ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION INTRODUCED
Greek News
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March 23 2009
USA
Washington.- 77 U.S. lawmakers introduced on Tuesday a symbolic
measure that puts President Barack Obama in a bind. The resolution
backed by lawmakers who represent large numbers of Armenian-American
constituents calls on Obama to "accurately characterize the systematic
and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide."
The bill introduced with 77 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives
largely tracks similar resolutions introduced in previous years. Its
fundamental point is to apply the term "genocide" to events that
occurred between 1915 and 1923 during the Ottoman Empire’s final
years. The empire was based in what is now the Republic of Turkey.
"It has never served our national interest to become complicit in
the denial of genocide, and it never will," said Rep. Adam Schiff,
D-Calif. "While there are still some survivors left, we have a
compelling moral obligation to speak plainly about the past."
But what some call a moral obligation strikes others as a diplomatic
conundrum. Obama had one of the first telephone calls of his presidency
with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, with whom Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton has met personally. Obama in early April will
visit Turkey, where the genocide resolution is anathema.
The biggest test for the Obama administration is what the president
will say on or around April 24, the traditional date for any Armenian
genocide commemoration. A Los Angeles Times story published Tuesday
suggested that Obama might postpone the traditional commemorative
statement. A White House spokesman could not be reached Tuesday
to elaborate.
In advance of the upcoming 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), George Radanovich (R-Calif.),
Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) wrote a letter to
President Barack Obama commending him on his record of supporting the
truth about the genocide and urging him 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."
"Representatives Schiff, Radanovich, Pallone and Kirk are right on
the mark in commending Barack Obamaʼs clear and unequivocal stand
against genocide and its denial," said ANCA executive director Aram
Hamparian. "We join with them in welcoming the Presidentʼs pledge
to recognize the Armenian Genocide."
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 1915-23 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 ʽallegation,ʼ a ʽpersonal opinion,ʼ
or a ʽpoint of view.ʼ 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
Ankaraʼs 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 nationʼs 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 Departmentʼs 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 todayʼs Sudanese government
or yesterdayʼs 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