OBAMA AVOIDS ‘GENOCIDE’ TERM
Christi Parsons and Laura King
Los Angeles Times
April 7, 2009 Tuesday
He says he hasn’t changed his views on Armenian massacre, but omits
the word while visiting Turkey.
President Obama, steering a delicate course on an explosive issue,
said Monday his views on the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks in the early 20th century have not changed since he declared
it a "genocide" last year, but he avoided using that term in front
of his Turkish hosts.
Instead, Obama emphasized the need to improve relations between
Turkey and Armenia, and pointed to hopes for a breakthrough to ease
long-standing tensions.
"If they can move forward and deal with a difficult and tragic history,
I think the whole world will encourage them," Obama told reporters
in Ankara, the Turkish capital.
By refraining from calling the deaths of as many as 1.5 million
Armenians beginning in 1915 a genocide, Obama for the moment avoided
offending a country whose help U.S. officials need in Iraq, Afghanistan
and elsewhere. At the same time, he avoided infuriating his Armenian
American supporters.
But Obama also contributed to the suspense surrounding a likely
presidential proclamation expected in time for April 24, the annual
Armenian remembrance day.
U.S. presidents usually issue statements deploring the mass killings
without calling them genocide. Armenian American organizations are
urging Obama to make good on his campaign pledge.
"We fully expect President Obama to honor his commitment and reaffirm
the Armenian genocide," the Armenian Assembly, a U.S. Armenian advocacy
group, said in a statement.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul emphasized that Turkey was willing to
open its archives to historians investigating the subject and allow
a joint commission to draw conclusions.
"It is not a political but an historic issue," he said. "That’s why
we should let historians discuss the matter." Obama administration
officials said delicate talks are continuing between Turkey and
Armenia over normalizing relations. Late in the evening at Istanbul’s
Dolmabahce Palace, the president met with the foreign ministers of
Turkey and Armenia to urge a quick agreement.
Obama’s remarks Monday, issued as he stood beside Gul, appeared
carefully calibrated. Though he didn’t utter the word "genocide"
or press Gul to address the issue, he pointedly reaffirmed previous
remarks on the subject.
In 2008, Obama said "the Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a
personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a widely documented
fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.
"The facts are undeniable."
Three years ago, Obama criticized the Bush administration for firing
John Evans, then-ambassador to Armenia, after Evans used the term
"genocide" to describe the slaughter.
After a private meeting with Gul in Ankara, Obama said at the news
conference that he hadn’t changed his views.
"My views are on the record and I have not changed views," Obama
said. "What I have been very encouraged by is news that under President
Gul ‘s leadership, you are seeing a series of negotiations, a process,
in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole host of
long-standing issues, including this one."
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties. Gul last year became the
first modern Turkish leader to visit Armenia, attending a World Cup
qualifying match between the teams of the two countries. Other events
in recent years, though, have brought wrenching reminders of the two
neighbors’ historic enmity.
In January 2007, a prominent Armenian editor, Hrant Dink, was gunned
down outside his newspaper’s office in central Istanbul, a killing
that shocked the country. The assailant was a 17-year-old Turkish
nationalist.
Before the assassination, nationalistic websites had expressed
outrage over Dink’s repeated calls for Turkey to recognize the
Armenian genocide and ensure that its Armenian minority did not
face persecution.
U.S. Armenian groups expressed disappointment over Obama’s comments
in Ankara, but did not criticize the president. Obama "missed a
valuable opportunity to honor his public pledge to recognize the
Armenian genocide," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the
Armenian National Committee of America.
The Turkish Coalition of America said it was "encouraged" by Obama’s
remarks concerning Turkish-Armenian relations, but didn’t comment on
the genocide issue.
In Istanbul, Ilter Turan, a professor of political science at Bilgi
University, said he thought Obama had handled the Armenian issue
deftly.
"He expressed the view that problems arising from the past can be
resolved, and in a clear way," he said.