JOHN MCCAIN URGED ARMENIAN AMERICANS TO SUPPORT HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

DeFacto Agency
2008-10-02 16:42:00
Armenia

YEREVAN, 01.10.08. DE FACTO. On September 29 Senator John McCain issued
an open letter to Armenian American voters, seeking their support for
his presidential campaign, but failing to outline his stands on core
Armenian American issues, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA).

The letter, released by the McCain-Palin campaign, echoed the
same themes as Senator McCain’s correspondence this February to
the ANCA. Using nearly identical language, the Arizona Senator
praised the Armenian American contribution to American society,
and Armenia’s contribution to Coalition operations in Iraq and NATO
peacekeeping in Kosovo. While remaining silent on Nagorno-Karabagh,
the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades, U.S. aid to Armenia, and the
broader issue of U.S.-Armenia relations, he did, in euphemistic
language typically employed by the Administration, mention the
"terrible tragedy" suffered by the Armenians, although, notably,
without using the proper term genocide or even mentioning the Ottoman
Empire or the Republic of Turkey.

"We hoped that, during the course of the campaign, Senator McCain’s
outreach to Armenian American voters will have evolved beyond the
respectful but substantially non-policy oriented letter he had sent to
us earlier this year, by outlining his positions on our community’s
core issues," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Armenian
Americans are issue voters, and look to the candidates seeking their
support to be clear about their views and values – particularly
on issues related to the Armenian Genocide, Nagorno-Karabagh, the
strengthening of Armenia, and the growth of U.S.-Armenia relations."

It should be added that Senator McCain has, throughout his tenure in
the Congress, largely opposed or was passively indifferent to a broad
array of Armenian American issues. As recently as October of last
year, Senator McCain publicly opposed Congressional recognition of
the Armenian Genocide. In 1999, he voted against restricting U.S. aid
to Azerbaijan over its blockades and other offensive uses of force
against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh. He voted against Senator Bob
Dole’s Armenian Genocide Resolution in 1990.