US President Joe Biden said on Saturday April 24 that the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 amounted to genocide. This historic decision, largely symbolic, breaks with decades of cautious statements by the White House on the subject. It intervenes in an already tense climate between the United States and Turkey, both members of NATO, and was immediately denounced with firmness by Ankara.
President Joe Biden’s full statement:
“Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Armenian genocide during the Ottoman era and we renew our commitment to prevent such an atrocity from happening again. From April 24, 1915, with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople by the Ottoman authorities, 1.5 million Armenians were deported, massacred or put to death in a campaign of extermination. We pay tribute to the victims of Meds Yeghern [“Le Grand Mal”] so that the horrors of what happened are never lost on history. And we remember it to always remain vigilant against the corrosive influence of hatred in all its forms.
Of those who survived, most were forced to find new homes and new lives in the world, including 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 story that brought so many of their ancestors to our shores. We honor their history. We see this pain. We affirm history. We are not doing this to blame but to make sure that what happened will never happen again.
Today, as we mourn for what has been lost, let us also turn our eyes to the future – to the world we want to build for our children. A world free from the daily evils of sectarianism and intolerance, where human rights are respected and where everyone can live their life in dignity and security. Let us renew our common resolve to prevent future atrocities from happening all over the world. And let’s 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 166 years ago today. “