Didn’t Obama Recognize Genocide Indirectly?

• 04.28.2015, 15:56
• Liana Hovhannisyan
•  America,  "Insight" Analytical Center ,  World

The statement made by the US President Barack Obama on the 100^th centennial of the Armenian Genocide became a reason of disappointment for many Armenians all over the world. However, before assessing the statement made by the US President and reacting to it,  it would be useful to make a comparative content analysis of the statements made by the US president on April 24 during the last three successive years.

Comparative content analysis of the last three successive years reveals the following key similarities: first, in all the three statements the US President called 1915 Armenian massacres "the Meds Yeghern", second, in these statements the US President noted "I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed."

As for differences the following key ones are to be presented: in the statements made by Obama in 2013 and 2014 the wording is similar and there are no major differences to be considered. However, the same cannot be stated about his statement on the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in which the following major points are to be emphasized: in 2015 statement the US President made a reference  and welcomed the acts of such people as Pope Francis, Raphael Lemkin and the US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau in Ottoman Turkey. The former two openly called the 1915 Armenian massacres Genocide, while ambassador Morgenthau was the most vociferous US diplomat and the information revealed by him helped to prove the cruel  and government-organized nature of the Armenian Genocide.

Thus some logical questions and conclusions can be derived from the  above mentioned. In all his three statements Obama clearly posited that his view on what happened in 1915 has not changed. Should we forget that Obama was the one, who openly called 1915 events Genocide, when he was still a Senator?  Second, although Obama did not use the word Genocide, he was persistent in his wording using Meds Yeghern instead. Were we right initially to make a difference between those two terms? Third, in his 2015 statement Obama made a clear reference to those people who openly recognized the Armenian Genocide, such as Pope Francis, Raphael Lemkin. Doesn’t it mean an indirect recognition of Genocide by Obama?

The reflection on these questions gives ground to assume that Barack Obama personally has recognized Armenian Genocide long ago. The fact that Obama as a President of the United States is not able to openly pronounce and recognize Armenian Genocide and is forced to do it indirectly, like he did it in his 2015 statement, proves that there is still too little humanity in the world, where the hegemony state like the United States, which considers itself worldwide active advocate of universal values, continues to subordinate those values to its state interests.