Obama not to use “genocide” term - Turkish PM
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
expressed confidence that US President Barack Obama will not use
the term "genocide" in his address on April 24, the day considered
by Armenians to be the anniversary of the 1915 alleged mass
killings of their ancestors in the Ottoman Empire.
"I think so, because to this day no American leader has used the word, and I believe President Obama will not say it either," Erdogan, who is in Washington to attend a summit on nuclear security, said in an interview with CNN.
Erdogan reiterated that Turkey rejects the allegations of World War I-era "genocide". He recalled that those developments occurred amid war and riots, noting that the Turkish people faced enormous losses in 1914-1918 as well. "No nation has the right to impose its own understanding of history upon other nations, and Turkey is not trying to do that."
US presidents traditionally address Armenians in their speeches on April 24. The Armenian community has appealed to President Obama requesting that he use the "genocide" term this year. Obama did not use the word in his 2009 address.
Historians note that 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.*
"I think so, because to this day no American leader has used the word, and I believe President Obama will not say it either," Erdogan, who is in Washington to attend a summit on nuclear security, said in an interview with CNN.
Erdogan reiterated that Turkey rejects the allegations of World War I-era "genocide". He recalled that those developments occurred amid war and riots, noting that the Turkish people faced enormous losses in 1914-1918 as well. "No nation has the right to impose its own understanding of history upon other nations, and Turkey is not trying to do that."
US presidents traditionally address Armenians in their speeches on April 24. The Armenian community has appealed to President Obama requesting that he use the "genocide" term this year. Obama did not use the word in his 2009 address.
Historians note that 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.*
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