OBAMA LIKELY TO REFRAIN FROM NAMING 1915 INCIDENTS AS "GENOCIDE"

Hurriyet
March 17 2009
Turkey

U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to backtrack from his earlier
pledge to recognize Armenian claims regarding the 1915 incidents as
Washington seeks Turkey’s support in its new Middle East approach,
the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

Administration officials are considering postponing a presidential
statement, citing progress toward a thaw in relations between Turkey
and neighboring Armenia, the report said.

Further signs of warming between Turkey and Armenia — such as talk
of reopening border crossings — would strengthen arguments that a
U.S. statement could imperil the progress, the LA Times added.

"At this moment, our focus is on how, moving forward, the United States
can help Armenia and Turkey work together to come to terms with the
past," Michael Hammer, a spokesman for the National Security Council,
was quoted as saying by the LA Times.

He said the administration was "encouraged" by improvements in
relations and believed it was "important that the countries have an
open and honest dialogue about the past," according to the report.

OBAMA’S TURKEY VISIT

The report is the latest signal that the Obama administration will
not take any steps towards recognizing the Armenian claims despite
pledges made during the presidential campaign.

Obama, his Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton promised to recognize the Armenian claims, forming the most
pro-Armenian administration in the United States.

Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million
of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915.

Turkey rejects the claims saying that 300,000 Armenians, along with at
least as many Turks, died in civil strife that erupted when Armenians
took up arms, backed by Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

Turkey has offered to form a joint commission to investigate what
happened in 1915 and has opened all official archives, but Armenia
has continued to drag its feet on accepting the offer.

Obama will pay a visit to Turkey early in April ahead of the
presidential statement on April 24 to commemorate the 1915 incidents.

The date of April 24 is commemorated by Armenians as a day of
remembrance for the 1915 incidents, for which U.S. presidents issue
a letter of respect, which have all so far refrained from including
the word "genocide".