Tag: Barack Obama

Another Meds Yeghern

2011 | Another Meds Yeghern |The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release April 24, 2010

Statement of President Barack Obama on Armenian Remembrance Day

On this solemn day of remembrance, we pause to recall that ninety-five 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.

Today is a day to reflect upon and draw lessons from these terrible events. I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. It is in all of our interest to see the achievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts. The Meds Yeghern is a devastating chapter in the history of the Armenian people, and we must keep its memory alive in honor of those who were murdered and so that we do not repeat the grave mistakes of the past. I salute the Turks who saved Armenians in 1915 and am encouraged by the dialogue among Turks and Armenians, and within Turkey itself, regarding this painful history. Together, the Turkish and Armenian people will be stronger as they acknowledge their common history and recognize their common humanity.

Even as we confront the inhumanity of 1915, we also are inspired by the remarkable spirit of the Armenian people. While nothing can bring back those who were killed in the Meds Yeghern, the contributions that Armenians have made around the world over the last ninety-five years stand as a testament to the strength, tenacity and courage of the Armenian people. The indomitable spirit of the Armenian people is a lasting triumph over those who set out to destroy them. Many Armenians came to the United States as survivors of the horrors of 1915. Over the generations Americans of Armenian descent have richened our communities, spurred our economy, and strengthened our democracy. The strong traditions and culture of Armenians also became the foundation of a new republic which has become a part of the community of nations, partnering with the world community to build a better future.

Today, we pause with them and with Armenians everywhere to remember the awful events of 1915 with deep admiration for their contributions which transcend this dark past and give us hope for the future.

April 24, 2011
Obama again won’t call Armenian deaths ‘genocide’

President Barack Obama salutes as he steps off Marine One helicopter before his departure from Los Angeles International airport in Los Angeles, Friday, April 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday marked the anniversary of the massacre of Armenians in Turkey nearly a century ago by calling it a “horrific” slaughter, but once again stopped short of branding it genocide.

In a written statement, Obama said the 1915 killings of some 1.5 million Armenians represent “one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.” But for the third straight year, he failed to use the word genocide to describe it.

As a candidate for president, Obama repeatedly vowed to recognize the genocide once in office, vowing “a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide.”

But since 2009, Obama has declined to use the word in the face of furious resistance from Turkey, a key NATO ally.

Most historians see the killings as the first genocide of the 20th century, and accept the figure of 1.5 million Armenian deaths. However, Turkish leaders have long rejected the term, contending the figures are inflated and saying there were many deaths on both sides as the Ottoman Empire collapsed during World War I.

In his statement, Obama said “contested history destabilizes the present and stains the memory of those whose lives were taken.” He said America knows this from the dark chapters in its own history.

He praised efforts in Armenia and Turkey “to foster a dialogue that acknowledges their common history. ”

But Obama confined himself to using the Armenian name for the slaughter, Meds Yeghern, and paying tribute “to the memories of those who perished.”

He said his view of what took place hasn’t changed since the campaign, adding, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests.”

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

via The Associated Press: Obama again won’t call Armenian deaths ‘genocide’.

April 24, 2011
Obama shuns ‘genocide’ label for Armenian killings

People carry torches during a rally through the streets of Yerevan

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama marked Saturday the anniversary of the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, calling for a “full” acknowledgment of the killings hotly contested by Ankara.

While denouncing the “horrific events” of 96 years ago, Obama stopped short of labeling the killings a “genocide,” despite vowing to use that exact term during his 2008 run for the White House.

“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed,” the president said in a White House statement on Armenian Remembrance Day.

“A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all our interests.”

In implicitly pleading for Turkey’s recognition of the killings, he stressed that “contested history destabilizes the present and stains the memory of those whose lives were taken, while reckoning with the past lays a sturdy foundation for a peaceful and prosperous shared future.”

Ankara’s ambassador in Washington promptly rejected Obama’s criticism, subdued or not.

“We deeply regret that POTUS (Obama’s) statement on 1915 events reflect an inaccurate, flawed & one-sided political characterization of history,” Ambassador Namik Tan tweeted, calling the comments “unacceptable” and “unwarranted.”

