Armenian Genocide Day

Today is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. While it is a national holiday in Armenia it is also recognized around the world. An estimated 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were murdered by the Turks during and after World War 1. Turkey and many countries around the world (including the US) do not recognize what happened to the Armenians as a genocide.

There are 23 countries that officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. They are: Argentina (since 2003), Armenia (since 1988 - then apart of the USSR), Belgium (since 1998), Canada (since 1996), Chile (since 2007), Cyprus (since 1975), France (since 1998), Germany (since 2004), Greece (since 1999), Italy (since 2000), Lithuania (since 1005), Lebanon (since 1997), the Netherlands (since 2004), Poland (since 2005), Russia (since 1995), Slovakia (since 2004), Sweden (since 2010), Switzerland (since 2003), Uruguay (since 1965), the Vatican (since 2000) and Venezuela (since 2005.) There are several regions within certain countries that also recognize the Genocide even when their national Governments do not. They include: Basque Country, Catalonia, the Baleraic Islands (Spain); Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom); New South Wales, South Australia (Australia); Tehran (Iran); Sao Paulo, Ceara, Parana (Brazil); Crimea (Ukraine); Quindío (Columbia); Plovdiv, Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora, Pazardzhik (Bulgaria.) 43 US States also recognize the Genocide (7 do not: Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Wyoming, and South Dakota.)

The US Federal Government also does not recognize the Armenian Genocide.  In the United States' several official documents describe the events as "genocide" (1975, 1984, 1996), President Ronald Reagan also described the events as "genocide" in his speech on April 22, 1981.  As of March 4, 2010, the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs has recognized the massacres of 1915 as "genocide.

On January 19, 2008 U.S. Senator Barack Obama released a statement: "Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to describe Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide". Since becoming president he has retreated from those statements, stating only that his opinion has not changed but refusing to use the word genocide. Despite his previous public recognition and support of genocide bills, as well as the election campaign promises to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, Obama has thus far, abstained from using the term "genocide".

Next year (2015) is the 100th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide and I would hope that more countries (including the US) would do what is right and recognize the killing of innocent men, women and children of Armenian descent by the Turks for what it was: a genocide. People think it's disgusting for someone to deny the Jewish Holocaust and I believe it is equally as disgusting to deny the Armenian Genocide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide_recognition