AZG Armenian Daily #074, 26/04/2005
Armenian Genocide
BUSH TO BACK ERDOGAN AND INDIRECTLY PRESS ON KOCHARIAN
US President Eschews Word ‘Genocide’
US President again did not utter the word “genocide” in his traditional
April 24 message to the Armenian nation on occasion of the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide. Instead, he labeled the massacre in Ottoman Turkey
“the forced exile and mass killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians”.
“Many Armenian people have come to call the ‘Great Calamity'”, George W.
Bush’s message reads.
“We look to a future of freedom, peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey
and hope that Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent proposal for a joint
Turkish-Armenian commission can help advance these processes”, Bush said.
In fact, President Bush not only backed Turkish prime minister but also
indirectly pressed on Armenian President. As it is known official Yerevan
considers unacceptable to conduct a research into the issue of Armenian
Genocide as “the historians have already done their work”.
Nearly 2 weeks ago the Turkish PM applied to RA President with a letter
suggesting to set a combined group of specialists that will take up studying
genocide-related archives of Armenia, Turkey and other states and present
their conclusions to societies. In an April 23 interview to famous Russian
journalist Nikolay Svanidze Robert Kocharian said, “I received such letter
indeed, we shall send our reply soon” but he underscored meanwhile that the
letter is not “that hopeful”.
“I applaud individuals in Armenia and Turkey who have sought to examine the
historical events of the early 20th century with honesty and sensitivity”,
Bush said. The message does not specify whom Bush means saying the
individuals of in Armenia and Turkey. But judging from the letter’s next
sentence we may assume that he means the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Committee, which was accused in Armenia and Diaspora.
“The recent analysis by the International Center for Transitional Justice
did not provide the final word, yet marked a significant step toward
reconciliation and restoration of the spirit of tolerance and cultural
richness that has connected the people of the Caucasus and Anatolia for
centuries”, Bush’s message reads.
President Bush thanked Armenia for its “contributions to the war on terror
and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq”. He also urged
Armenian authorities to “advance democratic freedoms that will further
advance the aspirations of the Armenian people”. As in his previous messages
Bush “remained committed to a lasting and peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.
By Tatoul Hakobian