U.S., World: Obama on Armenian massacre: “Atrocities,” not “genocide”
- 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