IT’S NOT THE POWER OF THE LOBBY, BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ITS CAUSE

ArmRadio.am
08.08.2006 16:47

In recent years, as Armenian Americans have been getting better
organized in carrying ut their political objectives, there has
been repeated talk about "the powerful Armenian lobby." The most
recent example is Julie Corwin’s report on Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty on August 2, titled: "Confirmation Row Shows Power of Diaspora
Lobbies." The analyst for RFE/RL expresses her surprise that a large
number of Senators, Republicans and Democrats, challenged the Bush
administration’s refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, during
the confirmation hearing of Ambassador-Designate Richard Hoagland.

The current U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, is being dismissed
for speaking publicly and truthfully about the Armenian Genocide. On
August 1, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed, for
the second time, Amb. Hoagland’s confirmation. Corwin wrote: "The
prominence of the issue is due in large part to the efforts of two
powerful lobbying groups "the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA), and the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA). There are lobbying
groups representing the concerns of nearly every diaspora community in
the United States. The Armenian lobby is one of the most successful."

Another interesting article about the Armenian lobby, written by
Heather S.Gregg, a doctoral candidate in the MIT Political Science
Department, has been published a number of times in different
versions and lengths (from 6 to 30 pages) over the past five
years. The article is titled: "Divided They Conquer: The Success of
Armenian Ethnic Lobbies in the U.S." Various Turkish publications
and websites have featured this article to explain why the Armenian
lobby is "so powerful." Gregg writes: "Within the last decade,
Armenian lobby groups in the United States have achieved considerable
success in gaining political and material support from Congress, the
White House and other federal bodies." She explains this success by
"the intense lobbying efforts of Armenian-Americans in the United
States. The lobbying success of this small ethnic minority is largely
the result of two factors. First, an inter-community rivalry within
the Armenian-American population represented by two lobby groups
in Washington,the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
and the Armenian Assembly of America (the Assembly), has led to
hyper-mobilization of this ethnic group’s resources.

Second, the Armenians have formed key alliances in Washington
including members of Congress, other lobby groups and organizations,
and the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in the
House of Representatives, which have rallied behind Armenian policy
objectives. Together, hyper-mobilization and alliance building have
allowed the Armenians considerable success in achieving specific
policy objectives."

Why is there such a fascination, to the point of obsession, with the
Armenian lobby? Why Turkish and Azeri publications and officials
make frequent references to the "powerful Armenian lobby?" There
are three possible reasons as to why Turkish and Azeri officials,
political organizations and media outlets are interested in presenting
the Armenian lobby as being all too powerful:

1) To help rally domestic and international support to their side; 2)
To create sympathy among their supporters for having to face such a
"powerful enemy;" 3) To cover up their errors and incompetence after
losing a particular political battle.

One must not exclude the possibility that all those who are lobbying on
behalf of Turkey and Azerbaijan, be they U.S. lobbying firms, Jewish
organizations or Israeli government officials, are intentionally
exaggerating the power of the Armenian-American community in order
to exact a higher price from Ankara and Baku for their artificially
inflated services.

It is simply amazing that a powerful country like Turkey and oil
rich Azerbaijan, with their political clout, financial resources,
lobbying firmsin Washington, D.C., and the support of the highest
officials of the Bush administration, are complaining about the
political activities of the tiny Armenian-American community. Turkish
and Azeri officials along with their U.S. cohorts, on a regular basis,
pressure, censure and threaten, anyone around the world who dares to
support an Armenian issue. And yet, they are the ones crying "wolf!"

While it is true that the Armenian American community has become
politically more active and effective in recent years, the fact remains
that no matter how many millions do the Turks and Azeris spend, they
cannot whitewash their lies and present them as the truth. They are
simply wrong on the issues. What empowers the Armenian lobby is the
righteousness of its cause!