Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
September 30, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA CALLS ON HILLARY CLINTON TO LIFT U.S. PRESSURE ON ARMENIA
WASHINGTON, DC — Ken Hachikian, Chairman of the Armenian National
Committee of America, today called upon Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton to lift the unfair and heavy pressure the
U.S. government is using to force Armenia to accept a set of highly
controversial Protocols on the normalization of relations with Turkey.
In his letter, dated September 30, 2009, Hachikian expressed the
Armenian American community’s concern that "these one-sided
agreements, which are being imposed upon a landlocked Republic of
Armenia that remains blockaded by Turkey and that is still working to
overcome the devastating demographic, economic and geopolitical legacy
of the Armenian Genocide, would, if adopted, call into question the
reality of the Armenian Genocide, threaten Armenia’s security,
jeopardize the freedom of Nagorno Karabagh, and compromise the
inalienable rights of all Armenians."
The complete text of the letter is provided below.
#####
September 30, 2009
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton,
I am writing to share with you the growing alarm and
outrage among Armenian Americans over the heavy pressure
that you, officials of the Department of State, and others
in the Obama-Biden Administration are applying to Armenia
to accept the Turkey-Armenia Protocols.
These one-sided agreements, which are being imposed upon a
landlocked Republic of Armenia that remains blockaded by
Turkey and that is still working to overcome the
devastating demographic, economic and geopolitical legacy
of the Armenian Genocide, would, if adopted, call into
question the reality of the Armenian Genocide, threaten
Armenia’s security, jeopardize the freedom of Nagorno
Karabagh, and compromise the inalienable rights of all
Armenians.
As you can imagine, in light of your powerful track record
as a U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate in support of
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, we are particularly
troubled by the role that you have played in pressuring
Armenia to accept these Protocols. Rather than keeping
faith with your principled stands on this human rights
issue, you have, since taking office, aggressively
pressured Armenia into a process that effectively provides
President Obama with a rationale -morally flawed, but
nonetheless politically effective – for failing to honor
his clearly stated pledge to recognize the Armenian
Genocide.
The starkest evidence of the intense pressure applied on
Armenia is that the initial Turkey-Armenia "Roadmap" was
announced late on the evening of April 22nd, only hours
before the President’s first April 24th remarks, following
a marathon 14-hour session in Yerevan between the Foreign
Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandyan, and Matt Bryza, at
the time a Deputy Assistant Secretary. This meeting, and
all the intense pressure on Armenia in the days leading up
to the President’s reversal on his Armenian Genocide
pledge, was plainly intended to serve Turkey’s interest in
blocking U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This
coercion has continued through to this day, with headlines
in the New York Times and elsewhere reporting your personal
"prodding" and "pushing" of the Armenian government to
accept the Protocols in the face of broad-based opposition
both in Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora.
As you may know, over 10,000 Armenian Americans gathered in
Los Angeles over the weekend to protest the one-sided
Protocols and to demand full U.S. recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. These American citizens and over one and
a half million Armenian Americans, rightful stakeholders in
our nation’s policies on Armenian issues, have been
excluded from any meaningful role in the shaping of our
nation’s active diplomacy on the Protocols. When we have
formally protested this exclusion to senior officials of
the State Department, we have been advised to address our
concerns to the Armenian government. This dismissal
represents a patent insult to every American of Armenian
heritage. We deserve transparency and honesty from our
government, a policy-making process that fairly embraces
all American stakeholders, and the opportunity to offer our
input in a respectful and meaningful manner.
In light of these concerns, I call upon you to lift the
pressure being applied to Armenia to accept the Protocols
and ask you, once again, to agree to accept our outstanding
request to meet to discuss these and other urgent matters
of concern to the Armenian American community.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman