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ARMENIAN ORPHAN RUG, STEEPED IN CONTROVERSY, MAY GO ON DISPLAY
The Los Angeles Times
April 30 2014
Richard Simon
April 30, 2014, 6:00 a.m.
Reporting from Washington--
A rug woven by orphans of the Armenian genocide -- and the subject
of modern-day political controversy -- may be put on display after
years in White House storage.
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) said the White House has committed
to exhibit the rug at a yet-to-be-determined event.
"They finally have made the commitment," he said in an interview. "And
we're looking forward to its display."
But Aram S. Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National
Committee of America, said he will believe it when he sees the rug.
"The White House has been sending out false signals about a future
showing ever since the controversy surrounding its cancellation of
last December's Smithsonian exhibit, so we remain, quite naturally,
reserved in welcoming progress until we have actually seen this
artwork allowed on public display," he said.
A White House decision last year to cancel a Smithsonian display
of the rug caused a furor, with Hamparian at the time accusing the
administration of "catering to the Turkish government's sensitivities
about the Armenian genocide." A number of lawmakers, including some
from California with large Armenian American constituencies, also
were upset.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks as
the empire was dissolving during World War I, an episode historians
have concluded was genocide. But Turkey has contended that Turks and
Armenians were casualties of war, famine and disease.
The roughly 12-by-18-foot Armenian Orphan Rug was to be featured in
an exhibit to call attention to a new book about the rug.
But the White House said the rug's display "in connection with
a private book launch event, as proposed, would have been an
inappropriate use of U.S. government property, would have required
the White House to undertake the risk of transporting the rug for
limited public exposure and was not viewed as commensurate with the
rug's historical significance."
Woven by orphans of the mass killings nearly a century ago, the
rug was presented to President Coolidge in 1925 in appreciation for
American aid.
It was brought out of storage in 1995 for viewing by one of its aging
weavers, according to the Armenian National Committee of America,
but it has not been on put on broader public display for decades.
At the White House, National Security Council spokeswoman Laura
Lucas Magnuson said in an email Tuesday: "We've been working with
Congressman Schiff on this issue for several months and appreciate
his working with us to showcase this important artifact in a way
that appropriately highlights the spirit in which it was given to
the White House for U.S. involvement in assisting Armenian refugees."
Schiff said he hopes to see the rug on public display as early as
this fall.
Earlier this year, Schiff sought the rug for an "educational" event
on Capitol Hill, but the congressman's office said it never received
a response from the White House, and the event ultimately was canceled
because of a snowstorm.
Resolutions have been introduced in Congress over the years to
recognize the mass killings between 1915 and 1918 as genocide. But
the measures have run into resistance amid fears they would damage U.S.
relations with Turkey, an important ally.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-armenian-rug-white-house-20140430,0,1080767.story#axzz30PFwFEP9
The Los Angeles Times
April 30 2014
Richard Simon
April 30, 2014, 6:00 a.m.
Reporting from Washington--
A rug woven by orphans of the Armenian genocide -- and the subject
of modern-day political controversy -- may be put on display after
years in White House storage.
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) said the White House has committed
to exhibit the rug at a yet-to-be-determined event.
"They finally have made the commitment," he said in an interview. "And
we're looking forward to its display."
But Aram S. Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National
Committee of America, said he will believe it when he sees the rug.
"The White House has been sending out false signals about a future
showing ever since the controversy surrounding its cancellation of
last December's Smithsonian exhibit, so we remain, quite naturally,
reserved in welcoming progress until we have actually seen this
artwork allowed on public display," he said.
A White House decision last year to cancel a Smithsonian display
of the rug caused a furor, with Hamparian at the time accusing the
administration of "catering to the Turkish government's sensitivities
about the Armenian genocide." A number of lawmakers, including some
from California with large Armenian American constituencies, also
were upset.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks as
the empire was dissolving during World War I, an episode historians
have concluded was genocide. But Turkey has contended that Turks and
Armenians were casualties of war, famine and disease.
The roughly 12-by-18-foot Armenian Orphan Rug was to be featured in
an exhibit to call attention to a new book about the rug.
But the White House said the rug's display "in connection with
a private book launch event, as proposed, would have been an
inappropriate use of U.S. government property, would have required
the White House to undertake the risk of transporting the rug for
limited public exposure and was not viewed as commensurate with the
rug's historical significance."
Woven by orphans of the mass killings nearly a century ago, the
rug was presented to President Coolidge in 1925 in appreciation for
American aid.
It was brought out of storage in 1995 for viewing by one of its aging
weavers, according to the Armenian National Committee of America,
but it has not been on put on broader public display for decades.
At the White House, National Security Council spokeswoman Laura
Lucas Magnuson said in an email Tuesday: "We've been working with
Congressman Schiff on this issue for several months and appreciate
his working with us to showcase this important artifact in a way
that appropriately highlights the spirit in which it was given to
the White House for U.S. involvement in assisting Armenian refugees."
Schiff said he hopes to see the rug on public display as early as
this fall.
Earlier this year, Schiff sought the rug for an "educational" event
on Capitol Hill, but the congressman's office said it never received
a response from the White House, and the event ultimately was canceled
because of a snowstorm.
Resolutions have been introduced in Congress over the years to
recognize the mass killings between 1915 and 1918 as genocide. But
the measures have run into resistance amid fears they would damage U.S.
relations with Turkey, an important ally.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-armenian-rug-white-house-20140430,0,1080767.story#axzz30PFwFEP9