Obama avoids the word 'genocide' in Armenian deaths

WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday refrained from branding the massacre of more than a million Armenians in Turkey a "genocide," breaking a campaign promise while contending his views about the 20th-century slaughter had not changed.

The phrasing of Obama's written statement attracted heightened scrutiny because of the sensitivity of the issue and because Turkey and Armenia are nearing a historic reconciliation after years of tension. The Obama administration is wary of disturbing that settlement.

Marking the 94th anniversary of the start of the killings, the president referred to them as "one of the great atrocities of the 20th century."

"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view ... has not changed," he said.

The Armenians say up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Turks in what was then the Ottoman Empire, while Turkey says the killings occurred at a time of civil conflict and that the casualty figures are inflated. Scholars widely view the event as the first genocide of the 20th century.

For Obama, referring to the killings as genocide could have upended recent pledges of a closer partnership with Turkey, a vital ally in a critical region. Steering around the word, however, put him at odds with his own pledges to recognize the slaughter as genocide.

Obama said the Armenians who were massacred in the final days of the Ottoman Empire "must live on in our memories. I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and Armenian people to work through this painful history in a way that is honest, open, and constructive."

The administration closely coordinated its statement about the apparent breakthrough with the Turkish government and Swiss mediators. Turkey and Armenia, which have no diplomatic ties, announced Wednesday that they were closing in on some kind of reconciliation.

At least one Armenian American group said it felt let down. "Today's statement does not reflect the change the president promised," said Bryan Ardouny of the Armenian Assembly of America.

Lincoln McCurdy, president of the Turkish Coalition of America, said Obama sent "a clear message to America and the world that his administration will not sacrifice long-term strategic allies for short-term political gains."