Why is “genocide” such a hard word to say?

If you have been following our blog over the past couple of weeks (click here, here, or here to read), you’ll know that we were encouraging the US president to follow through with his campaign promise to recognize the mass killings of Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the last century as a “genocide.”

Perhaps you are wondering why is the use of the word “genocide” so significant?

Salil Tripathi in The Washington Post explains why governments fight so hard not to have their actions labelled as genocide and why diplomats are so hesitant to use the word when describing atrocities.  Check out the article, The Trouble With the 'Genocide' Label, posted today (April 28, 2009). I think you will find it helpful.