Harsh response from the Turkish Foreign Minister to Biden’s statement on the Armenian genocide

April 24 marks the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which is still denied by the Turkish state. Among the more than thirty states that officially recognized the genocide, the Mexican Senate was the last participating country. While genocide commemoration events were banned by the Turkish authorities, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) commemorated those who lost their lives in the genocide. Turkish officials react furious to those who make statements about the Armenian genocide inside and outside the country.

One of the politicians who commemorated those who lost their lives in the genocide was US President Joe Biden. “Today, we pause to remember the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern – the Armenian Genocide – and renew our pledge to never forget,” reads the statement published on the official website of the White House. Biden, who referred to April 24, 1915 as the beginning of a systematic campaign of violence against the Armenian community, called the genocide a tragedy that has affected Armenian families for generations. He ended his statement with the following words: “Today, let us renew this pledge. Let us recommit to speaking out against hate, standing up for human rights, and preventing atrocities. And together, let us redouble our efforts to forge a better future—one where all people can live with dignity, security, and respect.”

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, on the other hand, responded to the genocide commemoration of Joe Biden with a harsh tone on Twitter: “Yet another attempt by political charlatans to distort history! Politically-driven statements cannot change the facts. Those intentionally insisting on their mistakes are destined to be remembered as hypocrites. No one shall dare to lecture us on our history.” The Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag also shared a tweet on his official account on the day the genocide was commemorated: “There is no genocide in the history of the Turkish nation and any Turkish State. The so-called Armenian genocide is a huge slander against our ancestors. Neither history nor historical truths can be changed by slander. I condemn those who slander us about genocide, those who say it, and those who repeat it.”

Despite all the bans, the Human Rights Association (İHD) held a press release on April 24 to commemorate the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The statement, read by İHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin, included a call for the recognition of the genocide: “Demands, requests and wishes of Armenians who were displaced from their homeland and scattered all over the world as a result of the genocide, should be met for the compensation of their countless losses. Denial is an obstacle in front of such a process of reparation and justice. For this reason, we’ve been making a call for years: Recognize the genocide, apologize, recompense!”