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Time in Yerevan: 11:07,   28 March 2024

Power’s statement on Armenian Genocide came as criticism against Obama- AP

Power’s statement on Armenian Genocide came as criticism against Obama- AP

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Has the Obama administration quietly recognized the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide? “Armenpress” reports the Associated Press agency refers to the US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power’s statement on Armenian Genocide with such a rhetoric question.

“The term has long been taboo for U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, who have instead talked of mass atrocity and historical tragedy. But Obama's U.N. ambassador last week described the event as genocide”, AP mentions.

In a speech giving tribute to Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Samantha Power lamented the world's injustices to this day. Among these, she listed: "Genocide denial against the Armenians."

“Those five words risk infuriating Turkey, which has fiercely opposed any genocide reference and whose strategic role as an American partner in an unstable part of the world has led U.S. officials to exercise extreme caution when referencing the massacre. These words were a surprise considering Power’s position as the country’s second top diplomat since they came as a hidden criticism against Obama. When Obama was first nominated for presidency, he promised to recognize those killings as a genocide in case of being elected. But in the future it failed for several reasons. In April, during the commemoration day of Armenian victims Obama called those killings as the first mass slaughter of the 20th century and a tragedy that should never reoccur”, the agency writes.

The articles also notes that before becoming a diplomat Power was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who devoted much of her time to cover the US respond to genocides. “Officials mention that she tried to persuade Obama to recognize the killings of Armenians as genocide behind curtains”, the article reads.

Press secretary of Power stated that the statement of the Ambassador goes in line with the context of the respect to the life and activities of Elie Wiesel and does not mean the administration has changed its position.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner also referred to the issue stating that the administration’s position over the issue remains unchanged.

“The President and many other top officials of the administration have mentioned several times the killings of 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire is a historical fact and it fits in the interest of all of us to have a fair and just stance on it”, Toner said.  

Author of the AP’s article also recalls that one of the U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan described those events as “a Genocide of Armenians” in 1981. 

President Jimmy Carter came close to saying genocide in 1978 by describing a "concerted effort made to eliminate all the Armenian people" and calling it "probably one of the greatest tragedies that ever befell any group." He noted that unlike after the Holocaust, no justice occurred akin to the Nuremberg trials of top Nazi officials.

As a campaign surrogate eight years ago, Power released a video imploring Armenian-Americans to vote for Obama, saying he would follow through on his promise to talk frankly about what happened.








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