Americans of Turkish and Azerbaijani heritage are deeply disappointed with President Joe Biden’s characterization of the Events of 1915 as genocide. President Biden’s April 24 statement is misguided because it:
Discriminates against and prejudices our community by siding with Armenian Americans, while passively denigrating Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Turkic Americans with the accusation of genocide and contributing to enduring turcophobia targeting people of Turkish heritage.
Denies the tragedy that befell Ottoman Muslims and Jews during the Armenian insurrections, which massacred and displaced over 1 million Ottoman Kurds, Turks, and Jews in eastern Ottoman Anatolia.
Disrespects the rule of law, including the United Nations Genocide Convention, which designates the International Court of Justice as the adjudicator of genocide allegations; the Separation of Powers, which does not authorize the Executive Branch to adjudicate; and Due Process, including Presumption of Innocence, Benefit of the Doubt, and Equal Protection — all rights denied to our community.
Disregards international legal precedent, including the 1921 Malta Tribunals, which acquitted 144 Ottoman officials of war crimes; the United Nations, which has thrice declared it does not consider the Armenian case a genocide; and the European Court of Human Rights, which held that the Armenian case is an allegation and not a proven genocide.
In times when our nation is deeply divided, polarized with hatred and prejudice, and when hate crimes have become routine, including attacks against people of Turkish and Muslim heritage, we wish President Biden would have taken the lessons of April 24, 1915, to promote unifying reconciliation, rather than divisive accusations. President Biden's unfortunate statement is more about America than Turkey or the world. President Biden should have addressed our own past injustices in America before casting stones at others for events more than 100 years ago, thousands of miles away.