Bush marks 90th anniversary of Armenian massacre

[Reincarnated Am]

First check this: http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=18779

After check this:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...aturkeyhistory

[Tongue]

Very funny... the words used in his speech: forced exile, mass killings, 1.5 million. Yet he refuses to use the word 'genocide' to keep Turkey satisfied and not damage their relations. Such a shame. If I'm not mistaken the 1.5 million is also against Turkey's figures, so what about that? Didn't you promise to recognize the genocide before your first presidential elections? What happened? And you say you're a Christian? A true Christian would never choose money over humanity and justice. I'm really disappointed in our president, really.

PRESIDENT BUSH AGAIN FAILS TO HONOR HIS PROMISE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

WASHINGTON, DC – Ignoring calls from a record two hundred and ten U.S. legislators, President Bush failed, once again, to honor his pledge to properly characterize the Armenian Genocide as a "genocide" in his annual April 24th remarks, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a statement issued today, on April 24th, the annual day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide, the President again resorted to the use of evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the reality of Turkey's genocide against the Armenian people between 1915-1923. In retreating from his promise, the President ignored the counsel of the one hundred and seventy-eight Representatives and thirty-two Senators who had written letters urging him to properly characterize the Armenian Genocide.

"While we appreciate the President's willingness to join with Armenians around the world by issuing a statement on this occasion, we remain deeply troubled by his continued use of evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the moral, historical, and legal meaning of Turkey's genocide against the Armenian people," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "This statement, sadly, once again, represents a form of complicity in the Turkish government's shameful campaign to deny a crime against humanity."

The ANCA has also expressed concern that the Administration's refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide reflects a broader unwillingness to confront genocide - as evidenced by the White House's failure to take decisive steps to bring an end to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The ANCA is working with a broad coalition of organizations to pressure the Administration to respond in a timely and meaningful way to the worsening crisis in Darfur. "If we are to end the cycle of genocide, we must, as a nation, generate the resolve to forcefully intervene to stop genocide when it takes place, to unequivocally reject its denial, to hold the guilty accountable, and to secure for the victims the justice they deserve," added Hamparian.

In February of 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush, campaigning for votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan Republican primary, pledged to properly characterize the genocidal campaign against the Armenian people. In his statements as President, he has consistently avoided any clear reference to the Armenian Genocide, and his Administration has consistently opposed legislation marking this crime against humanity.

The text of the President's remarks is provided below.

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The White House

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

April 24, 2005

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

On Armenian Remembrance Day, we remember the forced exile and mass killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire. This terrible event is what many Armenian people have come to call the "Great Calamity." I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in expressing my deepest condolences for this horrible loss of life. Today, as we commemorate the 90th anniversary of this human tragedy and reflect on the suffering of the Armenian people, we also look toward a promising future for an independent Armenian state.

The United States is grateful for Armenia's contributions to the war on terror and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We remain committed to supporting the historic reforms Armenia has pursued for over a decade. We call on the Government of Armenia to advance democratic freedoms that will further advance the aspirations of the Armenian people. We remain committed to a lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We also seek a deeper partnership with Armenia that includes security cooperation and is rooted in the shared values of democratic and market economic freedoms.

I applaud individuals in Armenia and Turkey who have sought to examine the historical events of the early 20th century with honesty and sensitivity. The recent analysis by the International Center for Transitional Justice did not provide the final word, yet marked a significant step toward reconciliation and restoration of the spirit of tolerance and cultural richness that has connected the people of the Caucasus and Anatolia for centuries. We look to a future of freedom, peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey and hope that Prime Minister Erdogan's recent proposal for a joint Turkish-Armenian commission can help advance these processes.

Millions of Americans proudly trace their ancestry to Armenia. Their faith, traditions, and patriotism enrich the cultural, political, and economic life of the United States. I appreciate all individuals who work to promote peace, tolerance, and reconciliation. On this solemn day of remembrance, I send my best wishes and expressions of solidarity to Armenian people around the world.

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Link

[isimsizadam]

You See? Everyone are lying to Armenians. Bush, the person that american armenians selected- haven't used the "Genocide" . It's not the fight of humanity.It's the fight of money,

Please don't let people to break friendship between Armenians and Turks.

