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ARMENIANS CALL ON OBAMA TO HONOR CAMPAIGN PROMISE
Los Angeles Times
April 10, 2015 Friday
Home Edition
As 100th anniversary of genocide nears, advocates hope for official
recognition.
by Noah Bierman WASHINGTON
It's become a frustrating rite for Armenian Americans. Every year, in
the days leading up to the April 24 anniversary, advocates have lobbied
President Obama to use the word "genocide" to describe the killing of
more than 1 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks in the
political upheaval surrounding World War I. And every year, despite
promising as a candidate to do so, Obama has declined to use the word.
But this time, advocates are hoping, it will be different. This year
marks the 100th anniversary, a moment of intense interest, increased
symbolism and a swirl of activity, including a cross-country race
and an international pop music tour. It is also a period of the
Obama presidency, its twilight, in which the president has shown a
greater boldness on core issues of principle as he begins to consider
his legacy.
Advocates say they have been told that the administration is giving
its most thorough review to the issue since 2009, Obama's first
year in office. But the Turkish government continues to dispute that
genocide took place and has poured millions into lobbying efforts to
oppose official U.S. recognition, including bipartisan resolutions
in Congress aimed at labeling the killings as genocide.
Despite conclusions by historians that genocide occurred, concerns
over upsetting Turkey, a key ally in a crucial region, have won over
numerous presidential administrations and members of Congress.
Many Armenian Americans have refrained from criticizing Obama in the
hope that this will be the year he breaks that precedent.
"Whether I'm angry or frustrated, I'm looking at it in terms of
the issue. And he has an opportunity. When he was a senator, he
spoke clearly about the Armenian genocide. When he was a candidate,
he spoke clearly about the Armenian genocide," said Bryan Ardouny,
executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America. "This is the
time for him to not only fulfill his promise, but also, in doing so,
help prevent future genocide."
Armenian Americans have been bolstered by a symbolic victory last
year. With help from members of Congress, they persuaded the White
House to display a rug associated with the genocide in the White House
Visitors Center as part of a temporary exhibition. The Ghazir rug,
crafted by orphans, was presented as a gift to President Coolidge in
1925 to recognize humanitarian assistance. But like many efforts at
recognition, victory was partial: The rug was returned to storage.
Obama had been a forceful voice on using the term genocide as both
a senator and a presidential candidate. During his campaign, he
pointed to his criticism of former Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice in 2006 for replacing a U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John Evans,
who used the term "genocide."
"I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the
Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a
point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence," Obama said in 2008. "The
facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to
distort the historical facts is an untenable policy."
Top White House officials -- including, when they were senators,
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John F. Kerry --
have also gone on the record supporting the term as essential to
promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey and to prevent
other genocides.
Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, wrote
extensively about the need to confront the history in her book,
"A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide," which won the
Pulitzer Prize in 2003.
Since becoming president, Obama has said his views on the subject
have not changed. But he has not used the term.
Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee
of America, said he had been told by "very senior people in the
White House, in particular the National Security Council," that the
administration is conducting its first thorough review of the issue
since 2009.
Administration officials will not comment on the review process and
most observers do not expect to find out what Obama will say until
April 24, given the sensitivity of the issue.
State Department spokesman Alec Gerlach said in a statement 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 acknowledgment of the facts is in all our interests,
including Turkey's, Armenia's and America's."
A Turkish government official, who declined to be quoted by name
citing an internal policy, said that the deaths did not meet the
legal definition of genocide and that it would be a mistake for the
U.S. to use the term.
"I can assure you there would be a huge disappointment on the Turkish
side," the official said. "It's not up to the Congress or to the
leaders of other countries to make judgments on other countries'
history."
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) warned colleagues in a recent letter that
adopting a congressional resolution recognizing the genocide "could
be cataclysmic and undermine U.S. interests," and it risks alienating
"one of our last allies in the region who is working hand in hand
with U.S. soldiers and our allies to combat ISIS," using an acronym
for the militant group Islamic State.
Rep. Ed Royce, the Fullerton Republican who chairs the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, supports recognizing the genocide but does not plan
to hold a vote on a congressional resolution this year because "on
the 100th anniversary it's best to have unified voices recognizing
the premeditated genocide of 1.5 million Armenians," he said in
a statement.
Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Burbank Democrat who has long called for
formal recognition of the genocide, said the U.S. had a "moral urgency"
to use the term this year, before the last remaining survivors die. He
predicted that Obama or some future president would eventually use the
word, and that "these prior administrations will have a lot to answer
for, as to why they were complicit in a campaign of genocide denial."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Los Angeles Times
April 10, 2015 Friday
Home Edition
As 100th anniversary of genocide nears, advocates hope for official
recognition.
by Noah Bierman WASHINGTON
It's become a frustrating rite for Armenian Americans. Every year, in
the days leading up to the April 24 anniversary, advocates have lobbied
President Obama to use the word "genocide" to describe the killing of
more than 1 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks in the
political upheaval surrounding World War I. And every year, despite
promising as a candidate to do so, Obama has declined to use the word.
But this time, advocates are hoping, it will be different. This year
marks the 100th anniversary, a moment of intense interest, increased
symbolism and a swirl of activity, including a cross-country race
and an international pop music tour. It is also a period of the
Obama presidency, its twilight, in which the president has shown a
greater boldness on core issues of principle as he begins to consider
his legacy.
Advocates say they have been told that the administration is giving
its most thorough review to the issue since 2009, Obama's first
year in office. But the Turkish government continues to dispute that
genocide took place and has poured millions into lobbying efforts to
oppose official U.S. recognition, including bipartisan resolutions
in Congress aimed at labeling the killings as genocide.
Despite conclusions by historians that genocide occurred, concerns
over upsetting Turkey, a key ally in a crucial region, have won over
numerous presidential administrations and members of Congress.
Many Armenian Americans have refrained from criticizing Obama in the
hope that this will be the year he breaks that precedent.
"Whether I'm angry or frustrated, I'm looking at it in terms of
the issue. And he has an opportunity. When he was a senator, he
spoke clearly about the Armenian genocide. When he was a candidate,
he spoke clearly about the Armenian genocide," said Bryan Ardouny,
executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America. "This is the
time for him to not only fulfill his promise, but also, in doing so,
help prevent future genocide."
Armenian Americans have been bolstered by a symbolic victory last
year. With help from members of Congress, they persuaded the White
House to display a rug associated with the genocide in the White House
Visitors Center as part of a temporary exhibition. The Ghazir rug,
crafted by orphans, was presented as a gift to President Coolidge in
1925 to recognize humanitarian assistance. But like many efforts at
recognition, victory was partial: The rug was returned to storage.
Obama had been a forceful voice on using the term genocide as both
a senator and a presidential candidate. During his campaign, he
pointed to his criticism of former Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice in 2006 for replacing a U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John Evans,
who used the term "genocide."
"I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the
Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a
point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence," Obama said in 2008. "The
facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to
distort the historical facts is an untenable policy."
Top White House officials -- including, when they were senators,
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John F. Kerry --
have also gone on the record supporting the term as essential to
promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey and to prevent
other genocides.
Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, wrote
extensively about the need to confront the history in her book,
"A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide," which won the
Pulitzer Prize in 2003.
Since becoming president, Obama has said his views on the subject
have not changed. But he has not used the term.
Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee
of America, said he had been told by "very senior people in the
White House, in particular the National Security Council," that the
administration is conducting its first thorough review of the issue
since 2009.
Administration officials will not comment on the review process and
most observers do not expect to find out what Obama will say until
April 24, given the sensitivity of the issue.
State Department spokesman Alec Gerlach said in a statement 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 acknowledgment of the facts is in all our interests,
including Turkey's, Armenia's and America's."
A Turkish government official, who declined to be quoted by name
citing an internal policy, said that the deaths did not meet the
legal definition of genocide and that it would be a mistake for the
U.S. to use the term.
"I can assure you there would be a huge disappointment on the Turkish
side," the official said. "It's not up to the Congress or to the
leaders of other countries to make judgments on other countries'
history."
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) warned colleagues in a recent letter that
adopting a congressional resolution recognizing the genocide "could
be cataclysmic and undermine U.S. interests," and it risks alienating
"one of our last allies in the region who is working hand in hand
with U.S. soldiers and our allies to combat ISIS," using an acronym
for the militant group Islamic State.
Rep. Ed Royce, the Fullerton Republican who chairs the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, supports recognizing the genocide but does not plan
to hold a vote on a congressional resolution this year because "on
the 100th anniversary it's best to have unified voices recognizing
the premeditated genocide of 1.5 million Armenians," he said in
a statement.
Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Burbank Democrat who has long called for
formal recognition of the genocide, said the U.S. had a "moral urgency"
to use the term this year, before the last remaining survivors die. He
predicted that Obama or some future president would eventually use the
word, and that "these prior administrations will have a lot to answer
for, as to why they were complicit in a campaign of genocide denial."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress