REP. SCHIFF URGES PRESIDENT OBAMA TO PROPERLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
23.04.2010 11:44

In a forcefully worded letter, Armenian Genocide Resolution lead
sponsor, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), urged President Barack
Obama to stand by his record as a U.S. Senator and his pledges as a
Presidential candidate to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"We join with Armenian Americans from across the country in thanking
Congressman Schiff for his leadership in calling upon President Obama
to keep his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA
Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

"As we approach April 24th, in the wake of the collapse of the
Protocols process, it’s clear that President Obama faces a stark
choice: He can honor his commitments and his conscience by properly
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, or he can remain an accomplice to
the Turkish government’s campaign to deny this crime against humanity,"
added Hamparian.

Noting that President Obama did not properly recognize the Armenian
Genocide in his 2009 April 24th statement because of "possible
reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey," Rep. Schiff pointed out
that "this misapprehended the nature of reconciliation, which can
never find a sound basis in the denial of genocide, or silence when
confronted by denial." He went on to argue that "Linking the process of
the protocols to the Armenian Genocide resolution actually encourages
Turkey to not ratify them, since the Turks know that prolonging the
process serves to provide opponents of the resolution with a continuing
excuse to delay recognition of the Armenian Genocide."

Earlier this week, 14 Senators issued a similar call, spearheaded
by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), urging President Obama to properly
characterize the Armenian Genocide in his annual statement. At the
Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide Observance on April 21st, over 20
Members of the U.S. House discussed the importance of full and formal
U.S. affirmation of this crime.

The full text of Rep. Schiff’s letter is provided below.

"Dear Mr. President:

As the primary sponsor of H.Res.252, the Armenian Genocide resolution,
I urge you to properly characterize the murder of 1.5 million men,
women and children as "genocide" in your statement marking the April
24 anniversary of the start of the genocide.

Ninety-five years ago this month, in the spring of 1915, the government
of the Ottoman Empire launched a campaign against its Armenian
population. Wholesale massacres, forced marches through blistering
deserts, rapes, and looting were visited upon the Armenians of Eastern
Anatolia. By the time that the killings ended in 1923, one and a half
millions Armenians were dead and the world’s oldest Christian nation
had been shattered – with its survivors scattered around the world.

As a Senator, and during the 2009 presidential campaign, you
repeatedly spoke of the massacres of Armenians at the hands of the
Ottoman Government as genocide. This was in line with the overwhelming
majority of historians, including some notable Turkish historians,
and the genocide has also been recognized by many local and state
governments here in the United States and by many governments around
the world.

Last April you did not use the term "genocide" to describe the
events of 1915 to 1923. At the time, some argued that the possible
reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey was a reason to hold off on
recognition. This misapprehended the nature of reconciliation, which
can never find a sound basis in the denial of genocide, or silence
when confronted by denial. Now, despite the signing of the Protocols,
the Turkish government has given every indication that it will not
ratify or implement the agreement and has sought to make resolution
of the Nagorno Karabakh issue a precondition for any action by the
Turkish parliament.

I have repeatedly warned that Turkey would attempt to use the
protocols process as a means to prevent the Administration from
using the word "genocide" and to try to forestall consideration of a
genocide resolution in Congress. That must not be allowed to come to
pass. Linking the process of the protocols to the Armenian Genocide
resolution actually encourages Turkey to not ratify them, since the
Turks know that prolonging the process serves to provide opponents
of the resolution with a continuing excuse to delay recognition of
the Armenian Genocide.

Mr. President, you have always been a leader on the important issue
of human rights. I urge you to stand with the ever-dwindling number
of survivors, as well as the descendants of others, who survived
the Armenian Genocide and continue to suffer the "double killing"
of denial, by referring to it as genocide."