— White House Briefs Armenian American Leaders about the President’s Decision to Exclude “Armenian Genocide” from his April 24th Centennial Statement
WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes confirmed to Armenian American leaders, during a White House meeting this afternoon, that the President has chosen against recognizing the Armenian Genocide in his April 24th statement marking the worldwide centennial of this crime.
“President Obama’s surrender to Turkey represents a national disgrace. It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of trust,” said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian.
“With the world’s attention drawn this April 24th to worldwide Armenian Genocide Centennial commemorations, President Obama will, tragically, use the moral standing of our nation not to defend the truth, but rather to enforce of a foreign power’s gag-rule. He has effectively outsourced America’s policy on the Armenian Genocide to Recep Erdogan,” said Hachikian.
“As Americans of Armenian heritage – despite the repeated surrender of President Obama to foreign pressure – we will, with our allies, continue to work, with increased vigor and determination, to build American support for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide,” he added.
Prior to his election to the oval office, President Obama was clear and unequivocal in promising to properly characterize Ottoman Turkey’s murder of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children between 1915 and 1923 as genocide. In a January 19, 2008, statement he wrote: “The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
Thousands across the US have taken action through the ANCA’s #MarchtoJustice advocacy tool — www.marchtojustice.org/take-action — calling on President Obama to properly characterize the Armenian Genocide in his annual April 24th address.
The U.S. first recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1951 through a filing which was included in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Report titled: “Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.” The specific reference to the Armenian Genocide appears on page 25 of the ICJ Report: “The Genocide Convention resulted from the inhuman and barbarous practices which prevailed in certain countries prior to and during World War II, when entire religious, racial and national minority groups were threatened with and subjected to deliberate extermination. The practice of genocide has occurred throughout human history. The Roman persecution of the Christians, the Turkish massacres of Armenians, the extermination of millions of Jews and Poles by the Nazis are outstanding examples of the crime of genocide.”
President Ronald Reagan reaffirmed the Armenian Genocide in 1981. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted legislation on the Armenian Genocide in 1975, 1984 and 1996.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2015
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes’ Meeting with Armenian-American Leaders
This afternoon Denis McDonough and Ben Rhodes hosted leaders from the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Committee of America to discuss the upcoming centennial commemoration of the 1915 atrocities against Armenians. Recalling the deep ties between the Armenian and American peoples, they discussed the significance of this occasion for honoring the 1.5 million lives extinguished during that horrific period, and welcomed the principled advocacy of the Armenian American community on behalf of justice. They pledged that the United States will use the occasion to urge a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts that we believe is in the interest of all parties.
They also noted that the President has asked Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew to lead a Presidential Delegation to Yerevan on April 24, to stand in solidarity with the Armenian people as they commemorate this most solemn of anniversaries.
Օբամայի` Թուրքիայի առջև նահանջը ազգային խայտառակություն է
(azatutyun.am) ԱՄՆ նախագահ Բարաք Օբամայի աշխատակազմի ղեկավար Դենիս Մաքդոնահը և Ազգային անվտանգության հարցերով օգնականի տեղակալ Բեն Ռոդսը հայ համայնքի ներկայացուցիչների հետ Սպիտակ տանը տեղի ունեցած հանդիպման ժամանակ հաստատել են, որ նախագահ Օբաման որոշել է ապրիլի 24-ի ուղերձում չճանաչել Հայոց ցեղասպանությունը», – հայտնում է Ամերիկայի Հայ դատի հանձնախումբը:
«Նախագահ Օբամայի` Թուրքիայի առջև նահանջը ազգային խայտառակություն է: Ավելի պարզ` դավաճանություն ճշմարտությանն ու վստահությանը»,- հայտարարում է Հանձնախմբի ատենապետ Քեն Խաչիկյանը` հավելելով. – «Մինչ ողջ աշխարհի ուշադրությունը սևեռված է Հայոց ցեղասպանության 100-րդ տարելիցի ոգեկոչմանը, նախագահ Օբաման, ցավոք, ԱՄՆ հեղինակությունն օգտագործում է ոչ թե ճշմարտությունը պաշտպանելու, այլ օտար երկրի տաբուն ամրապնդելու համար»:
Սպիտակ տանը տեղի ունեցած հանդիպումից հետո ամերիկահայերը հայտարարում են` «Օբաման Հայոց ցեղասպանության հարցում Միացյալ Նահանգների արտաքին քաղաքականությունը Ռեջեփ Էրդողանին է հանձնել»: Հանձնախումբը միաժամանակ հիշեցնում է, որ մինչև նախագահի պաշտոնը ստանձնելը նա ամերիկահայերին բոլորովին այլ` հստակ և միանշանակ խոստում էր տվել:
«2008 թվականի հունվարի 19-ի հայտարարությունում Օբաման գրել էր. – «Փաստերն անժխտելի են: Երերուն է այն քաղաքականությունը, որը ստիպում է դիվանագետներին խեղաթյուրել պատմական փաստերը: Որպես սենատոր` ես վճռականորեն սատարում եմ Հայոց ցեղասպանության մասին բանաձևը և որպես նախագահ կճանաչեմ Հայոց ցեղասպանությունը», – Օբամայի խոսքերն է մեջբերում Ամերիկայի Հայ դատի հանձնախումբը:
Սպիտակ տունը հայտնել է նաև, որ ապրիլի 24-ին Երևանում կայանալիք միջոցառումներին Միացյալ Նահանգների նախագահական պատվիրակությունը գլխավորելու է ֆինանսների նախարար Ջեյքոբ Լյուն, դրանում ընդգրկված կլինեն Հայաստանում ԱՄՆ-ի դեսպան Ռիչարդ Միլզը, ամերիկյան Կոնգրեսի Ներկայացուցիչների պալատի անդամներ Ջեքի «Կանչելյան» Սփայերը, Ֆրենք Փալոնը, Աննա Էշուն և Դեյվ Թրոթը:
Obama Won’t Call Armenian Killings ‘Genocide’
(TIME) President Barack Obama won’t use the term “genocide” in remarks Friday marking the 100th anniversary of the killing of more than a million Armenians, officials said Tuesday, igniting disappointment from critics who say the President is catering too much to Turkey.
