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
December 18, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
SCHIFF SLAMS TURKISH LOBBY GENOCIDE DENIAL
— Presses Adoption of Armenian Genocide Resolution
"The best way to ensure that the truth about the Armenian Genocide is
recognized is for the United States Congress to act to commemorate the
victims now, while a handful of survivors are still with us." —
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
WASHINGTON, DC – House Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsor,
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), this week, called for the adoption of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252) as a necessary step to both
counter Turkey’s campaign of denial and to help lay the foundation for
a lasting Armenia-Turkey relationship based on truth, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Rep. Schiff’s actions came in response to a letter from the Assembly
of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and Federation of Turkish
American Associations (FTAA) that cited the historical "commission"
provision of the recently signed Turkey-Armenia Protocols as
justification for blocking Congressional condemnation and
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. "The Turkey-Armenia
Protocols, which the United States, Europe and Russia are supporting,
include the establishment of a historical commission to investigate
the events of 1915," explain ATAA President Gunay Evinch and FTAA
President Kaya Boztepe. "This investigation will necessarily probe the
Armenian Revolt (1885-1919) during which 1.1 million Ottoman Muslims
and Jews perished, and its consequences for Ottoman Armenian rebels
and their supporters," they continue, advancing the standard Turkish
government propaganda denying the Armenian Genocide.
Rep. Schiff, in a letter made public on December 18th, explained, "I
received your letter regarding the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H.Res.252) and after reading it, I am more certain than ever that the
best way to ensure that the victims of the Armenian Genocide are not
forgotten is to pass the resolution." The California legislator also
stressed his concern that "tiny, landlocked Armenia will be forced to
accept an historical whitewash in order to end the punitive blockade
that is stifling its economic development and threatens to condemn
another generation of Armenian children to poverty."
Referencing recent statements by U.S government officials that the
"commission is not intended as a vehicle to review the history of the
Armenian Genocide," Rep. Schiff described the ATAA/FTAA joint letter
as "a vehicle to continue Ankara’s decades of denial."
The complete text of Rep. Schiff’s letter is provided below, along
with the text of the ATAA/FTAA letters.
"Congressman Schiff’s powerful response to the ATAA and FTAA clearly
rejects Turkey’s attempts to use the Turkey- Armenia Protocols to
block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA. "We value, as well, the Congressman’s
strong words, his principled stand, and his tireless efforts to firmly
establish the fundamental truth that Turkey has spent decades trying
to avoid – namely that the universal recognition of this crime –
including by both Washington and Ankara – represents a necessary
element of any durable Armenia-Turkey relationship."
H.Res.252, introduced on March 17th of this year by lead sponsors Adam
Schiff and George Radanovich (R-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-chairs Frank Pallone (D- NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), currently has
over 135 cosponsors. Its companion legislation in the Senate
(S.Res.316), spearheaded by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and John
Ensign (R-NV) has 11 cosponsors, including Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Carl Levin (D- MI), the most recent
addition to the cosponsor list. Both bills are identical to
legislation in the 110th Congress that was adopted by the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, and publicly endorsed by then-candidate for
President Barack Obama, current Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. Since the introduction of the current
resolution this March, President Obama has broken his pledge to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, retreating markedly from repeated
statements and promises he made throughout his service in the Senate
calling for proper U.S. condemnation and commemoration of this crime
against humanity.
#####
Text of Schiff Letter to Assembly of Turkish American Associations
(ATAA) and Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA)
December 17, 2009
Dear [ATAA/FTAA]:
I received your letter regarding the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.252) and after reading it, I am more
certain than ever that the best way to ensure that the
victims of the Armenian Genocide are not forgotten is to
pass the resolution.
Ninety-four years ago, the government of the Ottoman
Empire, launched what is almost universally considered the
first genocide of the Twentieth Century – the Armenian
Genocide. By the time the atrocities ended in 1923, 1.5
million men, women and children had been killed – shot,
beaten, starved, raped and force-marched through searing
deserts.
Despite a series of convictions of some of the leading
perpetrator after World War I, the Turkish state has never
accepted responsibility for the acts of its predecessor
government and has stubbornly maintained that the genocide
never took place. Even today, Turks are forbidden to
discuss openly the Genocide are subject to prosecution if
they do so. Ankara’s failure to acknowledge the truth
about the vents of 1915-23 has complicated Turkey’s
relationship with the United States and a number of
European countries and is also an impediment to Turkey’s
efforts to join the European Union.
