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18 The Armenian Reporter | May 2, 2009CommentaryObama wants Turkey to acknowledge the GenocideEditorialNotebookby Vincent LimaYEREVAN – By 9:10 p.m. Yerevan time, I wasimpatient. “Will he go ahead and break hispromise already? It’s noon on April 24 inWashington, and we have a paper to put out,”I wrote on Facebook.When, almost two hours later, PresidentBarack Obama’s statement on “ArmenianRemembrance Day” arrived, I clicked Ctrl-Fand searched for “geno.” Not found. No needfor a new front page, with extra-bold, extrablackletters (all caps and italics, perhaps).We could put a few finishing touches on thenewspaper and go to press.There was no question that as Armenian-Americans we were deeply disappointed inour president. The comments I saw in theminutes, hours, and days that followed reflectedheartbreak and a deep sense of havingbeen betrayed by a friend.Betrayal was the word first used by theANCA to describe the president’s refusal to usethe word genocide in his statement. USAPACtreated it as a “missed opportunity,” meaningArmenian-Americans were disappointed, butMr. Obama still had time to fulfill his campaignpledge. The Armenian Assembly characterizedthe pledge as an “empty promise.”Mr. Obama’s leap forwardOver the weekend, I had a chance to read thepresidential statement again. The followingpassage strikes me as especially significant:I have consistently stated my own viewof what occurred in 1915, and my view ofthat history has not changed. My interestremains the achievement of a full, frankand just acknowledgment of the facts.For many years now, we have sought apresidential statement that calls the Aghedor Meds Yeghern a genocide. And that is thestatement Mr. Obama promised us. But let’stake a step back and recall why we seek sucha statement.We seek the presidential statement as away of achieving universal recognition of theArmenian Genocide, and especially recognitionby Turkey.The Armenian Revolutionary Federation,for example, whose political arm in theUnited States is the ANCA, announced as lateas Monday, “the universal recognition andcondemnation, especially by Turkey, of theArmenian Genocide” is an essential elementof Armenia’s national security.So if we seek recognition “especially by Turkey,”we may have an ally in the president ofthe United States. In his pre-election statementhe had noted, “I have stood with theArmenian American community in calling forTurkey’s acknowledgement of the ArmenianGenocide.” And now, as president, he is statingan interest in “the achievement of a full,frank and just acknowledgment of the facts.”And his interest in this matter as presidentis not limited to a statement on April24, 2009. Let us not forget or underestimatewhat he did on April 6, 2009. The presidentwent to Turkey, stood before the Grand NationalAssembly, and urged Turkey to addressthe “terrible events of 1915” in a way that is“honest, open, and constructive.”As betrayed as we may feel by his failureto use the words “Armenian Genocide,” wemust acknowledge that his statement beforethe Turkish parliament was a historic step.Not a bilateral issueWhile Mr. Obama’s stated intention is onethat we should fully support, his stated meansare problematic. In his statement of April 24,he wrote, “The best way to advance that goalright now is for the Armenian and Turkishpeople to address the facts of the past as apart of their efforts to move forward.”The president is suggesting that Turkey ismost likely to acknowledge the Genocide inthe context of developing normal bilateralrelations with Armenia. And, he said in Turkey,he wants to avoid undermining that processby using the word genocide himself.The approach is problematic for variousreasons that have been discussed in the press(see, for example, the Armenian Reporter’s editorialfor April 25). The key reasons are:First, the Turkish government is not exhibitinggoodwill about confronting the past.At the very news conference in Turkey whereMr. Obama was careful to avoid underminingthe process, the president of Turkey, AbdullahGül, engaged in a full-throated denial ofthe Genocide. If he wanted to show good will,he could have expressed openness to reviewingthe sins of an earlier era.Second, genocide is a crime against humanity,not a bilateral issue between Armeniaand Turkey. It cannot rightly be a matterfor negotiations between Turkey and Armenia.I have yet to see a persuasive argumentthat reducing international pressure on Turkeywill encourage it to come to terms withits past.Armenia’s roleThe Armenian government has helped theTurkish government make its case for forbearanceon Mr. Obama’s part. The optimisticand ill-timed joint statement of the foreignministries of Armenia and Turkey on April22 oddly came only two days after PresidentSerge Sargsian explicitly acknowledgedthat the talks were not going so well.Mr. Sargsian had told the Wall Street Journalon April 20 that his government and “theTurkish side in the negotiations supportedthe idea that we are negotiating without anypreconditions.” But, he said, “I think alreadynow the motivation of Turkey has decreased,because . . . Prime Minister Erdogan is nowoffering preconditions.” Indeed, on April 19Mr. Erdogan had announced, “If the Armenianoccupation of Azeri territory continues,Turkey will not open its border gate.”At the same time, Mr. Sargsian set fortha deadline: October 14, 2009. That is thedate of the Armenia-Turkey soccer match inKayseri. Mr. Sargsian had invited Mr. Gül towatch the World Cup qualifying match in Yerevanon September 6, 2008. Mr. Gül wentand then invited Mr. Sargsian to watch thereturn match in Kayseri. Mr. Sargsian toldthe Wall Street Journal, “Obviously settingpreconditions at a point where the perimetersare already set and we are very close toa breakthrough is absolutely not acceptablefor us. Of course, if the border is open or ison the eve of opening, I will visit Turkey toattend the return match.” And if it is not, hewill not attend, he said.The next 200 daysSo what are the next steps?First, the president and foreign minister ofArmenia insist that the normalization of Armenia-Turkeyrelations should proceed withno preconditions and without further delay.(Indeed, if there are no preconditions, whydelay opening the border and establishingdiplomatic relations?) The U.S. State Departmenthas likewise announced, “Normalizationshould take place without preconditionsand within a reasonable timeframe.”Through the administration and Congress,we must insist that any preconditions imposedby Turkey are unacceptable, and October14 should be considered a firm deadline.Second, on the fairly safe assumption thatefforts toward the normalization of relationsbetween Armenia and Turkey do not lead to“a full, frank and just acknowledgment of thefacts” by Turkey, we should ask Mr. Obama toreconsider “the best way to advance that goal.”The preferred means would be a forceful presidentialstatement acknowledging the Genocideand calling on Turkey to do likewise.In short, as we go forward, we should notconsider Mr. Obama’s campaign pledge a lostcause. On the contrary, we should take theadditional commitment he made on April 24– the commitment to achieving “a full, frankand just acknowledgment of the facts” byTurkey – together with his campaign pledgeas a starting point to pursue the larger goal ofhaving Turkey acknowledge the Genocide. fCommentsThe article above was posted on Facebook onWednesday. Here are some of the commentsposted in response, printed with permission.Emil Sanamyan at 7:24 p.m. April 29What annoyed me the most about thestatement was the use of “Mets Yeghern”borrowed from Bush’s 2005 statement andbefore that from Pope John Paul II. For me,that made Obama’s commitment so muchmore artificial.As Harut Sassounian pointed out in hiscommentary, Obama’s reference to his preelectionstatement is also not new and wasemployed by Bush, Sr.From the point of view of community interest,it seems we are too fixated on the Gword in this one statement, almost at the expenseof any other expression of respect thatour government could pay our community.For example, had Obama showed up atan Armenian church service somewhere lastWith Turkey’sPrimeMinisterErdogan(rear right)present,PresidentObama urgedTurkey toaddressthe “terribleevents of1915” in away thatis “honest,open, andconstructive.”Ankara, April6, 2009.AP Photo/CharlesDharapak.weekend, or engaged in some other form oflive interaction with Armenians – with mediacoverage – that could send a real messagethat he cares, and be more effective in gettingthat message out than simply issuing astatement even with the G word.Emil Sanamyan at 7:29 p.m. April 29Had it not been for Turkish opposition tothe statement, the president’s April 24 statementwould be in the same sort of categoryof obscurity as most other utterances releasedby a president on any given day.Emil Sanamyan at 7:41 p.m. April 29And the same goes for the nonbindingresolution.Nareg Seferian at 7:58 p.m. April 29Could we somehow also express that theborder opening shouldn’t really be a bargainingchip of any sort? It’s not like Turkey willdo Armenia a favor by opening the border;the border ought to be open anyway.Harout Topsacalian at 10:21 p.m. April 29Sure it would have been nice for Obama tosay it, but he still has three years to keep hispromise. Also, as all eyes are on Turkey to fulfillits obligations and “deal with its history inan open way,” the U.S. will continue to havethe “stick” of this declaration available.Garabet Moumdjian at 9:29 a.m. April 30Well, did he not say it because it’s not anelection year? And he might do so when midtermelections come around and Democratswould need to maintain a majority in bothhouses?Come on guys. It’s a game and they areplaying with our nerves. I think the manpowerand money we are spending on thisissue will be much better spent on anotherworthwhile cause.Katy Pearce at 11:34 a.m. April 30Great piece Vincent!Patricia Constantinian-Voskeridjian at7:00 p.m. April 29I have had a number of thoughts regardingrecent developments surrounding Turkey,Armenia, Armenians, and Obama. I haven’treally been following things too intensively,given how full my plate currently is withwork and kids, so I apologize if my impressionscome across somewhat