{"id":8430,"date":"2016-04-21T14:55:59","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T14:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ancnews.info\/?p=8430"},"modified":"2016-04-21T14:55:59","modified_gmt":"2016-04-21T14:55:59","slug":"reckless-retreat-president-obama-not-to-recognize-armenian-genocide-for-eighth-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ancnews.info\/?p=8430","title":{"rendered":"Reckless Retreat: President Obama Not to Recognize Armenian Genocide for Eighth Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANCA<\/a>\u2019s Aram Hamparian: \u201cThis, sadly, is President Obama’s legacy – silence on the Armenian Genocide, complicity in Turkey’s denials, and encouragement of Azerbaijani aggression.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 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 \u201cArmenian Remembrance Day\u201d statement, set to be released in the next few days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who met with the officials along with Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Obama’s unwillingness to reject Turkey\u2019s 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,\u201d continued Hamparian.<\/p>\n

Prior to his election to the oval office, President Obama was clear and unequivocal in promising to properly characterize Ottoman Turkey\u2019s 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: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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: \u201cReservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.\u201d The specific reference to the Armenian Genocide appears on page 25 of the ICJ Report: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n