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THOUSANDS PROTEST OBAMA'S RETREAT FROM PLEDGE AT TURKEY'S CONSULATE IN LA
ALLEN YEKIKAN
www.asbarez.com/index.html?showarticle=41 912_4/28/2009_1
Monday, April 27, 2009
Community Urges Administration to Correct Policy on Genocide
LOS ANGELES--Over 10,000 people demonstrated at the Turkish Consulate
in Los Angeles on April 24, demanding an end to Turkey's ongoing
denial of the Armenian Genocide and voicing sharp disappointment
at US President Barack Obama for breaking his campaign pledge to
properly recognize the crime against humanity in his address to the
Armenian-American community.
The demonstration, organized annually by the Armenian Youth Federation
(AYF), is a symbolic focal point for the community and represents
its year-long struggle to gain proper recognition and justice for
the deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish
Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.
The protest converged with global expectations pertaining to President
Obama's numerous campaign pledges to reaffirm the U.S. record
on the Armenian Genocide. Turkey had repeatedly threatened to
retaliate against US interests in Iraq and Afghanistan in response
to U.S. recognition of its crime.
This year, the United States had the best chance in a generation to
help end the cycle of genocide with President Obama having been a
forceful proponent of genocide recognition and prevention. "America
deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and
responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President,"
Obama said during his campaign.
"But today, the President broke his promise to bring change to
the White House on the issue of Genocide," said one demonstrator,
holding a sign that asked why Obama retreated from his pledge. "The
President's failure to accurately characterize the Genocide after
having spoken forcefully about ending the Genocide in Darfur will
undermine his credibility when speaking about the issue of genocide."
Many at the demonstration shared this disappointment, angered by the
fact that Turkey was again able to coax the United States of America
into silence.
Obama's failure to speak truth to power angered many Armenians this
year, who had begun their day optimistic that he would rectify the
wrongs of previous administrations, according to Avo Shanlian, who
served as a monitor at the demonstration.
For decades, the government of Turkey has been engaged in a pro-active,
relentless, and shameless campaign to deny the horrors it committed
during the Genocide. In the last thirty years, Turkey has redoubled
its efforts to erase history, leveraging high-level contacts in the
defense industry; enticing support from journalists who propagate
Turkey's "importance as a key ally"; and hiring professional lobby
firms and such high profile former congressman as Dick Ghephardt,
Bob Livingston, and Denis Hastert to bribe US representatives and
leaders into staying silent.
"Turkey's threats to retaliate against us for speaking against genocide
tells us more about Turkey and its own domestic problems than it does
about the Armenian Genocide, which we all know to be an established
fact of history," said Saro Haroun, a spokesperson for the AYF, who
spoke to reporters covering the demonstration about Turkey's annual
attempts to prevent the US from reaffirming its record on the Genocide.
Another demonstrator, Ileen Izekelian, said America's stand
against genocide must be driven by moral values, not political
interests. Turkish officials, from the President to the Foreign
Minister, had repeatedly warned President Obama to steer clear of the
issue or face retaliation by Turkey. Ankara threatened to sabotage
US efforts to leave Iraq and break off negotiations with Armenia
over the establishment of diplomatic relations and the lifting of
its illegal blockade.
Ankara has been using its talks with Yerevan to scuttle
international recognition of the Armenian genocide, explained
Sarkis Semerjian. "Throughout the entire process, Turkey has been
placing preconditions on Armenia, demanding Yerevan drop efforts to
recognize the Genocide and agree to establish a historical commission
to ostensibly examine the events of 1915-1923.
" Such a commission seeks to question the veracity of the Genocide--a
crime widely accepted by historians as a settled and indisputable fact.
Last Friday's protest came two days after the Armenian and Turkish
Foreign Ministries issued a joint statement announcing the two
governments had agreed on a "roadmap" for normalizing bilateral
relations. The cryptic statement is seen as a tacit green light
to Obama to not recognize the Genocide, a move most in Armenia and
its worldwide diaspora have categorically condemned as a diplomatic
blunder.
"Given its past practice and the obvious timing of this agreement just
prior to April 24th, Turkey's motive is absolutely clear--to defer,
delay, and defeat U.S. recognition of the Genocide," exclaimed Arek
Santikian, another spokesperson of the AYF.
