How would you describe, a cruel killing of 1.5 million people, because of their race and religion?

[Armenian]

President Barack Obama faces a dilemma as he prepares to issue an annual presidential statement on the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. --
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how do you think ...
Should B. Obama speak a word.. which will change the world, and its moral history . ? ..
Armenian Genocide... ../?
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11 million Armenians hope that, US president will keep his word.. --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?vlFnUCM0jGeA

words from William Saroyan

[123everton]

It's a tough one to call for him, the U.N flip flops about on the matter whilst Turkey denies it ever happened saying instead that these things happen during wars.
They sing a slightly different tune when the war is in Palestine.

[jno]

Turkey also says it had nothing to do with it; whatever happened was the responsibility of the Ottoman empire, now defunct.

[Andyvon]

That took place almost a century ago. What's it to do with Obama? It's nothing to do with anyone alive today. Why do we have to keep beating people over the head with what someone's great-great-grandparents did to someone else's great-great-grandparents? Just leave these things in the past where they belong.

Otherwise, what about the American genocide of the Indian tribes - the handing out of smallpox infected blankets, the slaughter of buffalo to induce starvation, the Trail of Tears etc. etc. Where do you stop?

There are enough problems in the world to deal with today. Just leave these things in the past.

[Lil O'lady]

Andyvon, if only it was that easy.
If we don't acknowledge the past, not only can nothing be forgiven, but we can't learn from it.
Turkey has some appalling human rights records, not just involving Armenians. Turkey is not alone in this respect. But Turkey is also a key strategic land mass and has been since ottoman times, and not all Turks are evil blood-thirsty so and so's. Just like all British are not b*stards who traded black slaves from Africa to the New World.
On a very small scale, cities like Bristol and Liverpool officially holding their hands up to what went on and making an apology does help relationships with the descendents of those affected.
As with the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, two sides agreeing that what went on on both sides was bad, and being determined to move forward positively in the knowledge of those events, makes it hard for extremists of either side to whip up feelings into actions.