25 April 2009, 11:00
Safrastyan: after "metz ekhern" Obama will say "genocide"
The use by the US President in his address to the Armenian community of the word "genocide" in its Armenian sounding "metz ekhern" means that the following step will be Obama's use of the term "genocide" also in the English language, as believes Professor Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.
"The progress is obvious: earlier, nobody used this word 'metz ekhern' that means 'genocide' in Armenian. By this word Barrak Obama has absolutely precisely expressed the sense of what happened in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. I think the next step will be pronouncing the word 'genocide'," said Professor Safrastyan.
In her turn, Arpi Vartanyan, director of the regional office of the Armenian Assembly of America, in her interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent expressed her disappointment with the speech of President Obama: "No, I don't think this speech is any progress. He gave a pre-election promise to recognize the Armenians' genocide - and he failed to fulfil his promise. Certainly, the President pronounced "metz ekhern", but we waited that he would publicly, to the whole world, so that everybody could understand, not just Armenians, that the tragedy of 1915 had the name of genocide."
In the opinion of Ros Vartyan, executive director of the "US-Armenian Public Affairs Committee" (USAPAC), President Obama's statement on April 24 became the second lost chance to confirm the recognition of the Armenians' genocide.
Author: Lylyt Ovanisyan Source: CK correspondent
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