Ruben Safrastyan: US still interested in Turkey

April 24, 2010 - 22:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Contents of Barack Obama’s Statement on Armenian Remembrance Day suggest US is still interested in Turkey, according to RA NAS Oriental Studies Institute director Ruben Safrastyan.

As he told PanARMENIAN.Net the US failed to uphold its democracy supporter image.

'' Barack Obama deserves moral censure for once again making a bargain with his conscience,'' Safrastyan emphasized.

As he noted, this year Administration will not be strongly pressuring Congress in reference to Armenian Genocide resolution passage.

In his annual address to US Armenian community President Obama once again termed the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire as ''Mets Yeghern''.

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.