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VP BIDEN'S SENSATIONAL REVELATION OF PHONE CALLS WITH PRES. SARGSYAN
By Harut Sassounian
Tert.am
10:49 03.11.10
Armenians worldwide were scandalized last week by Vice President Joe
Biden's revelation that Pres. Sargsyan had told him: "look, do not
force this issue [Armenian Genocide recognition] now, while we are
in negotiations [with Turkey]."
Biden's statement posted later that day on YouTube --
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-vVX2B1H3k -- was so shocking that most
Armenians refused to believe that Pres. Sargsyan would have discouraged
the American President from recognizing the Armenian Genocide! Some
went as far as to question if the speaker shown on video was really
Biden, and if his words had been altered. Others wondered about the
identity of the young man conversing with Biden, suspecting him to
be an impostor or a foreign agent.
Given the far-reaching consequences of the words attributed to Pres.
Sargsyan, his press secretary immediately issued a categorical
denial. Two days later, the US Embassy in Armenia issued a
clarification/retraction. Taking into account these confusing and
contradictory statements, I will try to shed some light on the lesser
known aspects of this episode:
1) The young man speaking with VP Biden on YouTube is not an impostor.
He is an Armenian-American activist.
2) It is not widely known that right after Pres. Obama issued his
April 24, 2009 commemorative statement, Biden phoned three prominent
Armenian-Americans. He informed them that Pres. Obama had omitted
the Genocide word from his statement after Pres. Sargsyan gave his
consent during a phone call with the Vice President. Clearly, Biden
was using his conversation with Sargsyan to excuse Pres. Obama's
failure to keep his campaign promise to Armenian-Americans.
3) Biden repeated the same statement last week, this time on video. He
was trying to win over Armenian-Americans to support Democratic
candidates in the tightly contested November 2nd elections. When
the young man asked Biden what message did he have for the Armenian
community which was "burned" or deceived by Pres. Obama, the Vice
President reassured him that the administration was "not backing off"
from its promise on the Genocide. He added: "The Turks have to come
to the realization of what the reality is." Biden then conveniently
blamed Sargsyan for Pres. Obama's lack of acknowledgment of the
Armenian Genocide. The Vice President concluded his comments by
cynically stating with a chuckle: "Reality has a way of intruding."
4) Armen Arzumanian, Pres. Sargsyan's press secretary, issued a prompt
rebuttal, stating that the President "did not use the expression
ascribed to him in the video, directly or indirectly." Arzumanian
boldly called upon the White House to release the transcripts of
the two phone conversations between Pres. Sargsyan and VP Biden in
April 2009.
5) On October 29, the US Embassy in Armenia reacted by announcing that
during his two phone conversations with Biden in April 2009, "Pres.
Sargsyan did not raise the issue of the content of Pres. Obama's
statement for Armenian Remembrance Day or seek a delay in consideration
of House Resolution 252." This carefully worded statement was meant
to soothe the Armenian government's severe irritation at Biden's
surprising disclosures.
It would have been far more informative, however, had the U.S.
government released the transcripts of the two phone conversations
between Pres. Sargsyan and VP Biden. The Armenian side could have also
clarified matters by releasing its transcripts of the phone calls,
if they were taped, or a summary record. Furthermore, since the two
leaders were using an interpreter, it would be interesting to compare
Pres. Sargsyan's Armenian words with those translated into English -
which was what Biden actually heard!
In the absence of a transcript, outsiders have no knowledge of what
was actually said during these phone calls. Yet it is clear that
starting in early 2009, Obama administration officials were pressuring
the Armenian government to sign an agreement with Turkey, so they
could use it as an excuse for not recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
And that is exactly what happened, when Armenia and Turkey signed
a preliminary agreement, "a roadmap," on the eve of April 24, 2009.
Pres. Obama quickly capitalized on it. In his "Armenian Remembrance
Day" statement, he avoided the word genocide by claiming that Armenia
and Turkey "have agreed on a framework and roadmap for normalization."
The controversy regarding what Pres. Sargsyan may have told Vice
President Biden is one more unwelcome outcome of the Armenia-Turkey
Protocols. However, the video had the unintended side effect of
raising the Armenian Genocide issue to the highest echelons of the
U.S. government and received coverage by worldwide media. A week
before the Armenian activist's conversation with Vice President
Biden, Armine Babayan of Los Angeles also had an important personal
encounter. She had the rare opportunity to speak directly with Pres.
Obama about the Armenian Genocide during his campaign stop in Las
Vegas. Turkish denialists must not be too pleased that within one week
the President and Vice President of the United States were reminded
of their unfinished agenda on the Armenian Genocide.
