MCCAIN REAFFIRMS STANCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
AssA-Irada
October 8, 2008 Wednesday
Azerbaijan
US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has reaffirmed his
position on the alleged genocide of Armenians. In a letter forwarded
to the Armenian community in the United States, he did not use the
genocide term.
Armenians term the alleged World War I-era killings of huge numbers
of their kins as genocide, a claim strenuously denied by the modern
Turkish state. McCain said the brutal killings of 1.5 million Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire, one of the scariest tragedies of the 20th
century, had long been out of limelight. We have to acknowledge these
tragic developments and guarantee that the world will never again
face the consequences of such bloody conflicts, the letter said. The
Armenian community was riled by the fact McCain did not brand the
developments as genocide. Aram Ambarian, Executive Director of the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), said his organization
hoped issues regarding Armenians would be high on agenda of the
Republican candidate while on the campaign trail. But the abstract
letter he sent to us had no reference to the main problems facing the
Armenian Diaspora in the U.S. He said Americas Armenian electorate
would like to see as next president a politician precisely expressing
issues of concern for Armenians. These include the genocide issue, the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict and strengthening
US-Armenian relations. McCains Democratic rival, Barack Obama, adheres
to a contradicting position on the so-called genocide of Armenians. In
a recent statement, he defended the Armenian community in the U.S.,
and called on Turkey to recognize the alleged genocide. He also
pointed out the importance of adopting a relevant bill in US Congress.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
