Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email.anca@anca.org
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PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
May 18, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA CHAIRMAN SHARES ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY’S
SHARP DISAPPOINTMENT WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA

"You failed to honor your commitment to lift our
nation’s response to genocide to the level of our
shared American values, choosing, instead, to allow
America’s willingness to respond forcefully to this
horrific crime to remain hostage to Turkish threats
and intimidation." — ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian

WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
Chairman Ken Hachikian shared with President Barack Obama today the
Armenian American community’s disappointment with his
Administration’s failure to honor his campaign pledges to recognize
the Armenian Genocide and to foster the growth and development of
Armenia.

In a May 18th letter to the White House, Hachikian addressed both
the President’s decision not to honor his repeated promises to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as his recent proposal to
cut aid to Armenia by 38% even as he increases overall foreign aid
spending and the level of assistance he seeks to the regions of
Europe, Eurasia, and South/Central Asia.

The full text of the ANCA letter is provided below:

A PDF version can be found at:
Obama_0509.pdf

#####

May 18, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of
America to voice the Armenian American community’s profound
disappointment with your decision not to honor your pledge to
recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In breaking your clearly stated and unambiguous commitment, you
bitterly disappointed all those who believed in your solemn word to
change a flawed U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide, a policy that
you yourself, in a letter you sent to your constituents last year,
sharply criticized as "inexcusable." More broadly, you failed to
honor your commitment to lift our nation’s response to genocide to
the level of our shared American values, choosing, instead, to
allow America’s willingness to respond forcefully to this horrific
crime to remain hostage to Turkish threats and intimidation. This
failure continues the morally flawed policy of allowing Turkey to
veto our stand on human rights by effectively imposing a "gag" rule
on U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Your broken pledge represents both a grave offense to Armenian
Americans and a disservice to all Americans who understand that our
nation’s leadership in confronting genocide should never be reduced
to a political issue that can be traded away, retreated from under
pressure, or used to advance a political agenda, of any kind. The
ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Turkey should have no bearing
on your willingness to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide;
our stand against all instances of genocide should be
unconditional.

What is so particularly disturbing about your reversal is that, in
the course of your service in the United States Senate and your
candidacy for the Presidency, you articulated a thorough knowledge
of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, a firm grasp of the
practical geo-political implications of proper American recognition
of this atrocity, a comprehensive view of the value of Turkey’s
relationship to the United States, and a clear understanding of the
profound moral issues at stake in the condemnation and
commemoration of this crime against humanity. Nothing has changed
since you gave your word except your failure to uphold it.

I respectfully call upon you to act quickly to correct your stand
on the Armenian Genocide by properly and immediately condemning and
commemorating this crime, and by working publicly toward the
adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution before the U.S.
Congress.

The Armenian American community is also troubled that, despite your
pledge to maintain aid to Armenia and to foster her growth and
development, you have called for a 38% cut in economic aid to
Armenia. This represents the sharpest cut, by a significant
margin, among all the recipient nations of Europe, Eurasia, and
South and Central Asia, and takes place with the context of
substantial proposed increases to each of these three regions and a
roughly 9% overall escalation in international affairs spending.

The singling out of Armenia, which has sent troops to Iraq and
Kosovo, appears set to contribute to our operations in Afghanistan,
and hosted the first NATO exercise in the region following the
Russia-Georgia war, for such a dramatic cut, even as it endures
dual Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades and an acute economic
crisis, is profoundly troubling to our community. Compounding this
disappointment was your decision to breach the Armenia-Azerbaijan
military aid parity agreement in favor of Baku, a move that tilts
the regional military balance and sends a dangerous signal to
Azerbaijani leaders who have made no secret of their intent to use
force of arms to settle the Nagorno Karabagh issue.

I appreciate your attention to the concerns of the Armenian
American community and remain hopeful that you will, consistent
with your campaign commitments, revise the course your
Administration has chosen on issues of special concern to Armenia
Americans. We would, of course, welcome the opportunity to meet
with you to discuss these matters personally and in greater detail.

Sincerely,

[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman