PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SHOULD BE ASKED FOR MORE THAN JUST GENOCIDE AFFIRMATION
By Harut Sassounian

AZG Armenian Daily
25/01/2008

Armenian Genocide

In every U.S. presidential election for the past several decades,
Armenian-Americans, including this writer, have gone to great lengths
to make sure that they supported the candidate that acknowledged the
Armenian Genocide during the campaign and, even more importantly,
promised to do so after the election.

This was a worthwhile effort as it encouraged political participation
by the Armenian American community in the presidential elections and
transformed the Armenian Genocide into a national campaign issue. There
were, on occasion, heated debates among Armenians as to which candidate
had the strongest record on the Armenian Genocide and which one was
most likely to carry out his campaign promise.

But, alas, almost all of the presidential candidates, be they Democrats
or Republicans, after benefiting from the Armenian community’s
lavish campaign contributions and their votes, either forgot about
this subject altogether or issued annual commemorative statements on
April 24, substituting various euphemisms for the word genocide. For
example, Presidents Clinton and Bush, when they were candidates,
promised in writing that, if elected, they would officially acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide.

Not only did they fail to keep their word upon election, but went
ahead and vehemently opposed and obstructed the adoption of non-binding
commemorative congressional resolutions that intended to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide.

As another presidential campaign is underway now and a few states
have already held their primary elections, once again members of the
Armenian-American community have started asking the same old question:
Which candidate has acknowledged the Armenian Genocide and which one
is most likely to utter the words Armenian Genocide after he or she
becomes President?

I suggest that this year Armenian Americans adopt a new
approach. U.S. Presidential candidates should no longer be asked to
promise that, if elected, they would say "Armenian Genocide." To
begin with, such a request gives the false impression that the
genocide is not recognized already and that a candidate’s or a
future president’s uttering of this word will make a significant
difference in the pursuit of the Armenian Cause. Do American-Jewish
groups demand that presidential candidates promise to say "Jewish
Holocaust" after the election? Of course not. Such a request would
automatically raise a question as to why the next president needs to
confirm that the Holocaust occurred. The same argument would apply
to the Armenian Genocide.

After decades of struggle for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by parliaments of scores of countries, twice by the U.S. House of
Representative in 1975 and 1984, by the European Parliament, a United
Nations human rights committee, and hundreds of Genocide and Holocaust
scholars, why would Armenian Americans put such an overwhelming record
of acknowledgment in doubt by asking a US president to acknowledge it?

Furthermore, a very prominent U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, did
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide back in 1981 in a Presidential
Proclamation. What would Armenians gain if another president simply
repeated what has already been said by his or her predecessor more
than 25 years ago?

Armenians should treat the Armenian Genocide as an acknowledged fact
similar to the Holocaust. And just as no candidate could even think
of running for the highest office of the land if he or she denies
the Holocaust, the same should be true for the Armenian Genocide.

Due to years of admirable efforts by the Armenian-American community,
almost all of the presidential candidates have a clear record of
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide (particularly Hillary Clinton,
Barack Obama, John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani; less so John McCain,
Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney).

Of course, Armenians would not be opposed to having presidential
candidates reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. Candidates realize that
such supportive statements would benefit their own campaigns, as
Armenian Americans would back them for simply telling the truth.

What requests should Armenians present to U.S. presidential
candidates? In recent weeks, two Armenian American organizations sent
questionnaires to all the presidential candidates and asked for their
positions on the following issues:

— Commemorating the Armenian Genocide

— Giving more Foreign Aid to Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh)

— Placing restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan

— Lifting of the Turkish blockade of Armenia

— Self-determination for Artsakh

— Presidential Visit to Armenia

— Appointment of qualified Armenian-Americans to governmental
positions

I would add one more issue: Denouncing violations of Armenian minority
rights in Turkey.

Once the candidates confirm their positions on these issues,
Armenian-American voters can then make an informed decision on whom
to support in the next presidential election.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress