On April 24th 2021, President Biden stated that the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire just over 100 years ago was genocide. Turkey, which came to be after the Ottoman Empire collapsed and a short war for independence, continues to deny claims of genocide in Armenia. Biden made campaign promises to state that the massacre of Armenians was a genocide. Turkey instead claims that it was due to World War I, since there was fierce ongoing fighting in that region. This is the first time that a sitting U.S. President has stated that Turkey committed genocide. It may seem strange that Biden would choose now to recognize a genocide that occurred over 100 years ago, not to mention it was on the other side of the world in a now-dissolved empire. But, this is a symbolic action of the return to championing of human rights, as stated by NBC News. Biden’s statement enraged Turkey’s sitting president Erdogan, as he refuted the claims. He even pointed out the U.S.’s history with Native Americans, as well as slavery.

Some background history on the Armenian genocide; in 1915, during the chaos and outbreak of World War I, fighting was going back and forth between the Ottomans and the Russians on their shared border. That region is known as the caucuses and has different ethnic people there from both Russia and the Ottoman Empire; one of these ethnicities is Armenian. When the Ottomans lost one of these critical battles, the Ottoman Empire blamed it on the treachery of the Armenian people. In truth, what really happened was that the Ottomans attacked a dug-in position in the mountains, during winter, with undersupplied troops. This ended up being a recipe for disaster. But, instead of recognizing that it was a foolish military blunder, fearing the consequences of revolt and national outrage, the Ottomans blamed it on the Armenians. Within the following months, many atrocities were committed against the Armenian ethnicity. Among them were deportations, troops disarmed and imprisoned, later to be executed, with the same being done with Armenian authorities. The leader of the Ottoman Empire at the time, Talaat Pasha (whom many consider to be the main proprietor of the genocide) ordered the death marches of between 800,000 to 1.2 million Armenians in the Syrian desert. Once they finished their march, they were dispersed into multiple concentration camps, where thousands more Armenians would die. Prior to World War II, the Armenian genocide was considered the greatest atrocity in history. Talaat Pasha, the leader who commanded the deportation and execution of Armenians, is known as a national hero in Turkey to this day. There are many schools, streets, and even mosques named after him.

Unfortunately, there is no resolution to this as of yet or in the foreseeable future. Turkey has yet to admit to its national shame of genocide. Hopefully, soon they will recognize it, before the last of the survivors are gone. However, many believe this is unlikely, since nationalism is strong currently in Turkey, and admitting to genocide wouldn’t go along with that feeling of national pride. If you would like more information, visit Armenian Genocide Resource Guide (armenian-genocide.org). Their purpose is solely to educate people with many resources and includes a timeline that goes nearly day by day through the whole genocide.