"I am skeptical of Turkey's willingness to sincerely engage in
meaningful dialogue. It's hard to believe that Turkey has in any
meaningful way altered its longstanding belligerence toward Armenians,
which it oppresses within its own country by making it a crime to
discuss the Genocide," he said, expressing disappointment both with
Obama and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian. "The release of the
statement on the eve of the 94th anniversary of the Genocide and
right before Obama was expected to recognize the Genocide is a blow
to Armenia, the Armenian people and worldwide efforts to end the
genocide in Darfur."
Many at the event described Obama's April 24 statement as a "retreat"
from American values and a setback to the vital change he promised
to bring to Washington during his campaign.
Hilton Sorkazian likened the President's handling of the situation
with how the Bush administration tiptoed around the issue every
April 24. George Bush repeatedly reneged on his campaign pledge to
recognize the Genocide. Placating Turkish interests, Bush personally
lobbied members of Congress in 2007 to prevent them from passing a
resolution reaffirming the US record on the Armenian Genocide.
"Our struggle does not begin or end with one day; it does not being
or end with the Turkish Consulate; and it does not begin or end with
any statements by Barack Obama," exclaimed the Chairman of the AYF,
Vache Thomassian, in a speech during the protest.
Thomassian honored the memory of Ghazaros Kademian, a Genocide survivor
who regularly attended the demonstration until his death earlier this
year at the age of 102. "It is for Ghazaros' generation as well as
our future generations that we fight [for recognition and prevention]."
"The community's struggle is built on a desire for justice for the
lives that were lost, the properties that were taken and the lands that
have been occupied," he continued, stressing that Turkey's assertion
that Genocide recognition will stifle reconciliation with Armenia is
a hoax. "No pathetic attempt to normalize relations between Armenia
and Turkey can be sincere without recognizing the Genocide."
Speaking to Asbarez after the protest, Thomassian said the AYF,
and the Armenian- American community, now look to Barack Obama to
end the semantics by speaking truthfully on the issue by properly
condemning and commemorating the crime. "We urge our President to
make a speedy and public correction to his Administration's policy
on the Armenian Genocide."
Shunt Jarchafjian, a member of the AYF Central Executive who delivered
a speech at the protest in Armenian, told Asbarez he expects Obama
to work toward the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
introduced in Congress earlier in March.
"The resolution has over a hundred co-sponsors now and the community
should redouble its grassroots efforts to ensure that support for the
bi-partisan legislation grows to secure its passage," he said. "Obama
missed yet another opportunity and should now give full support to
congressional efforts to recognize the Genocide."
ALLEN YEKIKAN
www.asbarez.com/index.html?showarticle=41 912_4/28/2009_1
Monday, April 27, 2009
Community Urges Administration to Correct Policy on Genocide
LOS ANGELES--Over 10,000 people demonstrated at the Turkish Consulate
in Los Angeles on April 24, demanding an end to Turkey's ongoing
denial of the Armenian Genocide and voicing sharp disappointment
at US President Barack Obama for breaking his campaign pledge to
properly recognize the crime against humanity in his address to the
Armenian-American community.
The demonstration, organized annually by the Armenian Youth Federation
(AYF), is a symbolic focal point for the community and represents
its year-long struggle to gain proper recognition and justice for
the deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish
Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.
The protest converged with global expectations pertaining to President
Obama's numerous campaign pledges to reaffirm the U.S. record
on the Armenian Genocide. Turkey had repeatedly threatened to
retaliate against US interests in Iraq and Afghanistan in response
to U.S. recognition of its crime.
This year, the United States had the best chance in a generation to
help end the cycle of genocide with President Obama having been a
forceful proponent of genocide recognition and prevention. "America
deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and
responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President,"
Obama said during his campaign.
"But today, the President broke his promise to bring change to
the White House on the issue of Genocide," said one demonstrator,
holding a sign that asked why Obama retreated from his pledge. "The
President's failure to accurately characterize the Genocide after
having spoken forcefully about ending the Genocide in Darfur will
undermine his credibility when speaking about the issue of genocide."
Many at the demonstration shared this disappointment, angered by the
fact that Turkey was again able to coax the United States of America
into silence.
Obama's failure to speak truth to power angered many Armenians this
year, who had begun their day optimistic that he would rectify the
wrongs of previous administrations, according to Avo Shanlian, who
served as a monitor at the demonstration.
For decades, the government of Turkey has been engaged in a pro-active,
relentless, and shameless campaign to deny the horrors it committed
during the Genocide. In the last thirty years, Turkey has redoubled
its efforts to erase history, leveraging high-level contacts in the
defense industry; enticing support from journalists who propagate
Turkey's "importance as a key ally"; and hiring professional lobby
firms and such high profile former congressman as Dick Ghephardt,
Bob Livingston, and Denis Hastert to bribe US representatives and
leaders into staying silent.
