A TRIBUTE TO FORMER US PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.04.2009 00:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A tribute to former President Woodrow Wilson drew
more than 50 visitors to the Glendale Public Library to hear about
his role in drawing the borders for an independent Armenian nation,
Glendale Newspress reports.
Wilson’s great-great-grandson, Donald Wilson Bush, and the curator
of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, Va., Jarod
Kearney, were on hand to speak about the late president’s push for
an independent Armenia.
Wilson drew a map of the Armenian territories as part of a peace treaty
in 1920, after the demise of the Ottoman Empire following World War I,
Kearney said.
But within three years, Turkey claimed some of that territory by force,
and the land was included as part of the country in a treaty signed
in 1923, said Michael Sosikian, president of the Defense Council of
Western Armenia, which hosted the event.
Since then, Armenians have been pushing for international recognition
of "Wilsonian Armenia," Sosikian said.
The presence of the two guest speakers was an indication that Armenians
are not alone in pushing for the expanded borders to be realized,
visitors said.
"It’s a validation, if you will," Woodland Hills resident Vatche
Kasparian said.
Wilson’s push for Armenian independence went along with his ideals,
Kearney said. "Woodrow Wilson was not only a key player in the
Armenians’ process, but a champion of self-determination," he said.
Bush acknowledged the host organization’s continuing struggle for
an expanded Armenia and opened his remarks with a declaration of
solidarity.
"I am here tonight to support your cause," he said.
He hoped that President Obama would be able to facilitate a dialogue
between Armenia and Turkey to move toward expanding the Christian
nation.Bush also voiced admiration for the peaceful push for land
rights made by Armenians, even as marginal progress has been made.
"I’ve been watching you closely for the past decade, and I still
don’t know how you do it," he said