The Enquirer, Cincinnati
March 30 2004
Never forget Armenian genocide
Your voice: David Krikorian
Last week, the World Affairs Council of Greater Cincinnati held a
luncheon with the Turkish ambassador to the United States, Osman
Faruk Logoglu. Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken attended the lunch and
presented the ambassador with a key to the city. Both General
Electric Aircraft Engines and Procter & Gamble count Turkey as a
major customer.
The ambassador addressed the 40 attendees for about 20 minutes and
then took a few questions. I asked the ambassador when the government
of Turkey would officially recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915
and end its campaign of denial to suppress the truth.
For those who are not familiar with this event, the Armenian genocide
was a dark period in the lifeline of humanity. Under the cover of
World War I, the Turkish government – at that time known as the
Ottoman Empire – implemented its plan to eliminate the Armenian
population from the face of the earth.
More than 1.5 million (yes, million!) Armenian men, women and
children were butchered at the hands of the Turkish government. This
event is well chronicled by distinguished authors, historians and
statesmen from many countries including the United States, France,
Germany, Sweden and Great Britain, just to name a few.
The ambassador answered the question by saying that there was no
genocide and that the event was largely Armenian propaganda. The
ambassador needs to get his facts straight.
There are two resolutions before Congress, House Resolution 193 and
Senate 164, which cite the importance of remembering past crimes
against humanity, including the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and
the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future
atrocities. H.R. 193 was adopted unanimously by the House Judiciary
Committee in May 2003 and has 111 cosponsors.
Despite broad bipartisan support, neither Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., nor House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. has
scheduled a vote on the genocide resolution.
President Bush pledged his support in 2000 to officially recognize
the Armenian genocide, which unfortunately looks like a broken
campaign promise. The 50,000 Armenians who live in Florida will
remember that broken promise this November.
For the record, neither Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio nor Rob Portman,
R-Ohio, supports the House resolution. I wonder why not.
—
David Krikorian of Madeira is a small business owner who operates two
companies, DataSuites and Parody Productions.