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ANCA WITHHOLDS SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2012-10-19-anca-withholds-support-for-presidential-candidates-
Published: Friday October 19, 2012
President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney.
Washington - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
announced today that neither President Barack Obama (D) nor former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) has earned the Armenian
American community's formal backing heading into the November 6th
presidential election.
"Neither Barack Obama, who turned his back on the multiple promises
he made on Armenian American issues, nor Mitt Romney, who as a former
Governor of Massachusetts, has no evident public record on issues of
special concern to our community, has earned the support of Armenian
American voters," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "At the level
of our Executive Branch of government, despite substantial progress
in Congress, among state governments, within the media, and across
so much of American civil society, our country's federal policies
on Armenian American issues, sadly, remains hostage to the dictates
of foreign officials, in Ankara and Baku. While we remain open to
constructive engagement with both campaigns, we have no plans at this
time to issue an ANCA endorsement this Presidential election cycle."
The ANCA holds that neither Presidential candidate has earned the
formal support of the Armenian American community, and, as such,
presently has no plans to issue a 2012 endorsement in the race for
the White House. At the same time, the ANCA remains ready and eager
to represent the Armenian American views and values to the winner
this November, and to continue to assertively engage with the White
House, National Security Council, State Department, and all other
foreign policy stakeholders and press for progress on the full range
of issues on the ANCA advocacy agenda.
President Obama came into office, having earned the ANCA's 2008
endorsement and broad-based support among Armenian American voters
through his track record in the U.S. Senate and his repeated pledges
to recognize the Armenian Genocide and to work for a range of
other issues of special concern to Armenian Americans, among them
a self-determination driven solution to Nagorno Karabakh, and a
commitment to remain actively engaged with Armenian American leaders.
Once in office, President Obama's Armenian Genocide pledge -
explicitly, repeatedly, and unambiguously stated - were quickly
betrayed, a reversal dramatically compounded, within his first 90
days in office, by his Administration's arm-twisting of Yerevan into a
pre-April 24th Road Map and subsequent Protocols project designed to
give him political cover for breaching this covenant with American
voters. Among the most notable examples of his betrayed pledge
were his Administration's opposition to Congressional recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
unchallenged statement dismissing the Armenian Genocide as a matter
for historical debate. The President first signaled that he would
break his pledge during a March 2009 speech in the Turkish Parliament
during which he chose not to use the term Armenian Genocide in calling
upon Turkey to address its past, but did note that his "personal"
views in support of Armenian Genocide recognition remained unchanged.
The President fell short of his promises in other areas as well. He
did not, as promised, seek "a lasting settlement for Nagorno-Karabakh
based upon America's founding commitment to the principles of
democracy and self determination," instead choosing to use his
recess appointment power to send Matthew Bryza, a pro-Baku biased
diplomat with conflict-of-interest issues, as the U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan. In addition, during his four years in office, despite his
promise to maintain aid, President Obama sought to cut assistance to
Armenia. Although he committed, as a candidate, to foster increased
trade with Armenia, he failed to take any meaningful steps to
increase bilateral commerce. Compounding all these policy reversals
was his failure to honor his pledge to remain actively engaged with
the Armenian American community. Not once during his four years in
office did he meet with Armenian American leaders.
The Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, former Governor
of Massachusetts, home to one of the nation's oldest and most vibrant
Armenian American communities, has no evident public record on Armenian
issues from his four-year tenure as Governor or his two campaigns for
the White House. He has also not reached out, in any meaningful way,
to meet or consult with the Armenian American community's leadership.
To date, neither Governor Romney nor President Obama has responded
to repeated ANCA written requests that they reach out to Armenian
American voters by outlining their views on issues of special concern
to a politically active community spread out across a number of pivotal
swing states. The ANCA has repeatedly reached out to both candidates,
inviting them to meet with Armenian American leaders and publicly
address the concerns of this politically active electoral constituency.
Last week, two of the leading Greek and Armenian American advocacy
organizations, representing nearly five million citizens from across
the United States, jointly called upon President Barack Obama and
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney to end their silence
on Armenian and Greek issues and outline their views: "As two of
the leading Greek and Armenian American advocacy organizations,
we join together today in calling upon President Obama and Governor
Romney to publicly present the specific principles, priorities, and
policies that would guide their Administration's actions on issues
of special concern to our nation's nearly 5 million citizens of
Greek and Armenian heritage," said American Hellenic Institute (AHI)
President Nick Larigakis and Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
The ANCA, in the coming days, will issue a full array of Congressional
endorsements, accompanied by a detailed ANCA Legislative Report Card
for every incumbent member of the U.S. House and Senate. Each federal
legislator is assigned an ANCA Grade that reflects his or her support
for a broad range of Armenian American concerns.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2012-10-19-anca-withholds-support-for-presidential-candidates-
Published: Friday October 19, 2012
President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney.
