ANCA’s Aram Hamparian: “This, sadly, is President Obama’s legacy – silence on the Armenian Genocide, complicity in Turkey’s denials, and encouragement of Azerbaijani aggression.”
WASHINGTON, DC – White House National Security Council officials informed the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) this afternoon that President Obama will refrain from properly commemorating the Armenian Genocide, as he had promised to do as a candidate, in his eighth and final “Armenian Remembrance Day” statement, set to be released in the next few days.
“It seems President Obama will end his tenure as he began it, caving in to pressure from Turkey and betraying his commitment to speak honestly about the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who met with the officials along with Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian.
“President Obama’s unwillingness to reject Turkey’s gag-rule on the Armenian Genocide or otherwise confront the growing regional wave of anti-Armenian aggression – particularly at a time when both Ankara and Baku are placing targets on the backs of Armenians in Artsakh, Armenia, Turkey, the Middle East, and across our Diaspora – represents something far worse than simply a betrayal of his own promise. His reckless retreat from America’s anti-genocide commitments – under pressure from Turkey and Azerbaijan – in the face of their open incitement, outright aggression, and other classic genocide red flags – emboldens Erdogan and Aliyev to escalate their hostility, raising the very real risk of large-scale anti-Armenian atrocities. This, sadly, is President Obama’s legacy – silence on the Armenian Genocide, complicity in Turkey’s denials, and encouragement of Azerbaijani aggression,” continued Hamparian.
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.”
President Obama has broken that pledge in annual Armenian Remembrance Day statements issued on or near April 24th, the international day of commemoration of this crime.
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.
Photo: National Security Council officials informed the ANCA today that President Obama will not be reaffirming the Armenian Genocide in his final “Armenian Remembrance Day” statement set to be released in the next few days.
Օպամա Այս Տարի Եւս Պիտի Չարտասանէ «Հայոց Ցեղասպանութիւն» Բառերը
(ԱՍՊԱՐԷԶ) ՈՒԱՇԻՆԿԹԸՆ.- Ամերիկայի Հայ Դատի յանձնախումբը Ապրիլ 21ին տեղեկացուց, թէ Սպիտակ տան Ապահովութեան խորհուրդի պաշտօնատարները նշած են, որ Միացեալ Նահանգներու նախագահ Պարաք Օպամա այս տարի եւս որոշած է անտեսել Հայոց Ցեղասպանութիւնը ցեղասպանութիւն կոչելու նպատակով իրեն կատարուած դիմումները, հակառակ այն իրողութեան, որ նախագահի պաշտօնին համար իր թեկնածութեան օրերուն, ան խոստացած էր իբրեւ նախագահ ե՛ւս յստակօրէն հաստատել Հայոց Ցեղասպանութեան պատմական իրողութիւնը։
Այս գծով նշեալ պաշտօնատարներուն հետ հանդիպում ունեցած են Ամերիկայի Հայ Դատի յանձնախումբի գործադիր վարիչ Արամ Համբարեան եւ կառավարական հարցերու վարիչ Քէյթ Նահապետեան։
«Կը թուի, թէ իր պաշտօնավարութեան սկիզբէն ի վեր Թուրքիոյ ճնշումներուն տեղի տուող նախագահ Օպաման իր պաշտօնավարութիւնը պիտի աւարտէ՝ դրժելով Հայոց Ցեղասպանութեան մասին անկեղծօրէն արտայայտուելու իր խոստումը», յայտարարեց Արամ Համբարեան եւ աւելցուց, թէ յատկապէս այս օրերուն, երբ Թուրքիոյ եւ Ատրպէյճանի առաջնորդութեամբ հակահայ յարձակումները կը շարունակուին Հայաստանի, Արցախի, Թուրքիոյ եւ Միջին Արեւելքի մէջ, Օպամայի այս քայլը «անպատասխանատու նահանջ մըն է», որ աւելի համարձակ կը դարձնէ Էրտողանն ու Ալիեւը։
«Դժբախտաբար, այս է նախագահ Օպամայի ձգած ժառանգութիւնը. Հայոց Ցեղասպանութեան հանդէպ լռութիւն, Թուրքիոյ ուրացման արշաւին մեղսակցութիւն եւ Ատրպէյճանի բռնարարքներու քաջալերում», եզրակացուց Համբարեան։
Նշենք, որ նախագահ Ռանըլտ Ռեկըն 1981ին ճանչցած է Հայոց Ցեղասպանութիւնը, իսկ Միացեալ Նահանգներու Ներկայացուցիչներու տունը 1975ին, 1984ին եւ 1996ին Հայոց Ցեղասպանութիւնը ճանչցող բանաձեւեր վաւերացուցած է։
