Hurriyet, Turkey
April 25 2009
He Did Not Say Genocide, But Made it Worse
by Zeynep Gurcanli
US President Barack Obama did not say "genocide" [Turkish soykirim] in
his expected statement. He did not use the word "genocide", which is
the English word for this. But he did do something that surprised
everyone, and included in his statement the Armenian words that the
Armenians use for the events of 1915; he employed, in his English
text, the Armenian term, that is, "Meds Yeghern," for the events of
1915.
The Armenian dictionary equivalent for this word is "Great
Disaster"…
Indeed, the Turkish Foreign Ministry as well has chosen to take this
term that Obama used in its "dictionary meaning." The Foreign Ministry
read the Armenian term in the text as "great disaster."
But some in the Armenian diaspora, however, use this as the equivalent
of "genocide."
In short, Obama, in making his statement, left a question mark.
Now the debate is this:
Did he say "genocide" or not?
Perhaps he did not say "genocide," but the message was very harsh
Even if Obama, in his message, did not use the English word
"genocide," the message he issued was extremely harsh.
He spoke of the 1915 incidents as "the 1.5 million Armenians who were
subsequently massacred or marched to their death." He characterized
the things that took place in the final period of the Ottomans as
"terrible events" and went even further:
He said: "The terrible events of 1915 remind us of the dark prospect
of man’s inhumanity to man."
Stressing that he has consistently expressed his views on the events
of 1915 and that these views have "not changed," Obama said: "My
interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts."
In other words, the US president does not say "genocide," but he does
point out that, during his election campaign, he had characterized the
events of 1915 as "genocide," says "I am of the same opinion on this
issue," and moreover conveys to Turkey and the Turks a message that
"you as well should accept the events in this way."
Supporting in his message the new process beginning between Turkey and
Armenia, Obama uses "Meds Yeghern" a second time in the final portion,
and again conveys a very harsh message:
"Nothing can bring back those who were lost in the Meds Yeghern. But
the contributions that Armenians have made over the last ninety-four
years stand as a testament to the talent, dynamism and resilience of
the Armenian people, and as the ultimate rebuke to those who tried to
destroy them…"
Bush had said "tragedy"
US presidents traditionally issue a message on the 1915 events every
year on 24 April.
But the message that Obama issued this year was, in comparison to
those of the previous two presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton,
quite harsh.
Bush had spoken in his messages of the 1915 events as "the great
tragedy of the 20th century." The 24 April message that Bush issued
last year as US President began as follows:
"On this day of remembrance, we honour the memory of the victims of
one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the mass killings
and forced exile of as many as 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the
Ottoman Empire…"
In the continuation of his message, Bush praised the contributions to
American society of people of Armenian origin, and related the
importance he ascribed to US-Armenian relations.
Bush, who had issued a similar message in 2007, had used the
expression "horrible tragedy" in 2006 for the events of 1915.
Clinton had spoken of "great tragedy" and "massacre"
As for Bill Clinton, he had preferred in the message he had issued as
US president in 2000, to speak of the events of 1915 as a "great
tragedy."
Clinton, who had used more cautious language in 1999, had then spoken
of the 1915 incidents as "one of the saddest chapters of history." In
his other messages, Clinton had described the incidents as "the
deportations and killing of the Armenians."
[translated from Turkish]