Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: info@aaainc.org
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 25, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: ckojoian@aaainc.org
PRESIDENT BUSH FAILS TO PROPERLY CHARACTERIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
White House Ignores Congressional, Community Calls to Instead Appease Turkey
WASHINGTON – While the Armenian Assembly today expressed appreciation
for President Bush’s commitment to seek a “deeper partnership” with
Yerevan, organizational leaders were disappointed the President did
not properly characterize the Armenian Genocide in his statement of
remembrance. In remarks issued yesterday, Bush labeled the Genocide
of 1915 as the “Great Calamity.”
Earlier this month, in a strong showing of bipartisan support, a
record number of 210 Members of the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives urged President Bush to properly acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide in his statement of remembrance. Their calls were
bolstered by 37 American states that are also on record as affirming
the Genocide as well as 16 countries around the world.
“The Assembly is extremely dissatisfied with the President’s
characterization of the attempted annihilation of our people by
Ottoman Turkey,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.
“This was a missed opportunity by the President to speak the truth
plainly, to once and for all avoid using evasive terminology which
only serves to support Turkey’s state-sponsored denial campaign.”
“April 24 is not only a solemn day for Armenians but for all victims
of genocide and other crimes against humanity,” Ardouny continued.
“The U.S. must take a firm stand to squarely reaffirm its own
historical record, which includes U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman
Empire Henry Morgenthau’s description of those events as a ‘campaign
of race extermination.'”
While the President’s choice of words were in effect a textbook
definition of the crime, the statement this year again fell short of
his 2000 statement when Bush said, “Armenians were subjected to a
genocidal campaign that defies comprehension.”
Similarly, in a letter to the Armenian Assembly that same year, Bush
said, “Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies
comprehension. Their travails should lead all decent people to
remember and acknowledge the facts and lessons of an awful crime in a
century of bloody crimes against humanity. If elected president, I
would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering
of the Armenian people.”
In his statement this year, the President also encouraged recent calls
by Ankara for a joint Turkish-Armenian study of the crimes. “The
historical record is clear and does not require a review,” Ardouny
said. “Such an initiative should not have been encouraged by the
Administration.”
President Robert Kocharian and his administration have publicly stated
that periodic calls by Turkey for a historical debate simply delay the
process of reconciling with the truth, since that accounting has
already been done. In 2000, for example, more than 120 Genocide and
Holocaust scholars from the U.S., Europe and Israel signed a statement
affirming the WWI Armenian Genocide as an incontestable historical
fact and urged the governments of Western democracies to likewise
recognize it as such. Further, at a September 2000 conference
co-sponsored by the Library of Congress and the Armenian National
Institute in cooperation with the United State Holocaust Memorial
Museum, entitled the “The American Response to the Armenian Genocide,”
a spokesperson for the Library of Congress stated that “the evidence
of genocide is incontrovertible.”
In his statement the President also says that the U.S. is grateful for
Armenia’s contributions to the war on terror and that America is
committed to supporting the country’s historic reforms and a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.
###
NR# 2005-045
Editor’s Note: April 24, 2005 Statement from President George W. Bush
is attached.
The White House
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 24, 2005
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
On Armenian Remembrance Day, we remember the forced exile and mass
killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of
the Ottoman Empire. This terrible event is what many Armenian people
have come to call the “Great Calamity.” I join my fellow Americans and
Armenian people around the world in expressing my deepest condolences
for this horrible loss of life. Today, as we commemorate the 90th
anniversary of this human tragedy and reflect on the suffering of the
Armenian people, we also look toward a promising future for an
independent Armenian state.
The United States is grateful for Armenia’s contributions to the war
on terror and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We
remain committed to supporting the historic reforms Armenia has
pursued for over a decade. We call on the Government of Armenia to
advance democratic freedoms that will further advance the aspirations
of the Armenian people. We remain committed to a lasting and peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We also seek a deeper
partnership with Armenia that includes security cooperation and is
rooted in the shared values of democratic and market economic
freedoms.
I applaud individuals in Armenia and Turkey who have sought to examine
the historical events of the early 20th century with honesty and
sensitivity. The recent analysis by the International Center for
Transitional Justice did not provide the final word, yet marked a
significant step toward reconciliation and restoration of the spirit
of tolerance and cultural richness that has connected the people of
the Caucasus and Anatolia for centuries. We look to a future of
freedom, peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey and hope that
Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent proposal for a joint Turkish-Armenian
commission can help advance these processes.
Millions of Americans proudly trace their ancestry to Armenia. Their
faith, traditions, and patriotism enrich the cultural, political, and
economic life of the United States. I appreciate all individuals who
work to promote peace, tolerance, and reconciliation. On this solemn
day of remembrance, I send my best wishes and expressions of
solidarity to Armenian people around the world.
-END-