OBAMA UNDERMINES HIS CREDIBILITY BY NOT SAYING GENOCIDE IN ANKARA
By Harut Sassounian

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April 6, 2009

For several months now, I have been exposing the Turkish government’s
ploy of creating the false impression that Ankara is engaged in serious
negotiations to establish diplomatic relations with Yerevan. Turkey
has been exploiting the illusive promise of opening the border in
order to pressure Armenia into making concessions on a host of issues,
while simultaneously subverting President Obama’s pledge to recognize
the Armenian Genocide.

Turkish officials have been repeatedly warning President Obama not to
issue a statement on the Armenian Genocide, claiming that such a step
would disrupt the on-going negotiations between Armenia and Turkey.

Regrettably, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s decision
to travel to Istanbul this week to participate in the meeting of
the Alliance of Civilizations served to substantiate the Turkish
government’s contention that all is going well between the two
countries.

Azerbaijan’s President, on the other hand, was determined to stick
to his guns in safeguarding his nation’s interests. When President
Aliyev learned that Ankara was contemplating opening the border
with Armenia, he viewed it as a betrayal of Azerbaijan by "fraternal
Turkey." He promptly canceled his planned trip to Istanbul. Aliyev
even threatened to block the sale of natural gas to Turkey should
it proceed with its announced plan to open the border. He wanted the
Turkish border to remain closed in order to force Armenia into making
territorial concessions on Artsakh (Karabagh). The Azeri Press Agency
reported that Aliyev turned down a personal invitation to Istanbul
by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as Turkey’s President
and Prime Minister. Aliyev remained unmoved even when he was offered
a private meeting with the President of the United States.

It is not clear if President Obama was deceived by the Turks
warnings to third parties not to interfere in the Armenian-Turkish
negotiations. It could be that he found it expedient to heed the
Turkish objections in order to maximize the concessions he wanted to
extract from Turkey on Iraq and Afghanistan.

During a press conference in Ankara on Monday, this is how
President Obama responded when asked if he had changed his view on
the Armenian Genocide: "My views are on the record and I have not
changed views. What I have been very encouraged by is news that under
President Gul’s leadership, you are seeing a series of negotiations,
a process, in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole
host of longstanding issues, including this one. I want to be as
encouraging as possible around those negotiations, which are moving
forward and could bear fruit very quickly, very soon. And so, as a
consequence, what I want to do is not focus on my views right now,
but focus on the views of the Turkish and the Armenian people. If
they can move forward and deal with a difficult and tragic history,
then I think the entire world should encourage them. And so what I
told the President was I want to be as constructive as possible in
moving these issues forward quickly. And my sense is that they are
moving quickly. I don’t want, as the President of the United States,
to preempt any possible arrangements or announcements that might be
made in the near future. I just want to say that we are going to be a
partner in working through these issues in such a way that the most
important parties, the Turks and the Armenians, are finally coming
to terms in a constructive way."

When the reporter pressed him for not using the term genocide,
President Obama repeated the deceptive arguments advanced by Turkey:
"What I’d like to do is to encourage President Gul to move forward
with what have been some very fruitful negotiations. And I’m not
interested in the United States in any way tilting these negotiations
one way or another while they are having useful discussions."

President Gul then took the floor, and in a lengthy response, repeated
the standard Turkish denials of the Armenian Genocide.

Later that day, while addressing the Turkish Parliament, President
Obama again carefully avoided using the term genocide: "Human endeavor
is by its nature imperfect. History is often tragic, but unresolved,
it can be a heavy weight. Each country must work through its past. And
reckoning with the past can help us seize a better future. I know
there’s strong views in this chamber about the terrible events of
1915. And while there’s been a good deal of commentary about my views,
it’s really about how the Turkish and Armenian people deal with the
past. And the best way forward for the Turkish and Armenian people
is a process that works through the past in a way that is honest,
open and constructive."

In view of these developments, it is imperative that the Armenian
government terminate at once all negotiations with Turkish leaders
in order to limit the damage caused by the continued exploitation
of the illusion of productive negotiations. Moreover, the Armenian
leadership should denounce in the strongest possible terms President
Gul’s shameful denial of the Armenian Genocide during the Ankara
press conference which was broadcast live by TV networks worldwide.

Meanwhile, Armenians from all over the world should inundate the White
House Comment Line with phone calls to inform President Obama that his
statements on the Armenian Genocide in Ankara did not go far enough
and do not fulfill his solemn promises on this important issue. Please
call: 1 (202) 456-1111 and leave a message. Unless the White House
hears immediately from a large number of Armenians, President Obama and
his aides might think that Armenians are satisfied with the remarks he
made in Ankara. The President may then not issue a statement on April
24 or he may repeat the same unacceptable words he used in Turkey.

Finally, President Obama should understand that the significance of
keeping his word on the Armenian Genocide goes beyond this issue and
has a direct bearing on his overall credibility. Within hours of the
President’s remarks in Ankara, the Politifact.com website questioned
his integrity, having concluded that he had broken his promise on the
Armenian Genocide-one of the 511 campaign promises that the website
keeps track of, to verify his trustworthiness.