Armenians voice dismay to Obama
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Ümit Enginsoy
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 21, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - The Armenian National Committee of America sends a letter to US President Barack Obama. The committee is upset over his decision not to use the word genocide in a recent statement out of concern for potentially derailing the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation process.
In a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, the head of the largest U.S. Armenian group expressed deep disappointment over Obama’s not recognizing the 1915 killings of Armenians as "genocide," and urged him to reverse his position.
Despite pledging during his election campaign to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as "genocide," Obama decided not to use the word in a written statement issued last month on Armenian Remembrance Day. Obama made it clear that he did not want to derail the reconciliation process underway between Turkey and Armenia, which had a couple of days previously jointly announced an agreement in principle to normalize their relations.
The president instead used the Armenian term "Meds Yeghern," meaning "great catastrophe," but his choice of words did not satisfy U.S. Armenians as the term lacks the legal ramifications of the word genocide.
Genocide recognition is the top priority for the Armenian National Committee of Armenia, or ANCA, which was encouraged by the position Obama took as a presidential contender last year.
"I am writing on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of America to voice the Armenian-American community’s profound disappointment with your decision not to honor your pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide," ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian wrote in his May 18 letter to Obama.
’Inexcusable’
"In breaking your clearly stated and unambiguous commitment, you bitterly disappointed all those who believed in your solemn word to change a flawed U.S. policy on the Armenian genocide, a policy that you yourself, in a letter you sent to your constituents last year, sharply criticized as ’inexcusable,’" Hachikian continued.
"Your broken pledge represents both a grave offense to Armenian-Americans and a disservice to all Americans who understand that our nation’s leadership in confronting genocide should never be reduced to a political issue that can be traded away, retreated from under pressure, or used to advance a political agenda of any kind," he wrote. "The ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Turkey should have no bearing on your willingness to speak the truth about the Armenian genocide; our stand against all instances of genocide should be unconditional."
Hachikian said the president should reverse his position, writing, "I respectfully call upon you to act quickly to correct your stand on the Armenian genocide by properly and immediately condemning and commemorating this crime, and by working publicly toward the adoption of the Armenian genocide resolution before the U.S. Congress."
The resolution pending in the House of Representatives was introduced in March by a group of pro-Armenian lawmakers. It currently has the backing of 125 lawmakers in the 435-seat legislative body.
Despite pledging during his election campaign to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as "genocide," Obama decided not to use the word in a written statement issued last month on Armenian Remembrance Day. Obama made it clear that he did not want to derail the reconciliation process underway between Turkey and Armenia, which had a couple of days previously jointly announced an agreement in principle to normalize their relations.
The president instead used the Armenian term "Meds Yeghern," meaning "great catastrophe," but his choice of words did not satisfy U.S. Armenians as the term lacks the legal ramifications of the word genocide.
Genocide recognition is the top priority for the Armenian National Committee of Armenia, or ANCA, which was encouraged by the position Obama took as a presidential contender last year.
"I am writing on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of America to voice the Armenian-American community’s profound disappointment with your decision not to honor your pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide," ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian wrote in his May 18 letter to Obama.
’Inexcusable’
"In breaking your clearly stated and unambiguous commitment, you bitterly disappointed all those who believed in your solemn word to change a flawed U.S. policy on the Armenian genocide, a policy that you yourself, in a letter you sent to your constituents last year, sharply criticized as ’inexcusable,’" Hachikian continued.
"Your broken pledge represents both a grave offense to Armenian-Americans and a disservice to all Americans who understand that our nation’s leadership in confronting genocide should never be reduced to a political issue that can be traded away, retreated from under pressure, or used to advance a political agenda of any kind," he wrote. "The ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Turkey should have no bearing on your willingness to speak the truth about the Armenian genocide; our stand against all instances of genocide should be unconditional."
Hachikian said the president should reverse his position, writing, "I respectfully call upon you to act quickly to correct your stand on the Armenian genocide by properly and immediately condemning and commemorating this crime, and by working publicly toward the adoption of the Armenian genocide resolution before the U.S. Congress."
The resolution pending in the House of Representatives was introduced in March by a group of pro-Armenian lawmakers. It currently has the backing of 125 lawmakers in the 435-seat legislative body.