US ARMENIANS LOOK FOR NOVEMBER RECOGNITION OF ‘GENOCIDE’
Hurriyet
April 26 2010
Turkey
US President Barack Obama (R) greets President of Armenia Serge
Sarkisian upon his arrival for dinner during the Nuclear Security
Summit. AFP photo.
Disappointed by the U.S. president’s failure to declare the 1915
killings of Armenians as "genocide," advocates in the United States
are expected to push for formal recognition in the run-up to November’s
congressional elections, diplomats and analysts said.
Armenian-Americans and their supporters in Congress "think they next
have a chance in October, a few weeks before the hotly contested
elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate," said one
Turkish diplomat over the weekend.
"In U.S. domestic politics, ethnic and interest lobbies believe they
are more effective at such pre-election times," the official said.
In his annual statement Saturday marking the beginning of the Armenian
deportations during World War I, Obama declined to characterize
last century’s Armenian deaths as "genocide," using instead the term
"Meds Yeghern," meaning "the great calamity" in Armenian.
Unsatisfied by the president’s terminology, the Armenian National
Committee of America, or ANCA, denounced Obama for avoiding the use
of the English word "genocide."
"In yet another disgraceful capitulation to Turkey’s threats, President
Obama once again failed to properly recognize the Armenian genocide,
offering euphemisms and evasive terminology to characterize this
crime against humanity," the ANCA said in a weekend statement.
"Today we join with Armenians in the United States and around the world
in voicing our sharp disappointment with the president’s failure to
properly condemn and commemorate the Armenian genocide," said ANCA
Chairman Ken Hachikian.
The Armenian Assembly of America, another major U.S. Armenian group,
was more measured in criticizing Obama. "We have long stated that U.S.
affirmation of the Armenian genocide should not be held hostage
to Armenia-Turkey relations," said Bryan Ardouny, the assembly’s
executive director.
"Unequivocal affirmation of the Armenian genocide will also further
the cause of genocide prevention worldwide and be more faithful to
American principles," he said.
Strategic concerns and Iran
Obama’s statement came amid a faltering reconciliation process between
Turkey and Armenia. The foreign ministers of the two neighbors signed a
deal last October calling for the reopening of the land border between
Turkey and Armenia and the establishment of full diplomatic relations.
But the deal has recently stalled, with Armenia suspending the process
last week at the same time it accused Turkey of failing to implement
the October agreement.
Previous U.S. presidents studiously avoided using the term "genocide"
– which Turkey staunchly opposes – in past April 24 statements out
of concern for Turkey’s strategic importance for the U.S.
Obama declined to use the term "genocide" last year, implying in
his statement that he did not want to harm the normalization process
between Turkey and Armenia. In this year’s statement, there was no
such reference, however.
Analysts agree that while the normalization process is faltering,
Obama had to revert to the "Turkey’s strategic importance" card as
a pretext not to utter the g-word.
"In addition to a number of other reasons, Obama also apparently
did not want to antagonize Turkey a few weeks before a key vote at
the United Nations Security Council targeting Iran’s controversial
nuclear program," said Bulent Alirıza, head of the Turkey Project
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank
in Washington.
The United States and the West are urging the U.N. Security Council
to endorse in late May or June punishing new sanctions against Iran.
Turkey, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, strongly
opposes such sanctions.
Pending ‘genocide’ bill
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly
passed a resolution in early March calling for the U.S.’s formal
recognition of the last century’s Armenian killings as "genocide," but
it is not clear if or when the bill will go to a full House floor vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made it clear that she would take
the resolution to a House floor vote only if she sees solid majority
support behind the bill. At the moment, roughly 140 lawmakers out of
the House’s 435 seats back the resolution.
However, this number could increase in the run-up to November’s
congressional elections, in which the whole House and nearly one-third
of the 100-member Senate will be renewed.
The election is expected to see a tough competition between Obama’s
Democratic Party, which presently controls both the House and the
Senate, and the opposition Republicans, who want to recapture the
majority in both congressional chambers.
In this climate of competition, more lawmakers may support the
"genocide" resolution to attract pro-Armenian votes, according to
analysts.