From: A. Papazian
By Harut Sassounian
Tert.am
10:49 03.11.10
Armenians worldwide were scandalized last week by Vice President Joe
Biden's revelation that Pres. Sargsyan had told him: "look, do not
force this issue [Armenian Genocide recognition] now, while we are
in negotiations [with Turkey]."
Biden's statement posted later that day on YouTube --
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-vVX2B1H3k -- was so shocking that most
Armenians refused to believe that Pres. Sargsyan would have discouraged
the American President from recognizing the Armenian Genocide! Some
went as far as to question if the speaker shown on video was really
Biden, and if his words had been altered. Others wondered about the
identity of the young man conversing with Biden, suspecting him to
be an impostor or a foreign agent.
Given the far-reaching consequences of the words attributed to Pres.
Sargsyan, his press secretary immediately issued a categorical
denial. Two days later, the US Embassy in Armenia issued a
clarification/retraction. Taking into account these confusing and
contradictory statements, I will try to shed some light on the lesser
known aspects of this episode:
1) The young man speaking with VP Biden on YouTube is not an impostor.
He is an Armenian-American activist.
2) It is not widely known that right after Pres. Obama issued his
April 24, 2009 commemorative statement, Biden phoned three prominent
Armenian-Americans. He informed them that Pres. Obama had omitted
the Genocide word from his statement after Pres. Sargsyan gave his
consent during a phone call with the Vice President. Clearly, Biden
was using his conversation with Sargsyan to excuse Pres. Obama's
failure to keep his campaign promise to Armenian-Americans.
3) Biden repeated the same statement last week, this time on video. He
was trying to win over Armenian-Americans to support Democratic
candidates in the tightly contested November 2nd elections. When
the young man asked Biden what message did he have for the Armenian
community which was "burned" or deceived by Pres. Obama, the Vice
President reassured him that the administration was "not backing off"
from its promise on the Genocide. He added: "The Turks have to come
to the realization of what the reality is." Biden then conveniently
blamed Sargsyan for Pres. Obama's lack of acknowledgment of the
Armenian Genocide. The Vice President concluded his comments by
cynically stating with a chuckle: "Reality has a way of intruding."
4) Armen Arzumanian, Pres. Sargsyan's press secretary, issued a prompt
rebuttal, stating that the President "did not use the expression
ascribed to him in the video, directly or indirectly." Arzumanian
boldly called upon the White House to release the transcripts of
the two phone conversations between Pres. Sargsyan and VP Biden in
April 2009.
5) On October 29, the US Embassy in Armenia reacted by announcing that
during his two phone conversations with Biden in April 2009, "Pres.
Sargsyan did not raise the issue of the content of Pres. Obama's
statement for Armenian Remembrance Day or seek a delay in consideration
of House Resolution 252." This carefully worded statement was meant
to soothe the Armenian government's severe irritation at Biden's
surprising disclosures.
It would have been far more informative, however, had the U.S.
government released the transcripts of the two phone conversations
between Pres. Sargsyan and VP Biden. The Armenian side could have also
clarified matters by releasing its transcripts of the phone calls,
if they were taped, or a summary record. Furthermore, since the two
leaders were using an interpreter, it would be interesting to compare
Pres. Sargsyan's Armenian words with those translated into English -
which was what Biden actually heard!
In the absence of a transcript, outsiders have no knowledge of what
was actually said during these phone calls. Yet it is clear that
starting in early 2009, Obama administration officials were pressuring
the Armenian government to sign an agreement with Turkey, so they
could use it as an excuse for not recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
And that is exactly what happened, when Armenia and Turkey signed
a preliminary agreement, "a roadmap," on the eve of April 24, 2009.
Pres. Obama quickly capitalized on it. In his "Armenian Remembrance
Day" statement, he avoided the word genocide by claiming that Armenia
and Turkey "have agreed on a framework and roadmap for normalization."
The controversy regarding what Pres. Sargsyan may have told Vice
President Biden is one more unwelcome outcome of the Armenia-Turkey
Protocols. However, the video had the unintended side effect of
raising the Armenian Genocide issue to the highest echelons of the
U.S. government and received coverage by worldwide media. A week
before the Armenian activist's conversation with Vice President
Biden, Armine Babayan of Los Angeles also had an important personal
encounter. She had the rare opportunity to speak directly with Pres.
Obama about the Armenian Genocide during his campaign stop in Las
Vegas. Turkish denialists must not be too pleased that within one week
the President and Vice President of the United States were reminded
of their unfinished agenda on the Armenian Genocide.
From: A. Papazian