Armenian Genocide Recognized by President Biden: Read It For Yourself
In a move that was long overdue, and often promised without result by others, President Biden has officially recognized the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
From The White House:
Statement by President Joe Biden on Armenian Remembrance Day
Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring. Beginning on April 24, 1915, with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople by Ottoman authorities, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in a campaign of extermination. We honor the victims of the Meds Yeghern so that the horrors of what happened are never lost to history. And we remember so that we remain ever-vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms.
Of those who survived, most were forced to find new homes and new lives around the world, including in the United States. With strength and resilience, the Armenian people survived and rebuilt their community. Over the decades Armenian immigrants have enriched the United States in countless ways, but they have never forgotten the tragic history that brought so many of their ancestors to our shores. We honor their story. We see that pain. We affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated.
Today, as we mourn what was lost, let us also turn our eyes to the future—toward the world that we wish to build for our children. A world unstained by the daily evils of bigotry and intolerance, where human rights are respected, and where all people are able to pursue their lives in dignity and security. Let us renew our shared resolve to prevent future atrocities from occurring anywhere in the world. And let us pursue healing and reconciliation for all the people of the world.
The American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today.
This is a good thing. Period.Report
Agreed. And a damn shame it took this long and even worse for the reasons it did.Report
I’ve never understood the relevance of the issue to the United States. How to characterize what happened is a matter for historians, not politicians who don’t actually know anything about it. At best it’s a pointless performance that does nothing for anyone, at worst it pokes a strategic, if wayward, ally to no apparent benefit.Report
It helps us maintain our moral authority on a global scale.Report
Ah yes, how could I have forgotten.Report
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum tweeted today about the Armenian genocide.
You might say that that was appropriate, given their charter. Or you might ask whether these should even be a federal holocaust museum, since having opinions on historicity is none of the government’s business.Report
For the record, I think that an official acknowledgment of the atrocity is better than not acknowledging that it happened.
I’m just not exactly seeing it as accomplishing much.
I mean, say what you will about China and the Uighurs, that’s happening right freaking now. I can see how it’s appropriate to, at the very least!, say something.
But this is saying something about a thing that happened more than 100 years ago. The only political costs are… what? Turkey bluster?
The benefits come from acknowledging that something is the truth. (No small feat in the current year!)
It is the right thing to do and that’s good… but, on a utilitarian measure, I don’t see what benefits were gained and I can’t help but notice that the costs were somewhere around “diddly squat”.Report
I’ve long suspected that museum has more to do with serving as a reminder in a seat of power about who the real victims are in the ME today than who they were in Europe in the 30s and 40s. But hey as far as I know they do legitimate scholarship at the Holocaust Museum. If the government wants to fund good scholarship on this too I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
Anyway, I assume you’re familiar with the comments Erdogan made in 2019 last time this came up about how rich it was for a country ‘stained by genocide, slavery and exploitation’ to criticize Turkey for historical dirty laundry? My guess is that this will prompt a similar, and frankly fair, response. So again, what was the point exactly?Report
If this stirs an American discussion about “genocide, slavery and exploitation” and its relevance for today and draws in a discussion about China and the Uighurs and our response, I think that would be a very good point.Report
I can’t tell if the point is:
A: This highlights how Americans need to condemn what is happening to the Uighurs right now.
B: This highlights how Americans don’t have the standing to condemn what is happening to the Uighurs right now.
Could you clarify for me if you were doing more of an A? Were you doing more of a B?Report
A is an assertion, where people state an idea.
B is what people do when they want to shut down a discussion and enforce a silence on a topic. It is (quite literally in this case ) “But whattabout your Negroes?”
What is often (deliberately) ignored is that there is C, where we condemn what is happening, BECAUSE of our own painful past and present.
We can speak with authority on the Uighurs, because Americans and Europeans know all too well what the outcome of ethnic resentment and bigotry leads to.Report
Well, I’m interested in seeing how this evolves.
“This is completely different from what you did and are still doing!” is how I expect the conversation to continue but… well, we’ll see.Report
Like:
I admit to not understanding why Erdogan considers this a threat.Report
There’s a difference between guilt-based and shame-based societies. The US tends toward the former, Turkey the latter. America at her best will say “yes, our people did those things a long time ago; those acts were against our principles and those who did them should be judged accordingly”. A more middle-eastern way of thinking is “you have dishonored by ancestors as a way of dishonoring me; I will respond in kind”.Report
It won’t. I’d be shocked if the Turkish counter-point is reported in any noticeable way in the American press.Report
Erdogan admitting there’s something to criticize is a step forward.Report
Based on my understanding that’s not accurate. Not an expert on this but I believe they object to classifying the deaths as genocide as opposed to resulting from the chaos of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, not that both can’t be true. That’s a bit different than saying ‘it never happened.’ Which goes back to my original comment that it’s a matter for scholars, not politicians. I’m open to evidence I’m wrong but my guess is that Joe Biden knows about as much about the topic as he does about quantum physics.Report
Also, I disagree that that’s what the Holocaust museum is about. There’s a completely fake, wholly anti-Semitic “controversy” about the reality of the Holocaust, and the museum is a declaration on the side of truth. The Holocaust is as well-documented as the Civil War. So is the Armenian Genocide.Report
With as much trouble as the Turks have been stirring up for the US it’s not surprised their barrier against this coming about failed. Frankly it’s only ever been realpolitic that kept it from being recognized before and it’s only slightly surprising it took this long for it to happen.Report
Its a good indication in how much Ankara’s stock in Washington has declined.Report
Agreed, I can’t even begin to imagine Erdogan is very surprised by this move. He isn’t an idiot.Report
I’m wondering if “The Young Turks” will discuss a name change, maybe.Report
Unlikely. They are almost all — possibly all — dead.Report
I think he meant these Young Turks:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Turks
Not these Young Turks:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_TurksReport
Indeed I did.Report