Biden likely to label 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide
23 April, 2021
US President Joe Biden's reported intend to formally recognise as genocide the World War I-era killings of 1 1.5 million Christian Armenians by the Muslim Ottoman Empire risks plunging relations with Turkey into deep crisis.
The White House hasn't commented on the reports, but top lawmakers in Biden's Democratic Party voiced strong support for the move expected on Saturday, the gross annual day of remembrance for the victims of the 1915 massacre.
Despite decades of pressure from the US Armenian community, successive US presidents have skirted the genocide controversy because of worries in regards to a rupture with NATO ally Turkey, which includes steadfastly rejected the assertion.
But Biden pledged last year during his presidential campaign to discover the Armenian genocide.
"We must remember or remain silent relating to this horrific and systematic campaign of extermination," he said in a statement on Apr 24, 2020.
"If we do not fully acknowledge, commemorate, and teach our kids about genocide, the words 'never again' lose their meaning. "
ERDOGAN: 'DEFEND THE TRUTH'
Branding the massacre genocide would carry no legal consequences, but may potentially add support to reparations claims.
More immediately, it could infuriate Ankara, which insists that the amounts of Armenians killed is greatly exaggerated and that more Muslims were killed through the period.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday told advisers "to defend the truth against those that back the so-called 'Armenian genocide' lie," his office said without referring directly to Biden's reported plans.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned in an interview that Biden's move would sour bilateral relations.
"If america really wants to worsen ties, the decision is theirs," he said.
Democrats in Congress though applauded the expected move.
"I am so relieved, grateful and moved that we can finally commemorate the anniversary with the data that the federal government of the United States ... has recognised the reality of the Armenian genocide finally," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
At the US State Department, spokesman Ned Price didn't confirm any coming announcement, but stressed that both countries can still work on issues of mutual interest despite disagreements.
"We've shared interests with Ankara, and that includes countering terrorism and includes ending the conflict in Syria," he said.
"As friends, as allies, whenever we have disagreements we raise those ... and there is no papering over them," he said.
'PRESENT DAY THREAT'
The Ottoman empire was centred on modern-day Turkey, and an incredible number of Armenians lived under its rule, mostly in what's now the eastern the main country.
The massacre was set off after Ottoman leader Mehmed Talaat ordered the mass deportation of Armenians as World War I raged and the Ottoman Empire was battling Tsarist Russia.
The Armenian community claims 1.5 million were killed, although some other estimates are lower. Thousands also fled into exile, many to Europe and the United States.
Around 30 countries, in addition to the EU, have branded the event genocide.
In 2019 both houses of the united states Congress voted to utilize the genocide label in a symbolic resolution.
But then-president Donald Trump, wanting to maintain close relations with Erdogan, avoided using that term, while calling it "among the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century."
Adam Schiff, the Democratic congressman who sponsored the initial genocide legislation, said Biden's move was vital that you underscore a "real current risk of genocide," citing China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs.
"If we're not likely to recognize the genocide that happened a hundred years ago, what does that say about our willingness to stand up and confront genocide happening today?" he told Fox 11 television set in Los Angeles.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
TAG(s):