States. They said he
again broke his 2008 campaign pledge to reaffirm Armenian genocide
recognition if elected president.
There has been no official reaction to the annual statement from
Armenia's government.
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24559754.html
25.04.2012
U.S. -- President Barack Obama (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan shake hands in New York, 20 Sep 2011
Turkey accused U.S. President Barack Obama late on Tuesday of
"distorting historical facts" in his statement on the 97th anniversary
of the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire.
In that statement, Obama said 1.5 million Armenians were "brutally
massacred or marched to their deaths" by the Ottoman Turks in
"one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century." In an apparent
appeal to modern-day Turkey, he called for a "full, frank, and just
acknowledgement of the facts."
Still, Obama again avoided describing the massacres as genocide, using
instead the Armenian phrase Meds Yeghern (Great Calamity). He at the
same time made clear that he stands by his past public recognitions
of the genocide.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized the statement as "one-sided."
"We find the statement that distorts historical facts as very
problematic in every respect and deeply regret it," the ministry said
in a written statement cited by the AFP news agency.
"We expect an important ally like the United States not to deepen the
problem by adopting an approach harming Turkish-Armenian relations,
but to contribute to a solution in a constructive manner," added
the statement.
Successive Turkish governments have claimed that Armenians died in much
smaller numbers and not as a result of a premeditated government policy
of extermination. They have also justified the forcible displacement
of a key Christian minority in the crumbling Ottoman Empire, saying
that it sided with invading Russian troops during World War One.
Obama's April 24 statement was also criticized on Tuesday by the
leading Armenian advocacy groups in the United States. They said he
again broke his 2008 campaign pledge to reaffirm Armenian genocide
recognition if elected president.
There has been no official reaction to the annual statement from
Armenia's government.