“The US should encourage normalization and dialogue and not hamper it with one-sided & politically motivated statements.”

The Armenian Assembly of America, a group promoting US-Armenian ties, was also not satisfied with Obama’s carefully worded statement, calling it a “missed opportunity” and saying “we expect the president to honor his prior commitments and statements.”

“Words do matter, and today’s statement on the eve of Easter and the commemoration of the Armenian genocide was a missed opportunity to help heal open wounds of the past,” said Armenian Assembly executive director Bryan Ardouny, noting that ex-US president Ronald Reagan used the controversial term.

“Genocide and its denial are pernicious, and the US needs to squarely address the consequence of genocide denial through unequivocal affirmation of this historical truth.”

Turkey and Armenia signed landmark protocols in 2009, under Swiss mediation, which were a first step towards ending decades of hostility over World War I massacres of Armenians under Ottoman Turks.

“I support the courageous steps taken by individuals in Armenia and Turkey to foster a dialogue that acknowledges their common history,” Obama said as he hailed the contributions of Armenian Americans.

“Our hearts and prayers are with Armenians everywhere as we recall the horrors of the Meds Yeghern, honor the memories of those who suffered, and pledge our friendship and deep respect for the people of Armenia,” he added in using the Armenian term meaning “great calamity” to describe the killings.

Last year, a diplomatic row erupted between Washington and Ankara after a congressional measure sought to brand the Ottoman massacres of Armenians as “genocide.”

Turkey recalled Ambassador Tan from Washington when a congressional panel adopted the text in March 2010 and sent him back a month later after the resolution failed to proceed to a full vote in the House of Representatives at the time.

Earlier Saturday, some 10,000 people rallied in the Armenian capital Yerevan to demand that Turkey recognize the “genocide” of up to 1.5 million of their kin. Hordes of youths marched with candles up to a hillock in Yerevan, consecrated to the memory of the victims.

The persecutions are commemorated every year on April 24. On that day in 1915, more than 200 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were arrested in Constantinople, or present day Istanbul. That was followed by a wave of massacres and deportations that continued until 1917.

Turkey rejects the “genocide” label, countering that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian forces.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

via AFP: Obama shuns ‘genocide’ label for Armenian killings.

April 24, 2011
Joint article on Libya: The pathway to peace

Friday 15 April 2011

Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama and President Nicolas Sarkozy have written a joint article on Libya underlining their determination that Qadhafi must “go and go for good”.

Read the article

Together with our NATO allies and coalition partners, the United States, France and Britain have been united at the UN Security Council, as well as the following Paris Conference, in building a broad-based coalition to respond to the crisis in Libya. We are equally united on what needs to happen in order to end it.

Even as we continue military operations today to protect civilians in Libya, we are determined to look to the future. We are convinced that better times lie ahead for the people of Libya, and a pathway can be forged to achieve just that.

We must never forget the reasons why the international community was obliged to act in the first place. As Libya descended into chaos with Colonel Qadhafi attacking his own people, the Arab League called for action. The Libyan opposition called for help. And the people of Libya looked to the world in their hour of need. In an historic Resolution, the United Nations Security Council authorised all necessary measures to protect the people of Libya from the attacks upon them. By responding immediately, our countries halted the advance of Qadhafi’s forces. The bloodbath that he had promised to inflict upon the citizens of the besieged city of Benghazi has been prevented.

Tens of thousands of lives have been protected. But the people of Libya are suffering terrible horrors at Qadhafi’s hands each and every day. His rockets and his shells rained down on defenceless civilians in Ajdabiya. The city of Misrata is enduring a mediaeval siege, as Qadhafi tries to strangle its population into submission. The evidence of disappearances and abuses grows daily.

Our duty and our mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1973 is to protect civilians, and we are doing that. It is not to remove Qadhafi by force. But it is impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Qadhafi in power. The International Criminal Court is rightly investigating the crimes committed against civilians and the grievous violations of international law. It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government. The brave citizens of those towns that have held out against forces that have been mercilessly targeting them would face a fearful vengeance if the world accepted such an arrangement. It would be an unconscionable betrayal.