Activists had hoped that the President would realize a 2008 campaign pledge and use the term for the first time in office, particularly as other governments and world leaders, including Pope Francis, have referred to the massacres as “genocide” in recent days.
But in a meeting with Armenian American leaders on Tuesday, administration officials said Obama would not use the term. “President Obama’s surrender to Turkey represents a national disgrace. It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of trust,” ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian said in a statement Tuesday.
The Turkish government has consistently rejected the term—President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the Pope not to repeat the “mistake” of using it—and the White House has long been reluctant to risk relations with a key ally in a tumultuous region.
Taner Akcam, a history professor at Clark University who was one of the first Turkish academics to openly call the killings “genocide,” said it was “a shame” that Obama was set to again avoid the term.
“The United States is always emphasizing its exceptionalism in supporting liberal values and human rights at home and across the world,” Akcam said. “But Obama and the Americans should also recognize that one should uphold human rights not only when it’s convenient.”
Obama won’t call it Armenian ‘genocide’ on 100th anniversary of atrocity
(CNN) Washington – President Barack Obama, wary of damaging relations with Turkey amid growing unrest in the Middle East, won’t use the 100th anniversary of the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire to declare the brutal episode a genocide.
Despite Obama’s campaign promise in 2008 to “recognize the Armenian Genocide” as president, the White House on Tuesday issued a carefully worded statement on a high-level administration meeting with Armenian groups that avoided using the term “genocide.”
An administration official said Obama, who will mark the centennial this Friday, would similarly avoid using the word. The term angers Ankara, which denies that Ottoman Turks carried out a genocide.
“We know and respect that there are some who are hoping to hear different language this year,” the official said. “We understand their perspective, even as we believe that the approach we have taken in previous years remains the right one — both for acknowledging the past, and for our ability to work with regional partners to save lives in the present.”
The news came as a disappointment to Armenian-American groups, who have lobbied the administration to use the word “genocide” to describe the systematic killing of more than 1 million ethnic Armenians in 1915.
“President Obama’s surrender to Turkey represents a national disgrace. It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of trust,” said Ken Hachikian, the chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America.
Even some of Obama’s allies decried the decision. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic leader of the House Intelligence Committee, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision to avoid the word genocide.
“How long must the victims and their families wait before our nation has the courage to confront Turkey with the truth about the murderous past of the Ottoman Empire?” Schiff wrote in a statement. “If not this President, who spoke so eloquently and passionately about recognition in the past, whom? If not after one hundred years, when?”
The government of Turkey often registers complaints when foreign governments describe the historical event using that word.
Last week, Pope Francis used “genocide” to describe what happened a century ago. In response, the Turkish Foreign Minister recalled the ambassador to the Holy See for “consultations.”
The United States has consistently avoided using “genocide” to describe the atrocity. In 2006, the U.S. ambassador to Armenia was reportedly removed from his post because he advocated for the use of “genocide” to describe the killings.
Obama, a U.S. senator at the time, criticized the ambassador’s dismissal. Two years later, when he was running for president, he declared in a lengthy statement that he shared “with Armenian Americans — so many of whom are descended from genocide survivor — a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide.”
But like presidents before him, the realities of diplomacy intervened once he took office. In the first six years of his presidency, Obama avoided using “genocide” when commemorating the April event. With Turkey positioned as a key partner in the fight against ISIS terrorists, this year appears no different.
“We recognize that this centennial is of great significance both to the Armenian people and to all those who fight against modern day atrocities,” the administration official said. “We are focused on making clear both in our statements and through our actions that we mourn the loss of every person who was so brutally murdered in the events that began in 1915, even as we recommit our efforts to bring about a world free of atrocities.”
The White House said Treasury Secretary Jack Lew would represent the United States at the centennial events in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Friday. Two high-level officials — chief of staff Denis McDonough and Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes — met with Armenian-American leaders on Tuesday to discuss the anniversary.
“They pledged that the United States will use the occasion to urge a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts that we believe is in the interest of all parties,” the White House said.
The administration is also consulting with Turkish officials on the issue. In a meeting at the White House Tuesday, National Security Adviser Susan Rice encouraged Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu “to take concrete steps to improve relations with Armenia and to facilitate an open and frank dialogue in Turkey about the atrocities of 1915,” according to the White House.