OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
armradio.am
27.03.2009 12:17
Chairman of the Board of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden,
Historian and Editor in Chief of the Armenica.org Vahagn Avedian
addressed an open letter to US President Barack Obama. The full text
of the letter is presented below:
"Mr. Minister, The persecutions of the Armenians have reached
hair-raising proportions and all points to the fact that the Young
Turks want to seize the opportunity, since due to different reasons
there are no effective external pressure to be feared, to once and
for all put an end to the Armenian question. The means for this are
quite simple and consist of the extermination [utrotandet] of the
Armenian nation. – Per Gustaf August Cosswa Anckarsvärd, Swedish
Ambassador to Turkey, in his report to the Swedish Foreign Minister
Knut Wallenberg, July 6, 1915, Constantinople
Dear President Obama,
The above stated report is merely one of several which were recently
found in the Swedish National and Military Archives, confirming
the reality which has since long been established by the genocide
scholars regarding the events in the Ottoman Turkey during World War
I. The world was far from as hesitating as it is today in condemning
the treatment of the Armenians, demanding justice for the victims
and punishment of those guilty of "crimes against humanity and
civilization", the very first occurrence of the term in international
circumstances. However, the soon growing Kemalist movement put a stop
to the demands for justice and the clever politics of the Republic
of Turkey have ever since held the world conscience as hostage in
exchange for economic and political gains.
In nine decades the Armenians and other affected minorities have lived
this reality on daily basis while the rest of the world just recently
has become aware of the "forgotten genocide of the 20th Century". The
Armenian Diaspora, a direct result of the 1915 Genocide, has during
the last 90 years of its struggle for recognition, been called liars
and propagandists, smearing the Turkish reputation. But, what is
more hurtful, is the fact that the surrounding world, including USA,
has indirectly joined Turkey in labeling the victims as liars and
propagandists, simply by refusing to recognize what is a historical
fact. As the prominent Turkish Professor Taner Akcam pointed out
recently, on April 24, the USA annually joins Turkey in its lie,
"denying for one day what they believe the other 364 days of the year."
The Turkish denial has developed and evolved, changing shapes and
strategies during the past 94 years, adapting to the prevailing world
situation and argumentation. The most recent morphing has supplied
Turkey with the argumentation that the ongoing reconciliation process
between Armenia and Turkey must=2 0be left unharmed and that external
interference, such as an American recognition of the genocide, will
jeopardize the fragile process. By saying this, however, Turkey is
rather stating that history is a matter of negotiations. Taking into
account the existing consensus among the majority of genocide scholars,
evident not only in the massive bulk of research and publications,
but also in the very resolutions of the International Association
of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), the Armenian Genocide does not need
revisiting or reconsideration. Thus, neither USA nor any other
country in the world should refrain from recognizing the truth while
the reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia continues and
must go on. That process will not change the already established fact
about the Armenian Genocide.
Furthermore, it is my firm belief that no reconciliation process
or any democratization process will benefit from harboring lies and
suppressing the truth.
Like the election campaigns of Your predecessors, the issue of the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and calling it by its true
name, was one of the issues You have addressed at several occasions,
correctly pointing out that "America deserves a leader who speaks
truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to
all genocides. I intend to be that President." I hope that You will
bring the change You promised during the election campaign, breaking
the tradition of Your predecessors in failing to honor their campaign
vows in this regard, and that You, unlike the US Presidents before
You, will tell the truth about the Armenian Genocide in each and one
of the 365 days of the year.
I wish You the very best in the tremendous challenges that You and
Your Administration are faced with in the current world situation,
and I am confident that You will fulfill our expectations regarding
"The Change We believe in.""