[Tongue]

You See? Everyone are lying to Armenians. Bush, the person that american armenians selected- haven't used the "Genocide" . It's not the fight of humanity.It's the fight of money,

Please don't let people to break friendship between Armenians and Turks.

American Armenians selected Bush, who told you that?
We all know Bush didn't use the term genocide to keep Turkey and Israel happy... In other words, because he's a coward.

[isimsizadam]

I don't know that why Israel haven't recognize the "genocide". Can you tell me why?

I really don't know. It's weird to haven't recognize as a nation that lived genocide.

[Hovik]

Read this - Let an Israeli Jew tell you why Israel hasn't recognized.

ISRAEL IS AMONG THE HOLOCAUST DENIERS

April 24 will mark the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, and the Armenian government is holding an international conference in the capital of Yerevan, dedicated to the memory of the more than a million Armenians murdered by the Turks. This month will also see the Hebrew publication of Prof. Yair Auron's eye-opening and stomach churning book, "The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide," Transaction Publishers, which has already been highly praised overseas in its English-language edition.

As opposed to many other nations, Israel has never recognized the murder of the Armenian people, and in effect lent a hand to the deniers of that genocide. Our official reactions moved in the vague, illusory realm between denial to evasion, from "it's not clear there really was genocide" to "it's an issue for the historians," as Shimon Peres once put it so outrageously and stupidly.

There are two main motives for the Israeli position. The first is the importance of the relationship with Turkey, which for some reason continues to deny any responsibility for the genocide, and uses heavy pressure worldwide to prevent the historical responsibility for the genocide to be laid at its door. The pressure does work, and not only Israel, but other countries as well do the arithmetic of profits and loss. The other motive is that recognition of another nation's murder would seem to erode the uniqueness of the Jewish Holocaust.

Five years ago, on the 85th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, I was invited as education minister to the Armenian church in the Old City of Jerusalem. This is what I said at the time:

"I am here, with you, as a human being, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as the minister of education in Israel. For many years, too many, you were alone on this, your memorial day. I am aware of the special significance of my presence here. Today, for the first time, you are less alone."

Summing up, I said, "We Jews, the main victims of murderous hatred, must be doubly sensitive and identify with other victims. Those who stand aside, turn away, cast a blind eye, make their calculations of gains and losses, and are silent, always help the murderers and never those who are being murdered. In our new history curriculum I want to see a central chapter on genocide, and within it, an open reference to the Armenian genocide. That is our duty to you and to ourselves."

The Armenian community in Israel and the world took note of that statement with satisfaction. Turkey complained vociferously, demanding an explanation from the Israeli government. And "my government," of all governments, first stammered and then denied responsibility, and explained that I spoke for myself.

Now it can be said. They were right. All the stammerers and deniers. I really did not consult with anyone else and did not ask for permission. What must be asked when the answer is known in advance, and it is based on the wrong assumption that there is a contradiction between a moral position and a political one? Just how beastly must we be as humans, or as Haaretz wrote then in its editorial, "The teaching of genocides must be at the top of the priorities of the values of the Jewish people, the victim of the Holocaust, and no diplomacy of interests can be allowed to stand in that way"?

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, and not only it, is always afraid of its own shadow and thus it casts a dark shadow over us all as accomplices to the "silence of the world." The Dalai Lama, leader of the exiled Tibetans, has visited here twice, and twice I was warned by "officials" not to meet with him. It would mean a crisis in relations with China, the exact same thing they say about Turkey. I rebuffed those warnings in both cases. I have always believed that moral policies pay off in the long run, while rotten policies end up losing.

And all this I will repeat in the capital of Armenia, only in my name, of course.

By Yossi Sarid, former education minister of Israel; Haaretz, April 14

[Reincarnated Am]

Guys don’t even waist your times answering to people who are not interested to read the answers, I think they don’t even read what is written, all they are interested is to ask stupid questions. All I can tell you is; we should concentrate to show the world what happened to our ancestors and what kind of people Turks were, and they still are, so far we did a great job, and I thank every single Armenian whoever passed on this sacred duty of our nation to the coming generations.