The evidence of the Genocide is overwhelming. American
newspapers, especially the New York Times, chronicled the
Genocide in great detail. American diplomats throughout
the crumbling Ottoman Empire transmitted a flood of cables
and other reports detailing the slaughter of Armenians. In
1919, Congress passed legislation to aid the victims and
ordinary Americans contributed money to aid the survivors.
Our National Archives houses thousands of cables, reports,
eyewitness testimony, photographs, and other evidence of a
deliberate campaign of extermination.
For the past 90 years, the Armenian people have sought
justice; they have fought to have their suffering, which
inspired a young Polish Jew to coin the term "genocide,"
recognized by the international community and especially
the descendants of those who carried out the slaughter. In
response, the Turkish government has maintained a decades-
long policy of fighting any attempt by the American
government or other nations to recognize what happened to
the Armenian people for what it was.
Earlier this year, the governments of Turkey and the modern
state of Armenia, signed the Protocols that, upon
ratification by the two countries’ respective parliaments,
will end Turkey’s 16-year-old blockade of landlocked
Armenia. The border will be reopened and the Armenian
people, who have suffered economic privation and physical
isolation as a result of Ankara’s blockade, will certainly
benefit. And open border would also help Turkey in its
quest for EU membership and by removing a significant
irritant in Ankara’s relationship with the international
community.
While I strongly support ending Turkey’s blockade of
Armenia and for improving relations between the two
countries, I share the deep concerns of many Armenians and
Armenian-Americans about the inclusion in the Protocols of
an historical commission that will examine the past –
including the Armenian Genocide. I fear that tiny,
landlocked Armenia will be forced to accept an historical
whitewash in order to end the punitive blockade that is
stifling its economic development and threatens to condemn
another generation of Armenian children to poverty.
In recent months, some, including some in our government
have suggested that the commission is not intended as a
vehicle to review the history of the Armenian Genocide.
Your letter honestly characterizes it as a vehicle to
continue Ankara’s decades of denial, supporting my own
interpretation of the Protocols’ commission provision.
The best way to ensure that the truth about the Armenian
Genocide is recognized is for the United States Congress to
act to commemorate the victims now, while a handful of
survivors are still with us. By speaking now, and on
behalf of the American people, the House of Representatives
can forestall any effort by Turkey to force the victims of
one of history’s great crimes to cooperate in denying that
it ever happened. True reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia must be built on a foundation of truth.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Adam B. Schiff
Member of Congress
==================================
LETTE R FROM ATAA/FTAA LEADERS TO REP. ADAM SCHIFF
Assembly of Turkish American Associations
Federation of Turkish American Associations
December 9, 2009
The Honorable Representative Adam Schiff
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Schiff,
We, the Presidents of America’s largest Turkish-American
grassroots organizations, The Assembly of Turkish American
Associations (ATAA) and Federation of Turkish American
Associations, (FTSS), urge you to support the nascent
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. Therefore, the present
Armenian resolution in the House (H.Res.252) should neither
advance nor pass.
Extremists in the Armenian American community have
contacted you to press for passage of this one-sided
resolution, which would condemn the Ottoman empire and, by
implication, Turkey and the people of Turkish heritage, of
the high crime of genocide. Passage would derail the vital
and brave steps being taken by the Turkish and Armenian
people to achieve a fuller relationship that will advance
peace and security in their region.
The Turkey-Armenia Protocols, which the United States,
Europe and Russia are supporting, include the establishment
of a historical commission to investigate the events of
1915. This investigation will necessarily probe the
Armenian Revolt (1885-1919) during which 1.1 million
Ottoman Muslims and Jews perished, and its consequences for
Ottoman Armenian rebels and their supporters.
Further, Congress ought not to sit in judgment of Turkey
and people of Turkish heritage, because, as the protocols
imply, legislators are not historians and certainly not
experts in Ottoman history. Also, as the resolution levels
the crime of genocide, by international treaty the United
States acknowledges the sole jurisdiction to hear such
allegations of the International Court of Justice at the
Hague.
Finally, Armenian anti-Turkish resolutions are
fundamentally unfair and unjust, representing ethnic
politics at its worst. Turkish Americans are concerned
about being persecuted by these resolutions and urge
rapprochement as a productive approach.
Sincerely,
Gunay Evinch
President
ATAA
1526 18th St NW
Washington DC 20036
(202) 483-9090
Kaya Boztepe
President
FTAA
821 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-7688