1951ին, Միացեալ Նահանգներու կառավարութեան կողմէ Արդարութեան միջազգային ատեանին ներկայացուած տեղեկագիրին մէջ եւս, ցեղասպանութեան օրինակ նկատուած էին հայերու ջարդերը՝ թուրքերու ձեռամբ։
Obama Breaks Promise to Call Armenian Killings ‘Genocide’
By Josh Lederman
(ASSOCIATED PRESS) WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama declined Friday to call the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide, breaking a key campaign promise as his presidency nears an end.
Obama, marking the upcoming Armenian Remembrance Day, called the massacre the first mass atrocity of the 20th century and a tragedy that must not be repeated. Yet he stopped short of using the word “genocide,” a phrase he applied to the killings before he became president in 2009.
“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed,” Obama said.
Armenian-American leaders have urged Obama each year to make good on a pledge he made as a candidate in 2008, when he said the U.S. government had a responsibility to recognize the attacks as genocide and vowed to do so if elected. Obama’s failure to fulfill that pledge in his final annual statement on the massacre infuriated advocates and lawmakers who accused the president of outsourcing America’s moral voice to Turkey, which staunchly opposes the genocide label.
“It’s a Turkish government veto over U.S. policy on the Armenian genocide,” Aram Hamparian, head of the Armenian National Committee of America, said in an interview. “It’s like Erdogan imposing a gag rule very publicly and an American president enforcing that gag rule.” He was referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Historians estimate that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, a key U.S. partner and NATO ally, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated.
Though Obama administration officials have debated using the genocide label in the past, this year’s deliberations come as Obama seeks Turkey’s assistance in fighting the Islamic State group — especially along Turkey’s long border with Syria. The U.S. and its European partners are also counting on Erdogan to help stem the influx of migrants to Europe.
If Obama felt pressure not to offend Turkey during a critical time, he wasn’t alone among world leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced intense criticism for allowing the possible prosecution of a TV comic for writing an intentionally offensive poem about Erdogan.
Hamparian said officials from the White House’s National Security Council and the Atrocities Prevention Board that Obama established told him Thursday that calling it genocide would introduce uncertainty in the region during a time when Turkey is playing a key role in a range of priorities. He said it was hypocritical for Obama to call every year for “a full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts” while refusing to acknowledge them himself. “It’s like, ‘You should do this, but I won’t,'” Hamparian said.
Obama’s calls for transparency about the massacre played a prominent role in his presidential campaign, held up by Obama as an example of the type of sorely needed straight talk about foreign affairs and historical events. Samantha Power, one of his key campaign surrogates and now his U.N. ambassador, issued a roughly five-minute video imploring Armenian-Americans to vote for Obama precisely because he would follow through on his promise.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he was “gravely disappointed” Obama would leave office with the campaign pledge unfulfilled. Schiff has introduced legislation calling on the president to urge Turkey to fully acknowledge the genocide.
“Remaining silent in an effort to curry favor with Turkey is as morally indefensible as it will be ineffectual,” Schiff said.
The White House released Obama’s annual statement on the massacre while the president was traveling in London. White House officials declined to comment on the broken campaign promise.
AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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Obama Avoids ‘Genocide’ in Commemorating Armenian Deaths
By Byron Tau
(The Wall Street Journal) In his annual statement on the mass death of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915, President Barack Obama once again declined to use the term “genocide” — breaking a campaign promise he made eight years ago.
In his commemoration on the mass killings, which may have claimed as many as 1.5 million lives, Mr. Obama paid homage to the victims and vowed to “to learn from this tragedy so it may never be repeated.”
His lengthy statement released Friday, however, did not use the term “genocide” — the source of a major geopolitical dispute between Turkey and Armenian about the historical context of the massing killings.
It also violates a campaign promise Mr. Obama made in 2008, when he said in a statement released by his campaign that “as president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.” As a U.S. senator, Mr. Obama also supported a congressional resolution recognizing the killings as genocide.
But Turkey — a key U.S. ally and strategy partner at the crossroads of the Middle East and Europe — has long objected to the use of the term genocide. Turkey has argued the issue of whether the killings were genocide isn’t for modern-day governments to decide, contests the number of deaths and argues those killed were casualties of a larger armed conflict, which was an outgrowth of World War I.
“The president has consistently stated his view of what occurred in 1915, and his views have not changed,” a senior administration official said. “The president and other senior Administration officials have acknowledged as historical fact and mourned the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. They have stated that a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in our all interests, including Turkey’s, Armenia’s, and America’s.”
Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, criticized the White House’s decision to again avoid the use of the term “genocide” in a statement.
“It seems President Obama will end his tenure as he began it, caving in to pressure from Turkey and betraying his commitment to speak honestly about the Armenian Genocide,” said Mr. Hamparian.
The decision also drew a rebuke from Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who has long pushed the U.S. government to label the killings a genocide.
“For a president who knows the history so well, who spoke so passionately about the genocide as a Senator and Presidential candidate, and who has always championed human rights, the choice of silence and complicity is all the more painfully inexplicable. Remaining silent in an effort to curry favor with Turkey is as morally indefensible as it will be ineffectual,” said Mr. Schiff in a statement.
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President Barack Obama evades calling Armenian massacre a genocide for 8th year
By Rob Hayes
GLENDALE, Calif. (KABC) – President Barack Obama declined to call the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide for the eighth consecutive year, outraging many in the Armenian community in Southern California as they prepare for Armenian Remembrance Day.
Obama issued a statement about Armenian Remembrance Day, acknowledging in part, “one and a half million Armenian people were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman empire.”
The statement was 403 words long, but was missing one key word: Genocide.
“We’re very disappointed, unfortunately not surprised,” said Nora Hovsepian with the Armenian National Committee of America.
The Armenian National Committee of America has fought for years to get the United States to label Turkey’s mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as a genocide.
Turkey claims there was never a state-organized genocide and that the number of Armenian victims has been inflated.
The U.S. has never applied the label of genocide mainly because Turkey is considered an ally in the war against terror and allows the U.S. to maintain military bases there.
But Hovsepian said that relationship is no longer vital.
“Turkey is acting like anything but an ally. It supports and facilitates ISIS, which is exactly who we are fighting against,” Hovsepian said.
The Los Angeles City Council got involved after Councilman Paul Krekorian introduced a motion on Friday directing all city offices to cancel subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and other publications that ran a full-page advertisement denying the massacre was a genocide.
“If there’s no recognition of the genocide as a genocide, it simply opens the door to future atrocities, future crimes against humanity,” Krekorian said.
So why does the U.S. avoid using the term genocide? Many say it’s a legal term that would most certainly spark a long and costly series of problems for Turkey.
“Once you name someone a genocide perpetrator, then you have to go to the next step and that would be accountability, responsibility, reparations, etc.,” Hovsepian said.
In the meantime, Armenians will do what they have done for decades: hit the streets on April 24 and put pressure on the White House with mass demonstrations.