Arkansas News, AR
Oct 14 2007
Political Notebook: Arkansas step ahead of Congress on genocide
recognition
Sunday, Oct 14, 2007
By Rob Moritz and Aaron Sadler
Stephens Media
In contrast to the quickening controversy in Congress over
legislation to condemn the killings of Armenians in the early 20th
century, an action by Arkansas’ governor denouncing the deaths drew
little notice six years ago.
Turkey has recalled its U.S. ambassador and vehemently objected to a
bill approved Wednesday by a House panel to declare the Armenian
deaths at the hands of Ottoman Turks as genocide.
The Bush administration also opposes the bill, worried it would
fracture a fragile relationship with Turkey, a Middle East ally.
Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee on March 7, 2001, signed a proclamation in
Arkansas declaring a "Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide."
The proclamation was requested by the Armenian National Committee of
America.
The document stated that at least 1.5 million Armenians were killed
between 1915 and 1923, and that the Armenian people have not received
reparations for their losses. It also said the current Turkish
government "engages in a campaign of ‘denial of the Armenian
Genocide.’"
Leo Stepanian of Fort Smith, the son of Armenian immigrants, said he
requested Huckabee sign the recognition in advance of Armenian
Martyrs Day on April 24 of that year.
In what was perhaps an attempt to "keep the peace," as Stepanian
said, in Arkansas, Huckabee also proclaimed April 23 as "Turkish
Heritage and Children’s Day" and April 24 as a "Day of Remembrance of
the Turkish and Armenian Tragedy."
Stepanian, indignant over the other proclamations even six years
later, said: "It was not a tragedy. It was a genocide."
Huckabee is now a Republican candidate for president.
"The 2001 proclamations were like many proclamations requested by
Arkansas citizens and there was no intention to make a political
point at all," said Alice Stewart, Huckabee’s press secretary, on
Friday.
The proclamations were also signed by then-Secretary of State Sharon
Priest. When contacted Friday, Priest said she did not recall the
details of the gubernatorial proclamation, one of hundreds issued by
Huckabee during his decade in office.
Stepanian said 39 other states had condemned the Turks’ actions as
genocide.
"It took me about five or six months to get Gov. Huckabee to do
this," said Stepanian, who said his mother lost four brothers and his
father nearly his entire family in the killings.
The Turkish government denies that Armenians were killed in an
organized genocide, but instead said the deaths were because of
massive problems related to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
"I’m not blaming the present Turkish government, but they continually
deny the Ottoman Turks did something like this," Stepanian said.
The bill in Congress cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee and
advances to the full House.
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