Glendale News Press, CA
April 26 2009
REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE:
Obama’s words rebuked
Local Armenians are incensed that the president’s statement Friday did
not include the term `genocide.’
By Zain Shauk
Published: Last Updated Friday, April 24, 2009 10:03 PM PDT
Speakers at the city’s Armenian Genocide Commemoration event Friday
blasted President Obama for betraying campaign pledges to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide, injecting a sense of anger into the somber
ceremony.
Obama issued a statement Friday, on the 94th anniversary of the
genocide, acknowledging the mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians at
the hands of Ottoman Turks as `atrocities’ and used the Armenian
phrase `Meds Yeghern,’ which translates to `The Great Calamity’ to
describe the acts.
But as a senator and presidential candidate, Obama frequently
supported efforts to recognize the mass killings using the word
`genocide,’ famously stating in a speech on Jan. 19, 2008, that `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. The facts are undeniable
.?.?. and as president, I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.’
But in his statement, Obama danced around language that he has
previously insisted should be attributed to the acts, said Zanku
Armenian, president of the Armenian National Committee Glendale’s
board of directors.
`He did not have the courage to use the word `genocide,” said
Armenian, who was in Washington to lobby support for a House of
Representatives resolution calling for official recognition of the
genocide.
`The irony is he used Armenian words,’ he continued, adding that
Armenians would be disheartened by the president’s avoidance of the
term `genocide.’
The use of `genocide’ to describe the events has been of critical
importance to the Armenian community because the size and scale of the
mass killings should be recognized and remembered just as other
genocides are, said speakers at the commemoration event, which was at
the Alex Theatre.
`President Obama, if you’re listening, I can’t tell you how
disappointed the community is for betraying your promise,’ said
Councilman Ara Najarian, who was chairman of the event organizing
committee.
Rep. Adam Schiff, who sponsored the resolution for recognition of the
genocide, received a standing ovation from the audience before he
spoke about his `disappointment’ that Obama, who is the first
president to have been a champion of recognition for the events, fell
short of describing it with the same force he had as a candidate and
senator.
As a candidate, Obama had argued that the United States deserved a
president that would acknowledge the genocide for what it was, Schiff
said.
`He was right,’ Schiff said. `But he was not that president today, and
that was deeply disappointing.’
Assemblyman Paul Krekorian also spoke at the event, saying he recently
received questions about why he continues to push for genocide
recognition.
He asked the audience to remember the impact of the terrorist attacks
on Sept. 11, 2001, and the emotions they felt upon seeing the World
Trade Center towers fall in New York City, comparing those reactions
to those that might have been felt on a daily basis in Armenia, where
innocent people were systematically killed for a year and a half.
Killings of that scale deserve to be remembered, he said.
Several speakers, including Mayor Frank Quintero and journalist Mark
Arax, took to the stage to commemorate the genocide, along with
musical acts, including choir and band performances.
A slew of officials and clergy filled the first rows of the theater,
including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who said he came to
remember those who died in the genocide.
`We have to keep the memory of this in our mind so that this never
happens again,’ he said.
MAN ON THE STREET
The Glendale News-Press asked visitors entering the city’s Armenian
Genocide Commemoration at the Alex Theatre what they thought of
President Obama’s reference to the mass killings as `atrocities’
rather than calling it a `genocide,’ which he had pledged to do as a
candidate.
`He’s scared to use the `genocide’ word. That’s what I think. It’s
hurtful that he didn’t use the `genocide’ word and he used the
[Armenian phrase meaning `The Great Calamity’] because it’s
Armenian. Americans don’t understand what `Meds Yeghern’ means.’
HASMIK KARAPETYAN
Glendale
`It is still man’s inhumanity to man, whatever the term is, and so
hopefully in our future we will all realize that we are all
one. Whatever you do to others you will do to yourself.’
ZEN LOPEZ
Glendale
`He’s always trying to walk that middle line, so based on that I
wasn’t expecting him to say anything else.’
ARMEN TALVERDIAN
Tujunga
`As an Armenian, my own belief is that America’s government will not
accept the Armenian Genocide for the reason that they are allies with
Turkey.’
ANNIE BESEREKIAN
Vancouver, Canada