Marie Yovanovitch: we remember what happened in 1915

April 24, 2010 - 12:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - April 24 is the day when all Americans support the Armenian people, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia said.

“We remember what happened in 1915 and express our solidarity with the Armenian people worldwide,” Marie Yovanovitch told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter in Tsitsernakaberd.

Asked whether U.S. President Barack Obama will use the term Genocide in his address to the Armenian community, Amb. Yovanovitch said, “President Obama should himself decide whether to pronounce the word Genocide or not.”

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.