Ruben Safrastyan: U.S. President may use term Genocide on April 24

March 29, 2010 - 16:21 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director of RA NAS Institute of Oriental Studies, Professor Ruben Safrastyan does not rule out that U.S. President Barack Obama may use the term Genocide in his April 24 statement.

"Much depends on Turkey. If pleased with Ankara, the U.S. will refrain from recognizing the Genocide. If not, President Obama may say that the 1915 atrocities constituted Genocide. Anyway, the probability of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. has increased as compared to previous years. The U.S. administration did not meddle with the U.S. House panel debate this year," he said.

The Armenian Genocide resolution, H.Res.252, was passed by the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations with a vote 23 to 22 on March 4, 2010.

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.