Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
President United States of America Joe Biden plans to recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide. A source said this was conveyed by Joe Biden to the President Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This was not conveyed in the official statement of the talks between the two leaders of the country. They said Biden was interested in constructive bilateral relations with expanded areas of cooperation and effective dispute management.
Previous, CNN reports Biden is preparing to admit atrocities against Armenians as genocide. This is a form of fulfilling campaign promises.
Biden’s predecessors, both Barack Obama and Donald Trump, never used the word for fear of damaging relations with his allies.
However, Biden has set a pattern for world leaders as well as informing him of future steps in his administration that may disrupt their relationship.
Last week, Biden contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin to review the sanctions imposed for their interference in the 2020 US elections, the SolarWinds cyberattack and grave human rights violations in Crimea.
On Friday evening local time, Turkish Ambassador to the US Hasan Murat Mercan held a meeting at the White House with National Security Council officials.
Murat Mercan received accreditation from the White House and was his first meeting with officials of the Biden government.
As vice president, Biden had frequent dealings with Erdogan and visited Turkey four times, including after a failed coup attempt.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with him. He is the president of Turkey and more than that. What I think we should do is take a completely different approach now,” Biden said in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government often complains when foreign governments describe the events as genocide. They argue it is wartime and both sides are at a loss.
“If the US wants to worsen relations, the decision is up to them,” said the Turkish foreign minister.
On April 23 and 24, 1915, the authorities in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital, gathered 250 Armenian experts and public figures. Many of them were deported to death.
Every April 24, it is even known as Red Week and is commemorated as Genocide Remembrance Day by Armedians around the world.
So far, the total number of Armenians killed has always been a matter of debate. Starting from 300 thousand to 2 million deaths in 1914-1923. However, these figures are not all due to the Ottoman Empire.
Although the death toll is disputed, photographs from the era document several mass killings. Some show Ottoman soldiers posing with their heads severed, standing in the center of skulls on the ground.
The victims reportedly died in the mass burnings and from drowning, torture, gas, poison, disease and starvation. The children were reportedly loaded into boats, carried overboard and thrown overboard. Rape is also frequently reported.
(chri / agt)
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