WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN:
By William M. Paparian
USA Armenian Life Magazine
January 19, 2009
California
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smilin’ free at the changes all around
Pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday
When I get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Those are lyrics from Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who. It was an
anthem of my generation, the generation of Woodstock, and Khe Sanh,
and Kent State: Won’t Get Fooled Again. On the issue of recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by the United States government, the
Armenian-American community keeps getting fooled again, and again
and again. We have been hood-winked, bamboozled, lied to, and betrayed.
It’s time to pursue a new agenda for justice for the Armenian Nation.
I spent some of the best years of my life in pursuit of Hye Tad. In
the early 1980’s, I served on the Board of Directors of the Armenian
National Committee, Western Region, and helped to establish it as a
Political Action Committee in my capacity as General Counsel.
As Mayor of Pasadena, on April 24, 1996, when more than 7,000 watched
as then Chairwoman of the American Red Cross and former Cabinet member
Elizabeth Dole laid a wreath at the Armenian Martyrs Monument in
Montebello, I was the keynote speaker. Throughout these years I have
been witness to the leadership of the Democratic Party playing the
Armenian-American community on recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
During the most recent campaign for U.S. President, I watched as my
youngest college age son Saro prepared to cast his first vote. I
saw the idealism in his eyes and heard the hope in his voice
as he expressed faith in the campaign promises of then Senator
Barack Obama that he would be the President that would recognize
the Armenian Genocide on April 24th. And I will always remember my
son’s disillusionment and sense of betrayal when on April 24, 2009,
President Obama, in the ultimate act of political cowardice, issued
his infamous Meds Yeghern statement.
After 12 years of service as an elected public official and postilions
on municipal, county, regional, and state governmental agencies, I have
seen first hand the the prevarications with which public officials will
profess one thing to the community and then deceitfully do another
behind the scenes. One classic technique out of the parliamentary
playbook is to announce support for a proposal, and then simply refer
it to a committee where the proposal is never heard from again. That’s
precisely what’s happened to the latest congressional resolution on the
Armenian Genocide. Introduced on March 17, 2009, the bill was referred
to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs where it has languished ever
since. That committee is chaired by California Congressman Howard
Berman who is also a co-sponsor of the bill. No hearing has been
scheduled by Congressman Berman on the Genocide Resolution nor does
he have any intention of ever doing so. The Speaker of the House,
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is also a co-sponsor of the bill. She
has it within her power to bring the Genocide Resolution to the
floor of the House of Representatives so it can be passed. She has
no intention of doing so. She had the opportunity during the last
session of Congress to bring a similar bill, House Resolution 106 to
the floor of the House of Representatives, but didn’t because she
had cut a deal with former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt
and paid Turkish government lobbyist not to do so.
Meanwhile, the precious political capital that has been marshaled
by a dedicated cadre of bright, young Armenian-American political
activists in Washington DC and across the country, has been squandered
each and every time we are betrayed by those in whom we have place
our trust. Betrayal of Armenian-Americans by those in whom we place
our trust is not a new phenomenon.
It happened during World War I, when 1200 Armenian-American Gamavors
carried the U.S. Flag into battle when they seized the high ground
and defeated the Turkish Army led by Kemal Attaturk on the heights of
Arara and paved the way for General Allenby’s victory in Palestine and
the surrender of the Turkish government to the Western Allies. These
brave men had gallantly fought and died becauseFrance, Britain and
the United States had promised a Free and Independent Armenia. They
were betrayed just like we were betrayed by President Obama last
year and just like we are being betrayed now by the leadership
of the Democratic Party on the current congressional resolution to
recognize the Armenian Genocide. Enough is enough. It’s time to forge
a new agenda for justice for the Armenian Nation, an agenda that is
principled, and uncompromising. And an agenda that will no longer
tolerateunfulfilled promises.
In 1973, an elderly Armenian Genocide survivor named Gourgen Yanikian
lured 2 Turkish diplomats to the Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel and
executed them. He had already issued a proclamation declaring that this
was the only means left with which to secure justice for the Armenian
Nation. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In the early
1980’s, I was part of the legal team that secured Yanikian’s release
from prison. He died shortly thereafter having cheated the Turkish
government of their efforts to see him die in prison. Was Yanikian
right? Is political violence the only means left to secure justice
for the Armenian Nation? I hope not and continue to be optimistic
that we will make the legal and political system work for us and
ultimately triumph. We must persevere with the same spirit of our
heroic Gamavors. But we can no longer accept broken promises from
Barack Obama or Howard Berman or Nancy Pelosi. We are not going to
be fooled again!