Barack Obama must recognize the Armenian Genocide

It has now been 96 years since the Turkish government during the Ottoman Empire was responsible for the arrest, deportation and killings of 1.5 million Armenians. Every single US president from Woodrow Wilson to current president Barack Obama have failed and refused to recognize what is known to historians and scholars as the first genocide of the 20^th century. Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign made a pledge to honor and recognize the Armenian Genocide. Since the 2008 Presidential election and especially now, he has failed to recognize this brutal crime against an entire group of innocent people. There are three major reasons why it is important and absolutely critical that Mr. Obama recognize the killing of these innocent Armenians as genocide:

1. This event that occurred in 1915 is a crime against humanity and it must be recognized

There is no excuse for President Obama to not recognize the Armenian Genocide. This is not just a human rights issue but this is a moral issue as well. It is wrong to not recognize something that is so obvious and something that is well documented as fact. Over 1.5 million Armenian teachers, lawyers, doctors and intellectuals were arrested, deported, sent on death marches or burned. The United States should recognize the Genocide so that Armenians all over the world can somehow put this period of history behind them. The genocide should be recognized because that is the right thing to do. Recognizing the Genocide would be treating the Armenians the way that they deserve to be treated. They deserve to be treated as human beings with the proper dignity and respect. It does not matter what kind of political agreement the US has with Turkey. It is better to do what is right instead of denying something that is so obvious. This event that took place in 1915 is clearly in the history books documented as fact. Why is Mr. Obama not willing to admit this? Recognition of the genocide would not bring back all the Armenians that died during the Ottoman Empire but it would show that the United States is committed to peace and human rights.

2. If Barack Obama recognizes the Armenian Genocide, then relations between Armenians and Turks will be better

Once the US recognizes the Armenian Genocide, this will be one step in the right direction because it would allow relations between Armenians and Turks to be better. The animosity between Armenians and Turks is largely because of the Genocide committed against the Armenian nation. If and when the US recognizes the Armenian Genocide, then Armenians will see little reason to continue their animosity towards the Turks and actually they may be friendly towards them.

3. Recognition of the Genocide by Barack Obama will prove that the US is a nation that really supports human rights and peace

This reason is obvious. If Barack Obama recognizes the Armenian Genocide, then the US will be seen as a nation that truly supports human rights and peace instead of just saying that. If you make a pledge to do something then you must do it. But Mr. Obama has done the exact opposite of what he said that he would do. He has instead decided to strengthen his alliance with Turkey thus angering many Armenians around the world.

It is time for Barack Obama to do the right thing and recognize the killing of Armenians back in 1915. 96 years of denying a major crime against humanity is 96 years too long. We are in 2011 right now and since Barack Obama promised that change would come to Washington, he must do what is right and change his views on the Genocide. As was said previously, it does not really matter what political relationship the US has with the Turkish government. If the US loses Turkey as an ally, it won’t really matter because the US already has enough allies in the world. The Armenian Genocide is too important to not recognize and Barack Obama must do it before his presidency is over. But given the fact that Turkey would have to give up all the territory that it stole from the Armenians if it recognized the massacre combined with the fact that the US has political interests in Turkey, there is little chance of the Armenian Genocide being recognized by the United States.

One last thing that needs to be mentioned is this: why is the United States recognizing what is happening in Sudan as genocide while ignoring what happened to the Armenians? The Turkish government is no less brutal and autocratic than Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan. Both countries have leaders that are responsible for the death and torture of hundreds or thousands of their own people. If the United States is really interested in human rights, the best thing that they can do is to recognize this obvious crime against humanity that is the Armenian Genocide of 1915.