Denying the Armenians

Friday, 24th April 2009

So, as expected Barack Obama has reneged upon his campaign promise to call the Armenian genocide, er, genocide. Instead it's "slaughter". Such are the prosaic demands of office. As Mike Crowley suggests this is not a defining moment in the Obama administration, but nor is it a particularly edifying spectacle.

Memo to politicians: be careful what you promise! Memo to voters: Don't believe the promises!

Today's statement in full here; reaction from Turks and Armenians here.

UPDATE: Courtesy of Ben Smith there's this video in which Samantha Power argues that: "What is amazing about Barack...[is]...his willingness as president to commemorate [the genocide] and certainly to call a spade a spade and to speak truth about it...He's a person who can actually be trusted, which distinguishes him from some in the Washington culture."

Filed under: Armenia (9 more articles) , Obama (365 more articles) , Turkey (30 more articles)

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Angry Armenian

April 25th, 2009 8:14pm Report this comment

Obama made a 360 degree shift in 24 hours:

"Obama: Holocaust’s lesson is not to be silent

April 23, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The lesson of the Holocaust is never to be silent in the face of inhumanity, President Obama said.

"How do we ensure that 'Never Again' isn't an empty slogan, or merely an aspiration, but also a call to action?" the president asked while speaking Thursday in the Capitol Rotunda at a commemoration organized by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. "I believe we start by doing what we are doing today -- by bearing witness, by fighting the silence that is evil's greatest co-conspirator."

....

"The hope of a chosen people who have overcome oppression since the days of Exodus; of the nation of Israel rising from the destruction of the Holocaust; of the strong and enduring bonds between our nations," Obama said."

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/04/23/1004610/obama-holocausts-lesson-is-not-to-stand-by

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