BUSH DECLARES ARMENIAN MASSACRE ‘TRAGEDY’
ISN, Switzerland
April 26 2006
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Wednesday, 26 April 2006: 02.50 CET) – In a White
House announcement for the 91st anniversary of the 1915 massacre
of Armenians under Ottoman rule, US President George W. Bush has
described the event as a “tragedy” rather than “genocide”.
The Armenian diaspora in the US, which had demanded that Washington
declare the event a “genocide”, expressed severe disappointment over
Bush’s message.
More than one million Armenians died in massacres, camps, and death
marches through the Syrian Desert during 1915 when they were forced
to leave their homes. Turkey refutes these allegations and advocates
the deaths were caused by difficult road and weather conditions during
the migration.
Armenians say at least 1 million of their ethnic kin died between
1915-17 as a result of a deliberate policy of extermination. Ankara
claims the death toll is grossly inflated and that 300’000 Armenians
died during these years.