The National, UAE
April 11 2015

Armenians’ pain should have the right name

James Zogby
April 11, 2015

We will soon commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide. April 24 is Armenian Remembrance Day, recalling the
horrifying events that resulted in the deaths of more than one million
Armenians and the forced expulsion and ethnic cleansing of many more
from their ancestral homeland at the hands of Turkish nationalists. It
is an event that has defined Armenian history. And it has left an open
wound that must be acknowledged and addressed for there to be closure
for both peoples.

For Armenians, the healing process requires that the events of 100
years ago be called what they were: a genocide.

Six years ago, Armenian Americans were deeply disappointed by the
Remembrance Day statement issued by the White House. Barack Obama did
not term the horrors of 1915 a genocide. They had great hopes that the
president would do so. During his 2008 presidential campaign, he
declared that the events of 1915 were a genocide, and criticised those
who would not use that word.

Armenian Americans were further encouraged in April 2009, when
president Obama urged the Turks to deal with this blot on their
history in his address to the Turkish Parliament. By beginning with
some of the “darker periods” in US history, he sought to prod his
hosts into dealing with their own past.

To be fair, the president’s statement on Armenian Remembrance Day in
2009 was more forceful than any of those by his predecessors. His
hesitation about using the term “genocide” was most probably prompted
by the fact that the Turkish and Armenian governments had agreed to a
“road map” for normalising relations just a couple of days before. He
was probably concerned about disrupting this process by provoking a
hostile Turkish response.

Thus, the statement the White House issued on April 24, 2009 read, in
part: “Ninety-four years ago, one of the great atrocities of the 20th
century began. Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million
Armenians who were subsequently massacred or marched to their death in
the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories, just as it lives on in
the hearts of the Armenian people. I have consistently stated my own
view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not
changed. My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgement of the facts. The best way to advance that goal right
now is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the
past as a part of their efforts to move forward. To that end, there
has been courageous and important dialogue among Armenians and Turks,
and within Turkey itself. I also strongly support the efforts by
Turkey and Armenia to normalise their bilateral relations … the two
governments have agreed on a framework and road map for normalisation.
I commend this progress, and urge them to fulfil its promise.”

In the end, both Turks and Armenians were left angry. The Turks
because of the strong language the US president used, and the
Armenians because he had failed to deliver on his promise to call the
horrors of 1915 a “genocide”.

Six years later, Armenians are still waiting for recognition of their
national tragedy so that their healing process can progress. And the
Turkish government has remained intransigent, still not coming to
grips with the country’s past. The White House is not in an enviable
possession. It is engaged in a battle against ISIL and has been
pushing the Turks to “step up their game” as part of the international
coalition fighting this evil movement. I must admit that, although I
understand the demands of politics and diplomacy, I am also acutely
aware of the demands of history that cry out for recognition.

On a personal note, I was struck by how, this past week, Deir Yassin
day passed almost unnoticed. It was that day, April 9, that marks the
1948 massacre of over 200 Palestinian civilians in the small village
of Deir Yassin. They were slaughtered and many of the dead were
stuffed into a well and left to rot.

It was one of the many horrors that accompanied the Nakba, the name
given to the programme of ethnic cleansing that left thousands of
Palestinians dead, and forced hundreds of thousands more into exile.

It is wrong to tell victim nations to “just get over it”. For there to
be reconciliation, there must be acknowledgement and justice. Just as
we demand that Israel acknowledge and make recompense for its original
sin, we can want no less for the Armenian people.

James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute