President Obama on Friday marked the anniversary of the Ottoman Turks’ massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 but once again stopped short of labeling it a genocide . “ Today we solemnly reflect on the first mass atrocity of the 20th century — the Armenian Meds Yeghern — when one and a half million Armenian people were deported , massacred life.die.deathcausedbyviolentevents , and marched to their deaths , ” he said in a statement . ADVERTISEMENT The statement came on the final Armenian Remembrance Day of Obama 's presidency .