US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, a historic declaration that infuriated Turkey and further strained frayed ties between the two NATO allies.
24 April 2021By AFP
1 min 52Approximate reading time President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian genocide was met Saturday by tempered satisfaction from the nation’s US diaspora, with some saying the words need to result in more pressure against Turkey. “It’s a middle step, because (Biden) didn’t say Turkey,” said Yvette Gevorkian, who was among some 400 people who marched in New York City to mark the memory of the World War I-era killings. “But it’s a victory for all this time we’ve been working towards,” added the 51-year-old who arrived in the United States from Iran at the age of nine.
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife
WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL (BosNewsLife) More than a century after one of the worst massacres of Christians, U.S. President Joe Biden formally declared the systemic killing and deportation of some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces “genocide.”
His announcement prompted a sharp response from Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, which has denied that Armenians were singled out for killings.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned his country “will not be given lessons on our history from anyone.”
But a grateful Armenia appreciated Biden’s “principled position” as a step toward “the restoration of truth and historical justice.”
This year was like no other for Bay Area Armenian community
Bay Area reaction to Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Greg Liggins reports
SAN FRANCISCO - Armenians around the world received something Saturday they have been waiting decades to receive.
President Biden released an official statement calling Turkey’s atrocities against Armenians that began during World War I a genocide.
One hundred and six years ago, Armenians began being deported and killed by the Ottoman Empire, part of what is modern-day Turkey.
With the release of the president’s statement, this year’s remembrance gathering in San Francisco took on added significance.