Burbank Leader, CA
April 11 2009
Obama stops short in Turkey
Published: Last Updated Friday, April 10, 2009 10:23 PM PDT
President Obama stopped short of officially acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide during his recent trip to Turkey, telling the press corps
Monday that he did not want to â??preempt any possible
arrangements or announcements that might be made in the near
future.â??
As a presidential candidate, Obama made it clear that the death of
roughly 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks in 1915
was genocide, â??not an â?`allegation,â?? a
â?`personal opinionâ?? or a â?`point of view,”
as he wrote in a 2006 letter to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice.
On Monday, Obama told reporters at a joint press conference with
Turkish President Abdullah Gul that he had not changed his views, but
was encouraged by `a series of negotiations, a process in place
between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole host of long-standing
issues, including this one.’
Turkey has so far refused to acknowledge the genocide, despite
findings to the contrary from scores of historical scholars and human
rights leaders the world over. The European Parliament, 20 national
governments and 42 state governments have already passed resolutions
recognizing the genocide.
Past attempts in Congress to pass a similar resolution have stalled
repeatedly amid political pressure to avoid harming relations with a
key NATO ally, but given Obama’s popularity abroad, supporters of the
genocide resolution have held out hope that this time will be
different.
Rep. Adam Schiff, who reintroduced a bipartisan resolution in March
calling on the U.S. to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, said
he was disappointed that Obama did not take a firmer position on the
matter, but hoped that he prepared Gul in private for an official
statement later this month, when Armenians commemorate the mass
killings.
`We’re trying to do everything we can to get him to make a statement
for April 24,’ Schiff said.
He warned against the Obama administration buying into Turkey’s `old,
failed concept’ of a historical commission to mediate the issue.
Gul pushed for the commission Monday, arguing that while his country
was `ready to face the realities,’ the matter of genocide should not
be left to `the politicians and legal experts.’
`It is not a parliamentarian, a politician, who can make a decision on
this without knowing the circumstances to the situation,’ Gul told
reporters.
It is that position that has angered Armenians, who say the issue of
genocide has long been settled, so advocating for a historical
commission `is just a delay tactic by the Turkish government,’ said
Zanku Armenian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee Glendale
chapter.
`President Obama missed an opportunity to speak truthfully about the
Armenian Genocide when he was in Turkey and help them face their
past,’ he said. `However, we believe President Obama is a man of his
word, and hope that he will stick by his past words, as he said he
would in Turkey, when it comes to April 24 in a White House
statement.’
If he doesn’t, Schiff said, it could be a potential `game-changer’ for
his genocide resolution, which is approaching 100 co-sponsors in the
House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2007 was set to bring the resolution up
for a full vote before 24 of its 235 backers withdrew support
following then-President George W. Bush’s opposition. With support for
the resolution weakened, Schiff and his co-sponsors requested that it
be tabled until political conditions improved.
Similar resolutions failed to even get that far after passing the
House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2000 and 2005, and supporters did
not want to risk a no vote.
`It will be heavily influenced by what [Obama] does,’ Schiff said.
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Burbank Dems to host Liu and Krekorian
Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, together with state Sen. Carol Liu, are
scheduled to field questions at an event in Burbank on the upcoming
slate of statewide ballot measures that lawmakers put forth as part of
a hard-fought plan to bridge a $42-billion deficit.
Several of the six proposed propositions on the May 19 ballot would
pump nearly $6 billion into the state’s 2009-10 budget, but even if
that money were approved, officials have already forecast an
additional $8 billion gap as a result of declining sales and property
tax revenues.
If the ballot measures fail, that gap could grow to roughly $14
billion, they warn. If Proposition 1A fails, the deficit could grow by
an additional $16 billion, according to the California Legislative
Analyst’s office.
That, in turn, could spell deeper cuts in transportation, education,
health care and other public services.
Nearly all of the ballot measures have trailed heavily in recent
polls.
Krekorian and Liu, whose districts include Glendale and Burbank, are
scheduled to field questions on the propositions and discuss their
ramifications at an outdoor cookout hosted by the Burbank Democratic
Club starting at 6:30 p.m. April 17.
The `backyard event’ takes place at 131 S. Reese Place and is open to
the public. Donations are encouraged.
For more information about the event, visit
or call (818) 288-2649.
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Legislators push for truck ban on Angeles Crest
State Sen. Carol Liu and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino are developing
legislation in response to a crash involving a semi-truck on Angeles
Crest Highway last week that left two dead and 12 injured.
Truck driver Marcos Costa, of Maine, failed to brake when traveling
down a steep decline from the Foothill Mountains toward a La
Cañada shopping area, hitting the Flintridge Bookstore and
Coffee House and killing Palmdale residents Angel Posca, 58, and his
12-year-old daughter, Angelina Posca, police said.
Caltrans has instituted a 90-day ban on trucks with five axles or more
along the route. Details of the legislation are still unclear, but the
bill would aim to prevent similar accidents in the future, Liu said.
Liu plans to drive on the Angeles Crest Highway route from the
Antelope Valley to La Cañada over the weekend to personally
assess what measures could be taken to stop large trucks from taking
the road, she said.
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Committee OKs bill for renewable-energy quotas
A legislative committee approved a bill last week aimed at increasing
quotas for renewable energy in California, moving the proposal to
another Sacramento body for review before it can be passed to the
Legislature for a vote.
The bill was written by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and
would require utilities to provide a third of their energy from
renewable resources by 2020.
It would also set targets for renewable energy production at 20% by
next year and 25% by 2015.
The proposal was approved by the Assembly’s Utility and Commerce
Committee, by a vote of 8 to 5, and will move on to the Committee on
Natural Resources for consideration before lawmakers can vote on
putting the plan into law.
The proposal would help create `green jobs’ and encourage progress in
energy technology development, Krekorian said in a statement.
`The benefits of increasing our use of renewable energy are clear and
undeniable,’ he said. `Increasing our stock of renewable energy
sources is vital to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which will slow
the rise of global warming.’
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Krekorian sponsors film competition at the Alex
More than 100 students worked to produce a total of 88 short films
that were submitted to a competition sponsored by Assemblyman Paul
Krekorian.
About a quarter of the films will be selected and screened May 15 in
the Alex Theatre, where the second annual film festival among students
in the state’s 43rd Assembly District will take place.
The festival was an effort to increase student interest in film
production and to give them an opportunity to showcase their skills in
front of a broad community audience.
‘ Jason Wells and Zain Shauk