ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PAWN IN POLITICAL MANEUVERS
Harry N. Mazadoorian
Hartford Courant,
Aug 28 2007
Every now and then, a news story seems so bizarre and unlikely that
one wonders if the reporter and editors got it right. Such was my
reaction when I read earlier this summer that the Anti-Defamation
League, presumably a champion of human rights and anti discrimination,
had taken a position questioning the historical accuracy of countless
uncontroverted reports of the unspeakable murder of some million and
a half Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
Further, the national director of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, was quoted
as saying that his organization did not want to be the "arbiter"
of whether or not the Armenian Genocide occurred and opposed a
resolution before the U.S. Congress recognizing and condemning the
genocide. How could this be, I thought, that the ADL, with its strong
Jewish roots, could oppose the recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
the first genocide of the 20th century and one that Hitler cited when
challenged that the world would not stand for his horrific planned
barbarism during World War Two: "Who, today speaks of the Armenians?",
Hitler is said to have replied.
Some rationale was articulated for the ADL’s position. First a concern
for the safety of Jews in Turkey as well as a fear of jeopardizing
Israeli-Turkish relations. The ADL, through Foxman, was unyielding –
recognition of the genocide would be unproductive.
Reports indicated that he was requested to take this position by the
government of Turkey.
Mind you, the Armenian Genocide has been documented by scholars,
statesmen, journalists and countless eyewitnesses. Volume after volume
of unchallenged verification exists. The highly respected U.S.
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morganthau sent chilling
reports of the mass killings to Secretary of State William Jennings
Bryan. Newspapers across the world carried front-page reports of the
savagery in clinical detail. Numerous countries including Canada,
France, Italy, Greece, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland have all
recognized the historical fact of the genocide as have the majority
of this country’s state legislatures, including Connecticut. And yet,
the government of Turkey not only denies the atrocities but makes
mention of them a crime.
Apparently I was not the only one stunned by this incredible position
taken by Foxman. Andrew Tarsy, the director of the regional board of
the ADL in Massachusetts, protested and took a position acknowledging
the genocide. His reward for speaking the truth and opposing hatred:
he was fired by Foxman. The controversy escalated and members of the
regional board resigned in protest. This was followed by a heroic
groundswell of opposition to the ADL position by a large number of
regional Jewish organizations.
Finally, to his credit, Foxman responded to the criticism, reversed
his position, and, although somewhat begrudgingly, acknowledged the
acts of 1915 as tantamount to a genocide. He also agreed Monday to
reinstate Tarsy.
He refused, however, to support the genocide recognition resolution
before the Congress, although he agreed to bring it before the national
ADL in November. One would have thought that the story would end
there, with a "half a loaf is better than none" conclusion. But it
did not. Immediately, the government of Turkey, through its embassy
in Washington, denounced the ADL recognition of the genocide.
True to form, Turkey – ignoring the massive and unanimous conclusion
by virtually every independent evaluator that the atrocities of 1915
were indeed genocide – continued its efforts to revise history and
intimidate those who disagree, in this case the ADL. It called for
the revised ADL position "to be rectified."
The ADL should not back down in its recognition of the Armenian
Genocide because of Turkish pressure. Indeed, it should take the only
logical next step and support the effort to have Congress make the
same recognition.
It is only natural for the ADL to be mindful of Israel’s relationship
with Turkey. But it should recognize that no alliance based upon
falsehood, intimidation and denial of human rights can survive. This
is an important lesson for all governments.
It’s uncertain where this controversy will lead. But one thing is
certain: To deny a proven genocide for whatever reason is to condone
all genocides. The tragedies which the world continues to witness,
such as those in Darfur, will only be repeated and escalate so long
as past genocides are ignored or excused. If history has taught us
nothing else, it has taught us that.
No genocide occurred so long ago that it can be forgotten.
Harry N. Mazadoorian of the Kensington section of Berlin is a
lawyer-arbitrator-mediator and distinguished senior fellow at the
Quinnipiac University School of Law, Center on Dispute Resolution.
His parents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide and three of his
grandparents perished in the genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress