US president commemorates Meds Yeghern, but fails again to call the tragedy ‘genocide’
25.04.2019,
12:37
US President Donald Trump made a statement in connection with the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in Ottoman Empire, but failed again to call the murder of 1.5 million Armenians ‘a genocide’.
YEREVAN, April 25. /ARKA/. US President Donald Trump made a statement in connection with the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in Ottoman Empire, but failed again to call the murder of 1.5 million Armenians ‘a genocide’.
The statement, placed on the official website of the White House, runs as follows: “Today, we commemorate the Meds Yeghern and honor the memory of those who suffered in one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century. Beginning in 1915, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. On this day of remembrance, we again join the Armenian community in America and around the world in mourning the many lives lost. On this day, we also honor and recognize the work of those who tried to end the violence, as well as those who sought to ensure atrocities like this would not be repeated, like human rights activist and lawyer Raphael Lemkin. We recall the contributions of generous Americans who helped save lives and rebuild Armenian communities. As we honor the memory of those who suffered, we also draw inspiration from the courage and resiliency of the Armenian people who, in the face of tremendous adversity, built vibrant communities around the world, including in the United States. We pledge to learn from past tragedies so as to not to repeat them. We welcome the efforts of Armenians and Turks to acknowledge and reckon with their painful history. And we stand with the Armenian people in recalling the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern and reaffirm our commitment to a more peaceful world.”
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations; the border between the two countries was closed in 1993 by Ankara in solidarity with Azerbaijan.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara’s biased stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia’s efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide, committed by the Ottoman Turkey during World War I.
In 2009, on October 10, Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and the "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich, Switzerland, which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
However, on 22 April 2010, then president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process, since it became known that the protocols had been automatically removed from the Turkish parliament’s agenda.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2017 Serzh Sargsyan stated that Armenia never put the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition for regulating relations with Ankara.
Sargsyan said also that in the absence of positive progress on the part of Turkey, Armenia would declare them null and void in 2018 spring.
On March 1, 2018 Serzh Sargsyan declared the Armenian-Turkish protocols void and null. -0---
The statement, placed on the official website of the White House, runs as follows: “Today, we commemorate the Meds Yeghern and honor the memory of those who suffered in one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century. Beginning in 1915, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. On this day of remembrance, we again join the Armenian community in America and around the world in mourning the many lives lost. On this day, we also honor and recognize the work of those who tried to end the violence, as well as those who sought to ensure atrocities like this would not be repeated, like human rights activist and lawyer Raphael Lemkin. We recall the contributions of generous Americans who helped save lives and rebuild Armenian communities. As we honor the memory of those who suffered, we also draw inspiration from the courage and resiliency of the Armenian people who, in the face of tremendous adversity, built vibrant communities around the world, including in the United States. We pledge to learn from past tragedies so as to not to repeat them. We welcome the efforts of Armenians and Turks to acknowledge and reckon with their painful history. And we stand with the Armenian people in recalling the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern and reaffirm our commitment to a more peaceful world.”
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations; the border between the two countries was closed in 1993 by Ankara in solidarity with Azerbaijan.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara’s biased stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia’s efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide, committed by the Ottoman Turkey during World War I.
In 2009, on October 10, Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and the "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich, Switzerland, which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
However, on 22 April 2010, then president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process, since it became known that the protocols had been automatically removed from the Turkish parliament’s agenda.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2017 Serzh Sargsyan stated that Armenia never put the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition for regulating relations with Ankara.
Sargsyan said also that in the absence of positive progress on the part of Turkey, Armenia would declare them null and void in 2018 spring.
On March 1, 2018 Serzh Sargsyan declared the Armenian-Turkish protocols void and null. -0---