"Turkey's threats to retaliate against us for speaking against genocide
tells us more about Turkey and its own domestic problems than it does
about the Armenian Genocide, which we all know to be an established
fact of history," said Saro Haroun, a spokesperson for the AYF, who
spoke to reporters covering the demonstration about Turkey's annual
attempts to prevent the US from reaffirming its record on the Genocide.
Another demonstrator, Ileen Izekelian, said America's stand
against genocide must be driven by moral values, not political
interests. Turkish officials, from the President to the Foreign
Minister, had repeatedly warned President Obama to steer clear of the
issue or face retaliation by Turkey. Ankara threatened to sabotage
US efforts to leave Iraq and break off negotiations with Armenia
over the establishment of diplomatic relations and the lifting of
its illegal blockade.
Ankara has been using its talks with Yerevan to scuttle
international recognition of the Armenian genocide, explained
Sarkis Semerjian. "Throughout the entire process, Turkey has been
placing preconditions on Armenia, demanding Yerevan drop efforts to
recognize the Genocide and agree to establish a historical commission
to ostensibly examine the events of 1915-1923.
" Such a commission seeks to question the veracity of the Genocide--a
crime widely accepted by historians as a settled and indisputable fact.
Last Friday's protest came two days after the Armenian and Turkish
Foreign Ministries issued a joint statement announcing the two
governments had agreed on a "roadmap" for normalizing bilateral
relations. The cryptic statement is seen as a tacit green light
to Obama to not recognize the Genocide, a move most in Armenia and
its worldwide diaspora have categorically condemned as a diplomatic
blunder.
"Given its past practice and the obvious timing of this agreement just
prior to April 24th, Turkey's motive is absolutely clear--to defer,
delay, and defeat U.S. recognition of the Genocide," exclaimed Arek
Santikian, another spokesperson of the AYF.
"I am skeptical of Turkey's willingness to sincerely engage in
meaningful dialogue. It's hard to believe that Turkey has in any
meaningful way altered its longstanding belligerence toward Armenians,
which it oppresses within its own country by making it a crime to
discuss the Genocide," he said, expressing disappointment both with
Obama and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian. "The release of the
statement on the eve of the 94th anniversary of the Genocide and
right before Obama was expected to recognize the Genocide is a blow
to Armenia, the Armenian people and worldwide efforts to end the
genocide in Darfur."
Many at the event described Obama's April 24 statement as a "retreat"
from American values and a setback to the vital change he promised
to bring to Washington during his campaign.
Hilton Sorkazian likened the President's handling of the situation
with how the Bush administration tiptoed around the issue every
April 24. George Bush repeatedly reneged on his campaign pledge to
recognize the Genocide. Placating Turkish interests, Bush personally
lobbied members of Congress in 2007 to prevent them from passing a
resolution reaffirming the US record on the Armenian Genocide.
"Our struggle does not begin or end with one day; it does not being
or end with the Turkish Consulate; and it does not begin or end with
any statements by Barack Obama," exclaimed the Chairman of the AYF,
Vache Thomassian, in a speech during the protest.
Thomassian honored the memory of Ghazaros Kademian, a Genocide survivor
who regularly attended the demonstration until his death earlier this
year at the age of 102. "It is for Ghazaros' generation as well as
our future generations that we fight [for recognition and prevention]."
"The community's struggle is built on a desire for justice for the
lives that were lost, the properties that were taken and the lands that
have been occupied," he continued, stressing that Turkey's assertion
that Genocide recognition will stifle reconciliation with Armenia is
a hoax. "No pathetic attempt to normalize relations between Armenia
and Turkey can be sincere without recognizing the Genocide."
Speaking to Asbarez after the protest, Thomassian said the AYF,
and the Armenian- American community, now look to Barack Obama to
end the semantics by speaking truthfully on the issue by properly
condemning and commemorating the crime. "We urge our President to
make a speedy and public correction to his Administration's policy
on the Armenian Genocide."
Shunt Jarchafjian, a member of the AYF Central Executive who delivered
a speech at the protest in Armenian, told Asbarez he expects Obama
to work toward the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
introduced in Congress earlier in March.
"The resolution has over a hundred co-sponsors now and the community
should redouble its grassroots efforts to ensure that support for the
bi-partisan legislation grows to secure its passage," he said. "Obama
missed yet another opportunity and should now give full support to
congressional efforts to recognize the Genocide."