Americas

Americas

Barack Obama: â€œThe events of 1915 to 1923, carried out by the Ottoman Empire should be recognized as genocideâ€

18 June 2008 08:45 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Husniyya Hasanova-APA. With the Senate Foreign Relations Committee set to consider U.S. Ambassador to Armenia nominee Marie Yovanovitch at a confirmation hearing on Thursday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama restated his commitment to U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.) In a letter to ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, Sen. Obama wrote â€œI share your view that the United States must recognize the events of 1915 to 1923, carried out by the Ottoman Empire, as genocide. We must recognize this tragic reality. The Bush Administration’s refusal to do so is inexcusable, and I will continue to speak out in an effort to move the Administration to change its position.â€ says Sen. Obama in letter to ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian
Sen. Obama went on to cite his concerns about the firing of former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans in 2006 for speaking truthfully about the Armenian Genocide
â€œI was deeply disturbed two years ago when the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia was fired after he used the term "genocide" to describe the mass slaughter of Armenians. In a letter to the Department of State, I called for Secretary Rice to closely examine what I believe is an untenable position taken by the U.S. government.â€ says Sen. Obama in letter to ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian.