U.S. presidential candidates must express their clear-cut positions on the Armenian Genocide. As reported “Armenpress”, this is what independent researcher, member of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program of Zoryan Institute and former editor of the International Journal of Genocide Studies Samuel Totten declared in an interview with the official website of Zoryan Institute.

“For years, the United States of America has avoided recognizing the Armenian Genocide and continues to do so, based on political expediency. Such a stance of the U.S. is directly the opposite of Germany’s example. On June 2, the German Bundestag not only acknowledged the involvement of its own nation in the events of 1915, but also called this human tragedy by its name-genocide. The Bundestag’s voting should set a brilliant example for other nations that still have the same positions as the U.S.,” he said.

According to the genocide scholar, the current U.S. government should learn from the past. “It can adopt values from its ancestors, particularly Henry Morgenthau, who was U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the years of the genocide and had informed then U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lancing about the slaughter of the Armenians. After that, Morgenthau and the U.S. government started making efforts in different directions. After WWII, they geared those large-scale efforts towards organizing fundraisers that raised nearly millions and providing the funds to those in need.

In other words, the U.S. government and the American people refused to support the annihilation of the Armenians. They refused to deny that historical fact,” he stated. According to Samuel Totten, the reason why the U.S. government has the current position is because it is giving in to Turkey’s pressure.

“Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is now not simply a moral issue for the U.S., but a matter of the reliability of the country. How can the U.S. condemn the violations of human rights in other countries and apply sanctions when it can’t honestly confront the irrefutable historical fact? It isn’t too late for President Obama. He can save his reputation and credibility towards the country by internationally recognizing the Armenian Genocide. This is the right time,” Samuel Totten emphasized.