States News Service, USA
March 11, 2009 Wednesday
SCHIFF, RADANOVICH, PALLONE, AND KIRK COMMEND PRESIDENT FOR HIS
PRINCIPLED RECORD OF RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
WASHINGTON
The following information was released by the office of California
Rep. Adam Schiff:
Urge Strong Statement of Recognition on the Upcoming 94th Anniversary
Washington, D.C. – In advance of the upcoming 94th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), George
Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) wrote a
letter to President Barack Obama commending him on his record of
supporting the truth about the Armenian Genocide and urging the
President to make a strong statement of recognition on April 24th.
"Throughout his career, President Obama has always demonstrated a
profound understanding of history and the moral courage to speak
plainly about the horrors of genocide," said Schiff. "We applaud his
strong recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a Senator, and look to
him for continued strong leadership on this issue as President."
"Over the years, the President of the United States, regardless of
political party, has done a great disservice by refusing to properly
recognize the Armenian Genocide," said Radanovich. "As a proud
representative of the Armenian American community, and co-author of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution, I commend President Obama for his
previous commitment to the truth and I eagerly await the fulfillment
of his promises to recognize the Genocide as President."
"As a senator and as a candidate, President Obama demonstrated a clear
record of supporting recognition of the Armenian Genocide," said
Pallone. "As Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
I am hopeful that both the President and Congress will not waiver in
their efforts to discuss the past openly and honestly."
"As a U.S. Senator and as a presidential candidate, President Obama
made unprecedented commitments to recognize the Armenian Genocide,"
Kirk said. "Knowing his personal commitment to ending genocide and
promoting human rights, we are hopeful President Obama will keep his
promise."
The full text of the letter is below.
March 10, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As we approach the upcoming 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
on April 24, we want to thank you for the courage you have always
shown in characterizing properly the slaughter of 1.5 million
Armenians from 1915-1923 as genocide. No president in the postwar era
has come into office with a stronger understanding of the historic
facts of the genocide, or with a greater track record of speaking
plainly on this terrible chapter in the past.
As a United States Senator, your record on the Armenian Genocide was
clear and unequivocal. In 2005 and 2006 you joined many of your
colleagues in asking President Bush to refer to the slaughter of
Armenians as genocide, noting that "[i]t is in the best interests of
our nation and the entire global community to remember the past and
learn from these crimes against humanity to ensure that they are never
repeated."
In 2006 you wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the wake
of the recall from Yerevan of Ambassador John Evans for using the term
"genocide" to describe the events of 1915-23. In your letter you
described the official U.S. position on the genocide as "untenable"
and reminded the Secretary that "the occurrence of the Armenian
genocide in 1915 is not an ‘allegation,’ a ‘personal opinion,’ or a
‘point of view.’ Supported by overwhelming evidence, it is a widely
documented fact."
In questions submitted to Ambassador-designate Marie Yovanovich last
year, you pressed her on the issue of genocide recognition,
specifically asking her what steps she would take to recognize the
genocide and what actions the Department of State was undertaking to
press for Turkish recognition of the crimes committed by their Ottoman
forebears. Last April, in a statement printed in the Congressional
Record, you pledged to "continue to push for the acknowledgement of
the Armenian genocide."
As a presidential candidate, you were also forthright in discussing
your support for genocide recognition, saying that "America deserves a
leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds
forcefully to all genocides." We agree with you completely.
During your upcoming trip to Turkey and in discussions with your
advisors over how to commemorate the events of 1915-23, you will
doubtless be counseled by some to continue the practice of avoiding
the truth in favor of short-term political expediency. We do not
minimize Ankara’s threats of adverse action when you recognize the
genocide, or when Congress takes action to formally recognize the
genocide, but we believe that our alliance is strong enough to
withstand the truth.
Elie Wiesel has described the denial of genocide as the final stage of
genocide – a double killing. Sadly, our nation’s foreign policy has,
for too long, abetted this denial. As you told Secretary Rice in your
letter about the sacking of Ambassador Evans, "when State Department
instructions are such that an ambassador must engage in strained
reasoning – or even outright falsehood – that defies a common sense
interpretation of events in order to follow orders, then it is time to
revisit the State Department’s policy guidance on that issue."
Mr. President, you have demonstrated time and again your understanding
of the importance to Armenian-Americans of formal American recognition
of the crime that was committed against their parents, grandparents
and great-grandparents. Their pain is not unlike that of American
Jews, who live each day with the memory of the Holocaust, and
African-Americans, whose view of themselves has been colored by the
legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. But, of course, the importance of
speaking unequivocally about a matter as grave as genocide is a human
rights imperative affecting us all. Whether it is today’s Sudanese
government or yesterday’s Ottoman Empire, the perpetrators of
genocide, as well as the victims, must know that the United States
will not shrink from confronting the truth.
Sincerely,
ADAM B. SCHIFF
Member of Congress
GEORGE RADANOVICH
Member of Congress
FRANK PALLONE, JR.
Member of Congress
MARK STEVEN KIRK
Member of Congress