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ORPHAN RUG DISPLAY AND GENOCIDE RECOGNITION BY WHITE HOUSE
Wednesday, October 15th, 2014
The Armenian Orphan Rug
White House tells Asbarez that Turkey should acknowledge its past
BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
After Rep. Adam Schiff reported Wednesday that the White House will
be exhibiting the Armenian Orphan Rug in November, a senior Obama
Administration official told Asbarez in an email that the "President
and other senior Administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged
as historical fact and mourned the fact that 1.5 million Armenians were
massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire, and stated that a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of
the facts is in our all interests, including Turkey's, Armenia's,
and America's."
"One of the principles that has guided the Administration's work in
this area, and in atrocity prevention more broadly, has been that
nations grow strong by acknowledging and reckoning with painful
elements of their pasts, and that doing so is essential to building
a foundation for a more just and more tolerant future," added the
official.
This clarification by the White House was made to Asbarez after an
initial statement that merely stated that the rug "is a reminder of
the close relationship between the people of Armenia and the United
States," and that it was presented to US President Calvin Coolidge
"in recognition of the humanitarian assistance rendered by the
American people to displaced Armenian orphans," without emphasizing
how the orphans came to be and failing, once again, to characterize
the events of 1915 to 1923 as Genocide.
The announcement about the November exhibit rightfully prompted the
Armenian National Committee of America to call on President Obama to
characterize the rug in its proper manner.
"If President Obama's decision to publicly exhibit the Armenian Orphan
Rug is to represent a symbol of real progress, the White House Visitor
Center Exhibit will clearly and unequivocally reference the still
unpunished crime that led to its creation - the Armenian Genocide,"
said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National
Committee of America.
"If, on the other hand, the exhibit purposefully evades the rug's
proper characterization, the President's decision to display this
artwork will be seen as yet another cynical substitute for the
very progress he promised the American people and will be further
evidence of his continued enforcement of Turkey's gag-rule on speaking
truthfully regarding the Armenian Genocide," added Hamparian.
The Ghazi Rug, which is also known as the Armenian Orphan Rug, was a
labor of love by orphans who were rescued from the Armenian Genocide
by American aid workers as part of the Near East Relief campaign that
was mandated by the US President and legislated by Congress in 1915 and
1916 respectively. The entire US population was mobilized to assist the
Armenians of the Near East and as a result millions of Armenians were
rescued from the Genocide, among them hundreds of thousands of orphans.
Last year when the White House abruptly and inexplicably decided to
reverse its agreement to lend the rug for an exhibit at the Smithsonian
Institute, it set in motion a controversy that, in more ways than one,
was an affront to American history and to the generosity displayed by
the American people, at the behest of their government at the time,
toward the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Washington Post Art Critic Philip Kennicott, who broke the news of the
White House's change of mind at the time, noted that while the White
House had not offered an explanation for the reversal in decision,
it is likely due to the U.S. government's deference to Turkey's
international campaign of Genocide denial.
It took action by Armenian-Americans, as well as persistence by
members of Congress like Adam Schiff to get the White House to agree
to display it, while still not fully recognizing the Genocide as the
genesis for the creation of the rug.
The senior Administration official told Asbarez that "full, frank,
and just acknowledgement of the facts is in our all interests,
including Turkey's, Armenia's, and America's." So, it begs the
question: Is America doing its part to justly acknowledge the fact
and build "a foundation for a more just and more tolerant future,"
as Asbarez was told?
Perhaps not. If it were, the US would not be basing its current
policy in the region on double-standards, which are allowing Turkey
to perpetuate and encourage the same level of destruction and death
in the very region where Armenians were massacred 100 years ago.
Today, the Kurds, the Yazidis and other indigenous peoples of
the region are the target of the Islamic State, which by all
accounts--including that of American diplomats-is being aided and
abetted by Turkey.