Washington - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
announced today that neither President Barack Obama (D) nor former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) has earned the Armenian
American community's formal backing heading into the November 6th
presidential election.
"Neither Barack Obama, who turned his back on the multiple promises
he made on Armenian American issues, nor Mitt Romney, who as a former
Governor of Massachusetts, has no evident public record on issues of
special concern to our community, has earned the support of Armenian
American voters," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "At the level
of our Executive Branch of government, despite substantial progress
in Congress, among state governments, within the media, and across
so much of American civil society, our country's federal policies
on Armenian American issues, sadly, remains hostage to the dictates
of foreign officials, in Ankara and Baku. While we remain open to
constructive engagement with both campaigns, we have no plans at this
time to issue an ANCA endorsement this Presidential election cycle."
The ANCA holds that neither Presidential candidate has earned the
formal support of the Armenian American community, and, as such,
presently has no plans to issue a 2012 endorsement in the race for
the White House. At the same time, the ANCA remains ready and eager
to represent the Armenian American views and values to the winner
this November, and to continue to assertively engage with the White
House, National Security Council, State Department, and all other
foreign policy stakeholders and press for progress on the full range
of issues on the ANCA advocacy agenda.
President Obama came into office, having earned the ANCA's 2008
endorsement and broad-based support among Armenian American voters
through his track record in the U.S. Senate and his repeated pledges
to recognize the Armenian Genocide and to work for a range of
other issues of special concern to Armenian Americans, among them
a self-determination driven solution to Nagorno Karabakh, and a
commitment to remain actively engaged with Armenian American leaders.
Once in office, President Obama's Armenian Genocide pledge -
explicitly, repeatedly, and unambiguously stated - were quickly
betrayed, a reversal dramatically compounded, within his first 90
days in office, by his Administration's arm-twisting of Yerevan into a
pre-April 24th Road Map and subsequent Protocols project designed to
give him political cover for breaching this covenant with American
voters. Among the most notable examples of his betrayed pledge
were his Administration's opposition to Congressional recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
unchallenged statement dismissing the Armenian Genocide as a matter
for historical debate. The President first signaled that he would
break his pledge during a March 2009 speech in the Turkish Parliament
during which he chose not to use the term Armenian Genocide in calling
upon Turkey to address its past, but did note that his "personal"
views in support of Armenian Genocide recognition remained unchanged.
The President fell short of his promises in other areas as well. He
did not, as promised, seek "a lasting settlement for Nagorno-Karabakh
based upon America's founding commitment to the principles of
democracy and self determination," instead choosing to use his
recess appointment power to send Matthew Bryza, a pro-Baku biased
diplomat with conflict-of-interest issues, as the U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan. In addition, during his four years in office, despite his
promise to maintain aid, President Obama sought to cut assistance to
Armenia. Although he committed, as a candidate, to foster increased
trade with Armenia, he failed to take any meaningful steps to
increase bilateral commerce. Compounding all these policy reversals
was his failure to honor his pledge to remain actively engaged with
the Armenian American community. Not once during his four years in
office did he meet with Armenian American leaders.
The Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, former Governor
of Massachusetts, home to one of the nation's oldest and most vibrant
Armenian American communities, has no evident public record on Armenian
issues from his four-year tenure as Governor or his two campaigns for
the White House. He has also not reached out, in any meaningful way,
to meet or consult with the Armenian American community's leadership.
To date, neither Governor Romney nor President Obama has responded
to repeated ANCA written requests that they reach out to Armenian
American voters by outlining their views on issues of special concern
to a politically active community spread out across a number of pivotal
swing states. The ANCA has repeatedly reached out to both candidates,
inviting them to meet with Armenian American leaders and publicly
address the concerns of this politically active electoral constituency.
Last week, two of the leading Greek and Armenian American advocacy
organizations, representing nearly five million citizens from across
the United States, jointly called upon President Barack Obama and
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney to end their silence
on Armenian and Greek issues and outline their views: "As two of
the leading Greek and Armenian American advocacy organizations,
we join together today in calling upon President Obama and Governor
Romney to publicly present the specific principles, priorities, and
policies that would guide their Administration's actions on issues
of special concern to our nation's nearly 5 million citizens of
Greek and Armenian heritage," said American Hellenic Institute (AHI)
President Nick Larigakis and Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
The ANCA, in the coming days, will issue a full array of Congressional
endorsements, accompanied by a detailed ANCA Legislative Report Card
for every incumbent member of the U.S. House and Senate. Each federal
legislator is assigned an ANCA Grade that reflects his or her support
for a broad range of Armenian American concerns.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress