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US URGES 'FULL' ADMISSION OF FACTS IN 1915 ARMENIAN KILLINGS
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
April 15 2015
WASHINGTON
The United States April 14 called for a "full, frank" acknowledgement
of the facts surrounding the mass killing of Armenians in World War I,
but shied away from calling it "a genocide."
Ankara has hit out at Pope Francis for his use of the word in a
weekend address, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying
"I condemn this mistake."
"The president and other senior administration officials have
repeatedly acknowledged as historical fact, and mourned the fact,
that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths
in the final days of the Ottoman empire," State Department acting
spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
They had also stated "that a full, frank and just acknowledgement
of the facts is in all our interests, including Turkey's, Armenia's
and America's."
Harf added that "nations are stronger and they progress by
acknowledging and reckoning with pretty painful elements of their
past."
Such moves were "essential to building a different, more tolerant
future," she said.
However, she refused to term the mass killings a genocide, even
though during his 2008 campaign for the White House, then senator
Barack Obama had pledged to "recognize the Armenian genocide."
Turkey is a key US ally and a fellow member of NATO.
Harf refused to be drawn on what candidate Obama had said, adding
reporters should check with the White House as she spoke for the
State Department.
April/15/2015
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-urges-full-admission-of-facts-in-1915-armenian-killings-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=81063&NewsCatID=359
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
April 15 2015
WASHINGTON
The United States April 14 called for a "full, frank" acknowledgement
of the facts surrounding the mass killing of Armenians in World War I,
but shied away from calling it "a genocide."
Ankara has hit out at Pope Francis for his use of the word in a
weekend address, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying
"I condemn this mistake."
"The president and other senior administration officials have
repeatedly acknowledged as historical fact, and mourned the fact,
that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths
in the final days of the Ottoman empire," State Department acting
spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
They had also stated "that a full, frank and just acknowledgement
of the facts is in all our interests, including Turkey's, Armenia's
and America's."
Harf added that "nations are stronger and they progress by
acknowledging and reckoning with pretty painful elements of their
past."
Such moves were "essential to building a different, more tolerant
future," she said.
However, she refused to term the mass killings a genocide, even
though during his 2008 campaign for the White House, then senator
Barack Obama had pledged to "recognize the Armenian genocide."
Turkey is a key US ally and a fellow member of NATO.
Harf refused to be drawn on what candidate Obama had said, adding
reporters should check with the White House as she spoke for the
State Department.
April/15/2015
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-urges-full-admission-of-facts-in-1915-armenian-killings-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=81063&NewsCatID=359