The Armenian-American community is not naïve to think that President
Obama is going to recognize the Armenian Genocide through a three-day
display of the Armenian Orphan Rug. But, if the White House believes
in its own statements, then the US must act now and by heeding its own
words, recognize the past--the Armenian Genocide--to prevent another
Genocide, which is unfolding today at the hands of ISIS and with the
help of Turkey.
http://asbarez.com/127906/orphan-rug-display-and-genocide-recognition-by-white-house/
Wednesday, October 15th, 2014
The Armenian Orphan Rug
White House tells Asbarez that Turkey should acknowledge its past
BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
After Rep. Adam Schiff reported Wednesday that the White House will
be exhibiting the Armenian Orphan Rug in November, a senior Obama
Administration official told Asbarez in an email that the "President
and other senior Administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged
as historical fact and mourned the fact that 1.5 million Armenians were
massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire, and stated that a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of
the facts is in our all interests, including Turkey's, Armenia's,
and America's."
"One of the principles that has guided the Administration's work in
this area, and in atrocity prevention more broadly, has been that
nations grow strong by acknowledging and reckoning with painful
elements of their pasts, and that doing so is essential to building
a foundation for a more just and more tolerant future," added the
official.
This clarification by the White House was made to Asbarez after an
initial statement that merely stated that the rug "is a reminder of
the close relationship between the people of Armenia and the United
States," and that it was presented to US President Calvin Coolidge
"in recognition of the humanitarian assistance rendered by the
American people to displaced Armenian orphans," without emphasizing
how the orphans came to be and failing, once again, to characterize
the events of 1915 to 1923 as Genocide.
The announcement about the November exhibit rightfully prompted the
Armenian National Committee of America to call on President Obama to
characterize the rug in its proper manner.
"If President Obama's decision to publicly exhibit the Armenian Orphan
Rug is to represent a symbol of real progress, the White House Visitor
Center Exhibit will clearly and unequivocally reference the still
unpunished crime that led to its creation - the Armenian Genocide,"
said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National
Committee of America.
"If, on the other hand, the exhibit purposefully evades the rug's
proper characterization, the President's decision to display this
artwork will be seen as yet another cynical substitute for the
very progress he promised the American people and will be further
evidence of his continued enforcement of Turkey's gag-rule on speaking
truthfully regarding the Armenian Genocide," added Hamparian.
The Ghazi Rug, which is also known as the Armenian Orphan Rug, was a
labor of love by orphans who were rescued from the Armenian Genocide
by American aid workers as part of the Near East Relief campaign that
was mandated by the US President and legislated by Congress in 1915 and
1916 respectively. The entire US population was mobilized to assist the
Armenians of the Near East and as a result millions of Armenians were
rescued from the Genocide, among them hundreds of thousands of orphans.
Last year when the White House abruptly and inexplicably decided to
reverse its agreement to lend the rug for an exhibit at the Smithsonian
Institute, it set in motion a controversy that, in more ways than one,
was an affront to American history and to the generosity displayed by
the American people, at the behest of their government at the time,
toward the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Washington Post Art Critic Philip Kennicott, who broke the news of the
White House's change of mind at the time, noted that while the White
House had not offered an explanation for the reversal in decision,
it is likely due to the U.S. government's deference to Turkey's
international campaign of Genocide denial.
It took action by Armenian-Americans, as well as persistence by
members of Congress like Adam Schiff to get the White House to agree
to display it, while still not fully recognizing the Genocide as the
genesis for the creation of the rug.
The senior Administration official told Asbarez that "full, frank,
and just acknowledgement of the facts is in our all interests,
including Turkey's, Armenia's, and America's." So, it begs the
question: Is America doing its part to justly acknowledge the fact
and build "a foundation for a more just and more tolerant future,"
as Asbarez was told?
Perhaps not. If it were, the US would not be basing its current
policy in the region on double-standards, which are allowing Turkey
to perpetuate and encourage the same level of destruction and death
in the very region where Armenians were massacred 100 years ago.
Today, the Kurds, the Yazidis and other indigenous peoples of
the region are the target of the Islamic State, which by all
accounts--including that of American diplomats-is being aided and
abetted by Turkey.
The Armenian-American community is not naïve to think that President
Obama is going to recognize the Armenian Genocide through a three-day
display of the Armenian Orphan Rug. But, if the White House believes
in its own statements, then the US must act now and by heeding its own
words, recognize the past--the Armenian Genocide--to prevent another
Genocide, which is unfolding today at the hands of ISIS and with the
help of Turkey.
http://asbarez.com/127906/orphan-rug-display-and-genocide-recognition-by-white-house/