Tweet
ANCA TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: "DO THE RIGHT THING. RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE"
Asbarez
Dec 7th, 2009
White House meeting with Erdogan takes place as Armenian Americans
continue call-in campaign urging Obama to honor his Armenian Genocide
Pledge
US President Barack Obama meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in Washington on Dec. 7, 2009.
WASHINGTON-Armenian Americans made the final push in their month-long
Countdown to Erdogan with a White House call-in day urging President
Barack Obama to honor his campaign pledge by telling visiting Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that the U.S. condemns the Armenian
Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America, (ANCA).
"In April, President Obama missed an opportunity to reclaim the moral
high ground on ending the cycle of genocide," stated ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian. "Today, in his meeting with Prime Minister
Erdogan, we urge President Obama to 'get it right' - by recognizing
the Armenian Genocide and urging Turkey's leadership to do the same."
The ANCA Executive Director had expressed concerns about Prime
Minister Erdogan's efforts to use the meeting with Obama to continue
U.S. complicity in Armenian Genocide denial:
"Prime Minister Erdogan - having succeeded in using the Ankara-inspired
Protocols to enlist the cooperation of yet another U.S. Administration
into its campaign to block recognition of the Armenian Genocide -
is now coming to Washington to cement his gains and further press
his advantage," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
"High on his agenda, it seems, will be showcasing Turkey's public
disregard for President Obama's twin priorities for Armenia-Turkey
normalization, namely that they be established without preconditions
and within a reasonable time-frame. Today, more than seven months
after our President's speech in Ankara - during which he broke his
pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide - it's patently clear that
Turkey has in fact imposed preconditions, will not act in a reasonable
time-frame, and, more broadly, views this entire process as simply
a way to extend U.S. complicity in Turkey's denials from one April
24th to the next," added Hamparian.
Countdown to Erdogan Campaign Channels Armenian American Concerns to
White House, Congress, and Media
Armenian Americans concerned about the Obama-Erdogan agenda have
participated in the ANCA's "Countdown to Erdogan" campaign - the
month-long grassroots initiative to encourage President Obama to
challenge Turkey's Prime Minister with the facts of the Armenian
Genocide during their December 7th White House meeting.
The "Countdown" has generated media coverage in the U.S., Turkey, and
Armenia, and, as participation in the campaign grew with each passing
week, it came under increasingly heavy attack from the Turkish lobby.
The United Press International reported, on December 1st, that, "The
Armenian National Committee of America stepped up its lobbying efforts
ahead of the [Erdogan] visit, calling on its supporters to contact
their Washington representatives to encourage Obama to make true on
his campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide." The Turkish
Coalition publicly criticized the campaign as a political "blitzkrieg."
The final days of the effort are devoted to calling directly on
President Obama - through phone calls, letters, and social networking
vehicles - to honor his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide
and urging him to demonstrate resolve in working to end the ongoing
cycle of genocide and denial. The calls are increasingly important
following a letter issued by President Obama last week praising the
Turkey-Armenia protocols, and once again, refraining to properly
characterize that crime against humanity.
Asbarez
Dec 7th, 2009
White House meeting with Erdogan takes place as Armenian Americans
continue call-in campaign urging Obama to honor his Armenian Genocide
Pledge
US President Barack Obama meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in Washington on Dec. 7, 2009.
WASHINGTON-Armenian Americans made the final push in their month-long
Countdown to Erdogan with a White House call-in day urging President
Barack Obama to honor his campaign pledge by telling visiting Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that the U.S. condemns the Armenian
Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America, (ANCA).
"In April, President Obama missed an opportunity to reclaim the moral
high ground on ending the cycle of genocide," stated ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian. "Today, in his meeting with Prime Minister
Erdogan, we urge President Obama to 'get it right' - by recognizing
the Armenian Genocide and urging Turkey's leadership to do the same."
The ANCA Executive Director had expressed concerns about Prime
Minister Erdogan's efforts to use the meeting with Obama to continue
U.S. complicity in Armenian Genocide denial:
"Prime Minister Erdogan - having succeeded in using the Ankara-inspired
Protocols to enlist the cooperation of yet another U.S. Administration
into its campaign to block recognition of the Armenian Genocide -
is now coming to Washington to cement his gains and further press
his advantage," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
"High on his agenda, it seems, will be showcasing Turkey's public
disregard for President Obama's twin priorities for Armenia-Turkey
normalization, namely that they be established without preconditions
and within a reasonable time-frame. Today, more than seven months
after our President's speech in Ankara - during which he broke his
pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide - it's patently clear that
Turkey has in fact imposed preconditions, will not act in a reasonable
time-frame, and, more broadly, views this entire process as simply
a way to extend U.S. complicity in Turkey's denials from one April
24th to the next," added Hamparian.
Countdown to Erdogan Campaign Channels Armenian American Concerns to
White House, Congress, and Media
Armenian Americans concerned about the Obama-Erdogan agenda have
participated in the ANCA's "Countdown to Erdogan" campaign - the
month-long grassroots initiative to encourage President Obama to
challenge Turkey's Prime Minister with the facts of the Armenian
Genocide during their December 7th White House meeting.
The "Countdown" has generated media coverage in the U.S., Turkey, and
Armenia, and, as participation in the campaign grew with each passing
week, it came under increasingly heavy attack from the Turkish lobby.
The United Press International reported, on December 1st, that, "The
Armenian National Committee of America stepped up its lobbying efforts
ahead of the [Erdogan] visit, calling on its supporters to contact
their Washington representatives to encourage Obama to make true on
his campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide." The Turkish
Coalition publicly criticized the campaign as a political "blitzkrieg."
The final days of the effort are devoted to calling directly on
President Obama - through phone calls, letters, and social networking
vehicles - to honor his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide
and urging him to demonstrate resolve in working to end the ongoing
cycle of genocide and denial. The calls are increasingly important
following a letter issued by President Obama last week praising the
Turkey-Armenia protocols, and once again, refraining to properly
characterize that crime against humanity.