OBAMA FALLS 1 WORD SHORT
By Zain Shauk
Glendale News Press
April 27 2010
CA
Failure to use term ‘genocide’ in citing mass killings upsets
Armenians.
Armenians around the country voiced frustration with President Obama
on Monday, days after he again avoided the word "genocide" regarding
the 1915 mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians.
Representatives from Glendale, Burbank and Los Angeles — a region
that is home to the largest Armenian population in the United States —
called Obama’s statement to recognize Armenian Remembrance Day on April
24 the most recent disappointment from the administration on the issue.
Obama, when campaigning for president, repeatedly committed to
recognizing the mass killings as genocide if he was elected, but on
his first opportunity to do so in 2009, he referred to the atrocities
as the Meds Yeghern, the Armenian phrase for "the great calamity"
and did not use the word genocide.
His statement Saturday was similar.
"Today is a day to reflect upon and draw lessons from these terrible
events," Obama said. "I have consistently stated my own view of what
occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. It is
in all of our interest to see the achievement of a full, frank and
just acknowledgment of the facts. The Meds Yeghern is a devastating
chapter in the history of the Armenian people, and we must keep its
memory alive in honor of those who were murdered and so that we do
not repeat the grave mistakes of the past."
Although the statement called for remembrance of the mass killings, it
was a disappointment for Armenians who had supported Obama’s election
bid because of his prior stance, Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian said.
"He’s playing games with words and failing to live up not only to his
campaign promises, but to his role and obligations as president of the
freest country in the world to declare the events of 1915 a genocide,"
Najarian said.
Armenian Americans, who had largely supported Obama in the past,
have started to leave his corner after seeing him change his approach
after being elected, said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the
Armenian National Committee of America.
"I think that they looked to him to provide more leadership and to
honor his pledge, and that twice in a row now he’s fallen short of
his own standards," Hamparian said. "It’s a very frustrating thing,
and I think the primary way that Armenian Americans can express
their frustration in the civic arena is with their votes, and I think
they’re getting ready to do that."
In 2008, while campaigning for president, then-Sen. Obama criticized
President George W. Bush and his administration for not recognizing
the genocide and pressed then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on
the issue.
"I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the
Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a
point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence," Obama said on Jan. 18,
2008. "The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on
diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As
a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution, and as president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide."
The president’s most recent statement on the mass killings committed
at the hands of the Ottoman Turks came as a new resolution to recognize
the Armenian Genocide moves through Congress.
That resolution, written by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) was
narrowly approved by a key House committee after the White House
voiced concerns that a formal U.S. acknowledgment could jeopardize
fledgling relations between Armenia and Turkey, which began last year
with the establishment of a set of protocols.
But Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said last week he was suspending
his government’s ratification of the protocols because of inaction
on the part of the Turkish government.
"We consider unacceptable the pointless efforts of making the dialogue
between Armenia and Turkey an end in itself," Sargsyan said. "From this
moment on, we consider the current phase of normalization exhausted."
That move could help convert potential legislative opponents to the
Armenian Genocide bill into supporters, Schiff said.
"After a certain amount of time they’re going to have to have a
realization that Turkey was never serious about reconciling with
Armenia," Schiff said.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), a sponsor of the bill, echoed
the concerns of Schiff and Armenians who hoped the president would
call the mass killings a genocide.
"It’s the right thing to do, and he should have done it," Sherman said.