Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 4 2015

49 US lawmakers urge Obama to recognize Armenian `genocide’ in letter

MAHIR ZEYNALOV / WASHINGTON

49 members of the US House of Representatives have written a letter to
US President Barack Obama to urge him to recognize mass killings of
Armenians at the hands of Ottomans in 1915 as genocide, claiming that
the move will help improve Turkish-Armenian relations.

`We are writing to underscore the importance of a full and just
acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide in your annual April 24th
statement,’ 49 members of the US Congress wrote in the letter that was
accessed by Today’s Zaman.

The lawmakers said a clear recognition of the 1915 events as the
genocide, as Armenians mark its centennial this year, would affirm
that it is not an allegation, but rather a `widely documented fact
supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.’

In the run-up to his presidential victory in 2008, President Obama
promised to recognize the 1915 events as the Armenian genocide, only
backing down after being elected to the White House. In previous
years, Obama’s annual April 24 statement, a date when Armenians
consider the mass killings and forced deportations have started, had
been the most acute ever, but fell short of satisfying the Armenians.
Obama used the original Armenian word to describe the 1915 events in
an attempt to avoid using the term `genocide’ ` a statement that would
undoubtedly enrage Turkey.

For decades, Ankara has lobbied against the recognition of 1915 events
as genocide, whose nature and scale remain highly contentious.
Armenians claim that up to 1.5 million people were either killed or
sent to death in a deliberate attempt to eradicate the Armenian
minority in eastern Turkey. Ankara says the number of Armenians killed
is inflated and that the deaths were the result of war.

Both Turks and Armenians anticipate that Obama will issue a similar,
delicate statement this year despite mounting pressure on the White
House to finally recognize it with clear words.

Members of the Congress said a principled presidential statement
clearly citing the `Armenian Genocide’ would help strengthen
condemnations of the past, and recognize the important relationship
the United States shares with Armenia today.

`Please join with us this April in properly commemorating the Armenian
Genocide by citing it as a clear instance of genocide,’ the letter
told Obama.

They claimed that the recognition will honor the Armenian, Greek,
Assyrian and other Christian victims of this atrocity, pay
well-deserved tribute to American humanitarian relief efforts, pave
the way toward improved Armenian-Turkish relations, and meaningfully
`reinforce our own resolve to prevent future genocides.’

Rep. Robert Dold, who initiated the letter, said on Friday that the
US, as the world’s greatest advocate for freedom, has an obligation to
fully acknowledge one of humanity’s `most horrific crimes.’

`An unequivocal statement of recognition would not only reinforce our
own resolve, but it would also help prevent future genocides by
reaffirming that we will not tolerate affronts to human dignity,’ Dold
stated.

The letter was sent to the White House on Wednesday.

Congressman Dold is also the sponsor of a House resolution that calls
on the president to work toward `equitable, constructive, stable, and
durable Armenian-Turkish relations’ based upon Turkey’s full
acknowledgment of the `facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian
Genocide.’ He introduced the resolution on March 18 and nearly 50
House members declared their support.

The issue has long been a source of tension between Turkey and several
Western countries, especially the US and France, both home to large
ethnic Armenian diasporas. Armenians in the US have put tireless
efforts to mark the killings this year.

The Armenians’ renewed push to recognize the killings as genocide
prompted Ankara’s counter-offensive. A number of high-level Turkish
officials visited Washington since the beginning of the year,
including Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek. Foreign Minister Mevlüt
ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu is expected to arrive in the US capital just days before the
Obama’s statement as part of a Turkish government-orchestrated
campaign to blunt the momentum.

Last week, Turkish parliament speaker said at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) that Turkey wants the most to
illuminate every aspect of the 1915 events so that the issue is not
“exploited.”

“Whatever there is in front or behind [us], who provoked these events,
who promoted them… whatever happened, we want them to be unveiled
based on documents with all their dimensions,” Çiçek said, adding that
Ankara wants to eliminate the `exploitation of the 1915 events’ and
contribute to peace through `exposing historic realities.’

To dilute the existing bill at the House, a new Turkish-American lobby
group, Turkish Institute for Progress, is pushing through a resolution
that will highlight the reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia,
rather than debating the nature of the 1915 killings. The new bill
will be introduced by Rep. Curt Clawson and will call on Obama to
`work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable
Armenian-Turkish relations’ by establishing a new presidential task
force aimed at rapprochement, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Friday.

The report said the American-Armenian groups have expressed their
outrage at the proposal. It was not immediately clear how many US
lawmakers will throw their weight behind the resolution.