Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
November 22, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIER BERNARD LEWIS
AWARDED NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL
— Pres. Bush Honors Recipients at White House
Ceremony
WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian Genocide denier and controversial Middle
East historian Bernard Lewis was amongst those honored by President
Bush this month with the prestigious National Humanities Medal,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)
President Bush, joined by First Lady Laura Bush, bestowed the medal
at a November 9th ceremony held in the White House Oval Office.
"The President’s decision to honor the work of a known genocide
denier – an academic mercenary whose politically motivated efforts
to cover up the truth run counter to the very principles this award
was established to honor – represents a true betrayal of the public
trust," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University in the
department of Near Eastern Studies, began his career as a historian
with an honest assessment of the Armenian Genocide as a "terrible
holocaust." He soon reversed his position, serving as leading
spokesman for the Turkish government’s denial campaign, along with
Princeton University Professor Heath Lowry. Lowry was exposed as a
paid spokesman for the Turkish government’s worldwide campaign of
genocide denial in the seminal journal article, "Professional
Ethics and the Denial of Armenian Genocide", ("Holocaust and
Genocide Studies," 1995).
Lewis’ genocide denial became international news on June 21, 1995,
when a French court condemned him for statements he made during a
1993 interview with French newspaper "Le Monde." The case, which
argued that Lewis’ statements caused harm to Armenian Genocide
survivors, was filed by the International League Against Racism and
Anti-Semitism and the Forum of Armenian Associations, representing
a number of French Armenian organizations, including the ANC of
France. The Court found Lewis "at fault," stating that, "his
remarks, which could unfairly revive the pain of the Armenian
community, are tortuous and justify compensation." The court
further affirmed that, "the historian is bound by his
responsibility toward the persons concerned when, by distortion or
falsification, he credits the veracity of manifestly erroneous
allegations or, through serious negligence, omits events or
opinions subscribed to by persons qualified and enlightened enough
so that the concern for accuracy prevents him from keeping silent
about them." Lewis was symbolically fined one franc and "Le Monde"
was ordered to reprint portions of the French court judgment, which
appeared two days later.
Nine individuals and one institution were awarded the National
Humanities Medal in 2006, including: Fouad Ajami, James M.
Buchanan, Nickolas Davatzes, Robert Fagles, Mary Lefkowitz, Bernard
Lewis, Mark Noll, Meryle Secrest, Kevin Starr, and the Hoover
Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University.
The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose
work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities,
broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped
preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the
humanities. The award, given by the National Endowment for the
Humanities, was established in 1988. The National Endowment for the
Humanities is an independent agency of the U.S. government that
supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in
the humanities. It was created by the U.S. Congress in the National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965.