Ratko Mladic arrives at war crimes court in Serbia

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Ratko Mladic arrives in court: Mladic, one of the most sought-after international figures in the world, was caught today and brought before a court in Serbia for war crimes and genocide, making this a very big day in the world of both international and Serbian justice. Mladic eluded capture for sixteen years. source

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2010 15:54

On this solemn day of remembrance, we pause to recall that 95 years ago one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century began. In that dark moment of history, 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
President Barack Obama • In a statement regarding the 95th anniversary of the 1915 slayings of many Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). There’s a lot of controversy around this because Armenians want this labeled as a genocide, but Turkey has pushed very hard against calling it that. It’s a huge diplomatic spat. Obama got around the issue by calling the deaths “atrocities.” It’s surprising how much language can affect the perception of an entire group of people. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

» Why them, why now? It’s a purely political statement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey’s upset that the U.S. and Swedish governments are pushing to label the atrocities Turks enacted on Armenians during World War I as genocide. The two countries have a fragile diplomacy going on, and while Turkey has let the Armenians peacefully live in Turkey, it’s something that could be taken away. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

The U.S. calls the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks “genocide.” Turkey pulled its ambassador from the U.S. today after the a house panel changed its stance on one of Armenia’s darkest hours. The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee made the decision in committee, voting 23-22 to tell Obama to refer to it as such. It’s unclear if it’ll reach the floor. Many historians refer to the killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, but Turkey views this as an affront to their honor. Not that this isn’t an awful issue, but it seems like bad diplomacy to change stance seemingly at random. (In fact, the Obama administration was wary on lighting this particular fire.) But on the other hand, we bet Armenians don’t feel that way. So we can see both sides of this. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink