Azernews.Az

US President Barack Obama’s avoiding a mention of "genocide" in his Saturday’s speech on the World War One-era developments in Ottoman Turkey has sparked mixed responses from the Turks and Armenians. In his annual address, Obama reiterated that the 1915 events were "one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century", but also spoke of those Turks who rescued Armenians.
Turkey dismisses claims that the 1915 events amounted to "genocide". Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Obama's remarks took into account "the sensitivities" of his country, while a U.S.-based Armenian group lashed out at Obama’s statement issued by the White House.
"On this solemn day of remembrance, we pause to recall that 95 years ago one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century began. In that dark moment of history, 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire," Obama said in a speech that came as Armenians marked the 95th anniversary of the alleged WWI killings.
Obama used the term genocide while on the campaign trail, but not since becoming president in January 2009. However, both in his latest speech and the 2009 address, he did not use the term, considering the tremendous importance the United States attaches to Turkey, a NATO ally.
The Armenian National Committee of America expressed disappointment that Obama did not call the events "genocide".
"Sadly, for the U.S. and worldwide efforts to end the cycle of genocide, he made the wrong choice, allowing Turkey to tighten its gag-rule on American genocide policy," ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian claimed in a statement, according to Reuters.
According to historians, from 1915 to 1923, Armenians had begun an uprising. They had taken up arms against Turkey and assisted Russia, one of Turkey’s enemies in WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire decided to resettle the Armenians. However, the latter claim that their predecessors were subjected to genocide in the process, while Ankara rejects the allegations and has offered to research the events through a joint commission of historians. Armenians have achieved recognition of the alleged genocide in several countries’ parliaments. The Foreign Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives adopted a resolution in March that supported the Armenian allegations, drawing ire from Turkey. However, the full House has not voted on the non-binding resolution and it is not clear whether it could pass.
Turkey welcomed President Obama’s not using the term "genocide". In a statement, Prime Minister Erdogan said, "President Obama made a speech taking into consideration the sensitivities of Turkey. ... The speech by Obama shows the sensitivity of the current U.S. administration about this issue."
But Turkey's Foreign Ministry in a separate statement said, "We are sorry to see such a statement, which has a one-sided political view, and which contains mistakes. The biggest enemy of historical facts is the revision of memory. No country should impose on others its views of history."
The ministry objected to the fact President Obama is carrying on the overall practice of US presidents to address Armenians on April 24 every year.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pointed out that assessing historical events while politicizing them was wrong.
"We believe that history is to be reviewed strictly by historians and that such events could be negotiated among the countries and societies directly involved in those historical developments," Davutoglu said. He added that Obama’s speech was unacceptable in that respect.
Prime Minister Erdogan noted that the protests staged in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Saturday will hamper the process of normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations, which have been hostile for decades. During the protests, demonstrators burnt Turkey’s flag, the photos of the Turkish president, prime minister and foreign minister.
Erdogan also affirmed Ankara’s stance on the reconciliation process, saying the Turkish-Armenian normalization could not move forward until peace is reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenia and Turkey signed protocols in October 2009 in Switzerland to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their sealed borders, in a bid to normalize ties, marred by decades of hostility due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Yerevan’s "genocide" claims. However, Turkish officials have assured Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, that the protocols will not pass in the country’s parliament until progress is made in resolving the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh. On Thursday, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian announced Yerevan’s decision to halt approval of the protocols but said his country "had decided not to exit the process for the time being, but rather, to suspend the procedure of ratifying the protocols."
Analysts say Obama’s statement affirmed Washington’s support for the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. The White House initially believed Turkey was to blame for the deadlock in enforcing the 2009 accords, but Armenia’s suspending ratification of the documents last week indicates that Ankara is committed to the fence-mending process.
Mark Katz, a professor at U.S.-based George Mason University, has told Azerbaijan’s APA news agency that the White House leader had sought to appease both Turkey and Armenia, by both avoiding the term "genocide" and saying "Metz Yegern" in the Armenian language.
"Securing mutual benefits by pressing ahead with the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement or arguing about the past is up to the Turkish and Armenian governments," Katz added.*