Furthermore, it would condemn Libya to being not only a pariah state, but a failed state too. Qadhafi has promised to carry out terrorist attacks against civilian ships and airliners. And because he has lost the consent of his people any deal that leaves him in power would lead to further chaos and lawlessness. We know from bitter experience what that would mean. Neither Europe, the region, or the world can afford a new safe haven for extremists.

There is a pathway to peace that promises new hope for the people of Libya. A future without Qadhafi that preserves Libya’s integrity and sovereignty, and restores her economy and the prosperity and security of her people. This needs to begin with a genuine end to violence, marked by deeds not words. The regime has to pull back from the cities it is besieging, including Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zintan, and their forces return to their barracks. However, so long as Qadhafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds. Then a genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional process can really begin, led by a new generation of leaders. In order for that transition to succeed, Colonel Qadhafi must go and go for good. At that point, the United Nations and its members should help the Libyan people as they rebuild where Qadhafi has destroyed – to repair homes and hospitals, to restore basic utilities, and to assist Libyans as they develop the institutions to underpin a prosperous and open society.

This vision for the future of Libya has the support of a broad coalition of countries, including many from the Arab world. These countries came together in London on 29 March and founded a Contact Group which met this week in Doha to support a solution to the crisis that respects the will of the Libyan people.

Today, NATO and its coalition partners are acting in the name of the United Nations with an unprecedented international legal mandate. But it will be the people of Libya, not the UN, that choose their new constitution, elect their new leaders, and write the next chapter in their history.

Britain, France and the United States will not rest until the United Nations Security Council resolutions have been implemented and the Libyan people can choose their own future.

The Prime Ministers Office

Number 10

April 15, 2011
US government shut down averted before midnight deadline
U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached a last-minute budget deal, averting a government shutdown that would have idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
President Obama poses for photographers in the Blue Room at the White House in Washington after averting government shutdown after a deal was made between Republican and Democrat lawmakers. Photo: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

With a midnight deadline looming for a government closure, the hard-fought compromise between Obama’s Democrats and opposition Republicans requires lawmakers to approve stopgap funding to keep federal agencies running into next week until the budget agreement can be formally enacted.

A shutdown — the first in more than 15 years — would have meant furloughs for much of the federal work force, suspension of some key government services and the closing of many national monuments and parks, while potentially undermining the U.S. economic recovery.

But the biggest incentive for a deal may have been the risks that failure would have posed for Obama, his fellow Democrats and the Republicans amid signs of public frustration with the rancorous budget fight as the 2012 presidential election campaign gathers steam.

“Tomorrow, I’m pleased to announce that the Washington Monument as well as the entire federal government will be open for business,” a smiling Obama said in a late-night appearance at the White House.

After days of tense negotiations and brinkmanship, Republican lawmakers said agreement was reached on $37.8 billion (£23 billion) in spending cuts in a budget for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

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“I am pleased Senator Reid and I and the White House have been able to come to an agreement that will in fact cut spending and keep our government open,” U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told reporters.

Obama’s aides and U.S. lawmakers had struggled for days to hammer out a deal, making the threat of a government shutdown look ever more possible. The two sides even had a hard time agreeing on what issues were holding up an agreement..

Democrats said they were at odds over federal funding for birth control. Republicans said spending cuts were the issue.

The Senate on Friday night hurriedly approved a short-term funding bill to keep the government running until the longer budget plan can be enacted into law sometime next week.

The House was to approve the stopgap measure later and it will then go to Obama to sign into law.

Without an agreement, money to operate the federal government for the next six months would have run out at midnight on Friday and agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service would begin a partial shutdown.

Despite the apparent resolution of the impasse, the bitter political fight raised questions about the ability of Obama and a divided U.S. Congress to deal with bigger issues looming down the road, from raising the federal debt ceiling to reining in budget deficits.

“They’ve got to be laughing at us right now” in China, said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry. “How terrific that the United States of America can’t make a decision.”

The leadership of the world’s lone remaining superpower has been consumed for days by the budgetary infighting that could bring large swathes of government to a standstill.
April 9, 2011
THE OBAMA DOCTRINE: A NEW APPROACH TO CONTROL N.AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

March 29, 2011