OBAMA AVOIDS ‘G-WORD’ IN ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE MESSAGE
Emil Danielyan

RFE/RL
25.04.2009

Backpedaling on one of his election campaign pledges, U.S. President
Barack Obama on Friday refrained from terming the 1915 massacres of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey a genocide as he commemorated "one of
the great atrocities of the 20th century."

In a keenly anticipated message to the Armenian community in the
United States, Obama used instead the Armenian phrase Mets Yeghern,
or Great Calamity, to mark the 94th anniversary of the World War
One-era mass killings and deportations.

"Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who were
subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire," read a statement released by him on Armenian
Remembrance Day. "The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories,
just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people."

Obama made clear at the same time that he stands by his earlier
public statements on the subject. During his election campaign Obama
repeatedly referred to the 1915-1918 slaughter of more than one million
Ottoman Armenians as genocide and pledged reaffirm such declarations
once in office.

"The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or
a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by
an overwhelming body of historical evidence," he sai d in a January
2008 statement on his campaign website. "America deserves a leader who
speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully
to all genocides. I intend to be that president."

Obama implied on Friday that he will not utter the word now to avoid
antagonizing Turkey and setting back its ongoing rapprochement with
Armenia.

"My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts," he said. "The best way to advance that
goal right now is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the
facts of the past as a part of their efforts to move forward."

"I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and Armenian people to
work through this painful history in a way that is honest, open,
and constructive," he added. "To that end, there has been courageous
and important dialogue among Armenians and Turks, and within Turkey
itself. I also strongly support the efforts by Turkey and Armenia to
normalize their bilateral relations."

The U.S. president cited and welcomed in that regard the announcement
by the Turkish and Armenian governments that they have agreed on a
"roadmap" for the normalization of bilateral ties. The Turkish-Armenian
agreement, many details of which are still not known, was announced
less than two days before Obama’s statement. Analysts believe that
the timing all but precluded a formal U.S. recognition of the genocide.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul predicted earlier on Friday that
Obama will likely stop short of announcing such recognition. Gul
told reporters that they discussed the question "very broadly" during
Obama’s visit to Turkey earlier this month and that the U.S. president
"is now better informed."

Armenian-American leaders were quick to denounce Obama’s stance. One
prominent campaigner called it a "setback" for the Armenians.

"The guy broke his word and lost a massive amount of credibility,"
he told RFE/RL.

"Today’s statement does not reflect the change the President promised,"
Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America
said in a statement. "His failure to affirm the proud chapter in
U.S. history, the American response to the first genocide of the 20th
century, has needlessly delayed the cause of genocide affirmation
and diminishes U.S.

credibility with regard to genocide prevention."

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), another influential
advocacy group, voiced its "sharp disappointment" with Obama’s failure
to honor his campaign pledge. "In falling short of his repeated
and crystal clear promises … the President chose, as a matter of
policy, to allow our nation’s stand against genocide to remain a
hostage to Turkey’s threats," Ken Hachikian, the ANCA chairman said
in a statement.

B oth the ANCA and the Assembly are now expected to step up their
efforts to push through the U.S. Congress a draft genocide resolution
introduced by them recently. It has already been co-sponsored by over
100 members of the House of Representatives, including Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi urged Armenian-American organizations on Wednesday to intensify
their grassroots activities aimed at facilitating the passage of the
bill. The White House has not yet formulated its position on the bill.