RESOLUTION 252
by Jean Ipdjian
Gibrahayer
March 10, 2010
This past Thursday, 4 March 2010, the US House Foreign Affairs
Committee after a protracted voting session voted to pass a Resolution
252 regarding the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Something
that the Armenian communities in the United States had been vainly
trying to accomplish for many years.
This feat was accomplished despite the millions of dollars spent
by the Turkish propaganda machine, despite the promise of lucrative
directorships to retiring Congressmen in lobbying firms, despite the
quantified and not threats of the Turkish government and high ranking
officials and more significantly despite the last minute objections of
Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration.
This time, the chairman of the committee Rep. Howard Berman had the
courage to withstand the pressures and not only allow the voting
to take place, but to ensure that ample time was given for all the
representatives who wanted to vote to be there. The whole process was
like a thriller and the final result of 23 votes for and 22 against
bears witness to that, but does not say the whole story.
As warned, the signing of the infamous Protocols came to hunt us down
and as a result, the difference was limited to one single vote instead
of 4 or 5. And this is because at least so many representatives had
declared that although they did not doubt the Genocide, they did
not want to cause problems or jeopardise the smooth progress of the
normalisation process started by the Protocols. And as is the case with
the Cypriot ‘No’ to the Anan plan in April 2004, it will come and haunt
us in every step that we take towards the recognition of the Genocide
by the full House, Senate, other nations and eventually Turkey. As
long as such ill-conceived and unjust processes are allowed to exist,
as long as we engage in such futile exercises, we will give Turkey
and others the excuses to deny the Genocide on the part of Turkey
and avoid recognition on the part of others.
This success is an admirable achievement. The resolution now has to
pass through both Houses of Congress to be official. This may happen
or may not. As in so many past occasions and as in so many other
venues, a host of reasons and reasonings might intercede to prevent
this resolution from reaching the Houses for a vote, Even if it does,
voting might go terribly wrong. National security considerations,
financial gain, re-election prospects and even plain, honest to
god blackmail and bribes might be perfectly viable and acceptable
hindrances that can be put forward to sink it. However, nothing can
erase the fact that it did happen. Nothing can erase the happening
from the pages of history, whatever happens from now on. And this is
important, because it shows to both foreigners and compatriots that
nothing is impossible for us, that even small and weak nations can
succeed against all odds if they want something bad enough. And that,
when righteous causes get the recognition they deserve, if people
have the courage and perseverance to go the whole way.
But then, fighting against impossible odds is no stranger to us. We’ve
shown that we are experts in that. Our history has forced and taught
us to become experts. Our rising as a nation after the Genocide, the
battle of Sardarabad, the 1918-1920 independence just three years after
the start of the Genocide, the Armenian Diaspora ‘Spyourk’ with all
its institutions, our very existence as a nation is evidence of that.
Just after the passing of the Resolution, on the popular ‘Facebook’
some contributors, friends, were asking what comes next. Others were
lamenting that universal recognition would result into us losing
the common cause, as they reasoned, that has held us together,
suggesting we would be reduced into a religious minority only. Yes,
there will be cases and perhaps even communities which will be reduced
into religious minorities. Yes, some would lose direction and fall
victim to the great grinding jaws of assimilation. But as a whole,
as a nation, we would have resolved and hopefully healed an open
wound which would eventually lead to come to terms with our mighty
neighbour and her coming to terms with her history and us.
As a nation, it would allow us to finally put to rest the remains of
our dead and look towards the future with less cynicism.
As a nation, the struggle to reach that stage, the stage where the
Genocide will be recognised universally including by Turkey, would bind
us together even more and amalgamate us into a more homogeneous entity.
As a nation, it would allow us to be in peace with ourselves and look
towards the future without carrying any skeletons of our past.
There is a lot of work to be done. March 4th and the success of the
passing of Resolution 252 by the House Foreign Affairs Committee are
but significant steps in our continuing struggle towards the fulfilment
of our national aims and inspirations. It is just a step in the right
direction. And it can stay meaningful only if we continue our hard
work, if it propels us to work harder, if it further amalgamates us
into a fused fist crushing all obstacles on the road to total victory.
Jean Ipdjian – London – 2010