Obama again won't call Armenian deaths 'genocide'

The Associated Press

AP Photo/Hussein Malla
Lebanese Armenian protesters hold a banner against Turkey as they march to mark the 97th anniversary of massacres in Turkey that began in April 1915 and in which hundreds of thousands of Armenians died, in front the Turkish embassy, in Rabiyeh area north of Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Armenian communities around the world mark the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians, on April 24 each year with marches, vigils and rallies to demand recognition from the world community, and reparations from Turkey. Turkey claims the number of deaths is inflated and says the victims were killed in civil unrest.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is marking the anniversary of the massacre of Armenians in Turkey nearly a century ago by calling it a "one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century." As in previous years, however, he stopped short on Tuesday of calling the killings genocide.

As a candidate for president, Obama vowed to recognize the genocide once in office.

Since his election, however, Obama has not used the word in the face of furious resistance from Turkey, a vital NATO ally.

Most historians see the killings as the first genocide of the 20th century. They estimate that about 1.5 million Armenians died. However, Turkish leaders long have rejected the term.

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April 25, 2012

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1. Niko Seretis wrote on April 25, 2012 11:43 AM	Obama is a liar like every other politician. He made a promise to the Armenians and broke it. What else is new? Why would he want to upset his fellow Muslims in Turkey anyway? The Turks just make themselves look bad by denying the genocide. The entire world know what happened and Armenians will not let them forget it. I hope Israel comes out soon and recognizes the Armenian genocide by the Turks since they can't stand each other.

2. Philip Vorgias wrote on April 25, 2012 12:19 PM	Obama is a worse liar, Niko. He specifically promised to the Armenians he'd recognize the events of 1915 as 'Genocide'. He's a lying sack of skata, one more reason he's in his last year as President.

3. LOUIS TSAKIRIS wrote on April 25, 2012 12:34 PM	Politician is not a title,it's a curse.Person of the city,city slicker,conman!

4. Basil Zafiriou wrote on April 29, 2012 2:10 AM	Someone should send the President Taner Akçam’s latest book on the Armenian genocide, “The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity.” This meticulously researched book relies on both western and Ottoman archival records to document the Ottoman authorities’ culpability in the annihilation of the Armenians. These records, Prof. Akçam writes, “jointly confirm that the ruling party CUP [the Committee of Union and Progress] did deliberately implement a policy of ethnoreligious homogenization of Anatolia that aimed to destroy the Armenian population.” The book also discusses the ethnic cleansing of Greeks in Anatolia and the genocide of Pontic Greeks. Taner Akçam is a Turkish historian, who fled Turkey (where he was imprisoned for his writings) and now teaches at the University of Minnesota's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
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Wednesday, June 19, 2013 Last Update: 8:34 AM ET