CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge in Chicago has marked the centennial of the start of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan (der-YAY’-ge-yuhn) is of Armenian descent and organized Friday’s commemoration of the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenians in what is widely viewed as the first genocide of the 20th century. The 63-year-old had relatives who died in the violence.
Attendees included U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, U.S. Rep. Bob Dold and members of the region’s Armenian-American community.
Dold said it was “disappointing” President Barack Obama didn’t follow other world leaders who used the term “genocide” to describe the killings. Turkey denies genocide occurred.
As a presidential candidate, Obama used the term “genocide.” But he’s shied away from that description as president, mainly out of deference to Turkey.
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