By Darragh Roche On 4/22/21 at 7:26 AM EDT
resident Joe Biden is poised to recognize the killings of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as a genocide, according to reports, in what will be a historically symbolic move.
Biden will make the announcement this Friday, 24 April—the day on which the victims of the genocide are commemorated around the world. He is expected to use the term "genocide" but that may change at the last minute due to considerations of the U.S. relationship with Turkey, according to Reuters.
One of the most vocal advocates of recognition is reality TV star Kim Kardashian. She's of Armenian descent on her father's side and has long highlighted the genocide through trips, social media posts and campaigns.
In March this year, Kardashian and other members of her family shared Instagram posts calling on Biden to recognize the genocide, garnering praise from the Armenian National Committee of America.
On April 24 last year, she commemorated the event on Twitter by sharing poems written by the grandchildren of survivors.
"Today is the 105th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and I'm so proud that America has recognized this," she said, likely referring to a non-binding resolution passed unanimously by the Senate. The House passed also passed a similar measure in 2019.
The genocide began in 1915 during World War I but there is disagreement about when it ended, with various sources saying 1917, 1922 or 1923. It is estimated that around one million to 1.5 million people died.
Kardashian traveled to a museum dedicated to the genocide in October 2019 and shared her thoughts about the event on Twitter.
Visiting the Armenian Genocide Museum was extremely emotional. I can’t believe with all of the photos from the massacres and published literature during this time that people still try to deny this ever happened. We will never forget that 1.5 million Armenians were murdered. 🇦🇲 pic.twitter.com/DqRFuCTL6A
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 14, 2019
"Visiting the Armenian Genocide Museum was extremely emotional. I can't believe with all of the photos from the massacres and published literature during this time that people still try to deny this ever happened. We will never forget that 1.5 million Armenians were murdered," she said.
Kardashian's commitment to commemorating the genocide is long-standing. She pushed unsuccessfully for former President Barack Obama to use the term "genocide" to describe the killings in a 2015 op-ed for Time magazine for the 100th anniversary of the event.
"I would like President Obama to use the word genocide. It's very disappointing he hasn't used it as President. We thought it was going to happen this year. I feel like we're close—but we're definitely moving in the right direction," she wrote.
"It's time for Turkey to recognize it. It's not the fault of the people who live there now," she added. The Turkish government acknowledges that many Armenians were killed by Ottoman forces at the time but disputes the figures and denies that the killings were carried out systematically.
In 2016, she wrote a letter in response to a Wall Street Journal ad taken out by a group denying the genocide, Fact Check Armenia. It was later reprinted as a full-page ad in The New York Times by the Armenian Educational Foundation.
The Wall Street Journal had defended its decision, saying the paper published a wide variety of ads, some with "provocative viewpoints."
"Advocating the denial of a genocide by the country responsible for it—that's not publishing a 'provocative viewpoint,' that's spreading lies," she wrote. "It's totally morally irresponsible, and, most of all, it's dangerous. If this had been an ad denying the Holocaust, or pushing some 9/11 conspiracy theory, would it have made it to print?"
Kardashian had not weighed in on reports about Biden's decision at the time of writing. Newsweek has asked Kim Kardashian and the White House for comment on this article.