fragmented, incomplete,and not fully formulated. But herethey are for what it’s worth.My first thought goes to something saidContinued on page 19 mArmenian Reporter (ISSN 0004-2358), an independent newspaper,is published weekly by Armenian Reporter llc.Copyright © 2009 by ArmenianReporter llc. All Rights ReservedGerard L. Cafesjian, President and ceoPeriodicals postage paid at Paramus, N.J., andadditional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PO Box129, Paramus, NJ 07652-0129.The views expressed, except in the editorial, arenot necessarily those of the publishers.Editor Vincent LimaAssociate editor Maria TitizianWashington editor Emil SanamyanEastern U.S. editor Lou Ann MatossianAssistant to the Editor Seda StepanyanCopy editor Ishkhan JinbashianArt director Grigor HakobyanThe Armenian Reporter is your newspaper. We urge you to send us your news and yourviews.News. Please send your news to .Letters. Please send your letters to Letters should be no morethan 250 words long and may be edited for clarity. Please include your mailing addressand daytime telephone number.Commentary. Please send your essays to Essays and articlesnormally should be no longer than 900 words.Photos and artwork. We require high-resolution originals. All photos and artworkmust include a credit to the photographer and a signed statement granting us permissionto publish.Advertising and subscriptions. Please direct questions to orcall us.Our offices2727 West Alameda BlvdBurbank CA 915051-818-955-9933 phone1-818-955-8799 fax1 Yeghvard Hwy Fl 5Yerevan 0054 Armenia374-10-367-195 phone374-10-367-194 fax
The Armenian Reporter | May 2, 2009 19CommentaryLiving inArmeniaThe power of the peopleby Maria TitizianLettersWhenever there’s imbalance in the world,events, either natural or artificial, occur thatplace things in their proper order.Political developments in Armenia canchange rapidly as can people’s perceptions ofthe world in which they live and it can dictatetheir every move.For the past ten months, Armenia-Turkeyrapprochement has been on the forefront ofArmenia’s domestic and foreign policy agenda.Football diplomacy became the diplomaticcatchphrase everyone from the UnitedStates to Russia was referring to.Relations with a neighbor with whom wehave deep historical grievances and demandswas further compounded when Turkeyslammed the border shut in solidarity withAzerbaijan over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict16 years ago. While an air corridor betweenour two countries exists, land and railcrossings have not been realized since 1993.On the morning of April 23, 2009 we wokeup to a different world. Armenia’s foreign affairsministry at approximately 1:30 in themorning, Yerevan time had released a statementthat Armenia and Turkey, throughSwiss mediation had agreed to some elusiveroad map, one which we have yet to fullyunderstand. While Turkish media is on afree-for-all, disseminating misinformation,the Armenian media is still scrambling to getanswers from its leadership. That same day,Yerkir Media, a local TV station posed a questionto the foreign affairs ministry, askingwhat the road map was. The answer that theministry later circulated to all media outletsin the country was that in diplomatic lingo,road map means a plan of action, a term oftenused in diplomatic negotiations. No kidding.The Middle East has had a road map forthe past twenty years...All of this one day before the 94th anniversaryof the greatest tragedy in our collectivehistory. The Armenian Genocide is anintrinsic component of our national identity.It’s the one issue that unites us among a divergenceof opinions regarding every aspectof our nationhood.I have walked to Tsitsernagaberd, theGenocide memorial in Yerevan for the pastnine years with my compatriots. Every year Ihave witnessed the solemn journey that Armeniansin the homeland embark upon topay their respect to their slain forefathers.Every year I am moved. This year somethingelse took place.While admittedly, only a small percentageof Armenians globally are truly engagedin issues impacting statehood, and an evensmaller percentage of Armenians in Armeniaare engaged and while I don’t believe thatpeople had the time or the capacity in a 24hour period to analyze the events that wereunfolding before us, there was a collectiveunderstanding that something was askew inour national life.Hence the remarkable numbers of peoplemaking the annual journey to Tsitsernagaberdthis year.Even in 2005, when for the 90th anniversaryof the Armenia Genocide, a plethora ofevents were organized in Armenia, not asmany people made the journey to the Genocidememorial.By 6:00 P.M. this year, the flowers werealready about two meters high and thenumbers of people coming to pay their respectsby the eternal flame were increasingby the hour. At approximately 9:45 P.M.Tzitzernakaberd, April 24, 2009. Photo: MkhitarKhachatryan/Photolure.Armenia’s state run television announcedthat already 800,000 people had been tothe monument, and the numbers keptgrowing. Watching the swelling crowdsat the memorial on television, caused ourhearts to swell with a mixture of pride andtrepidation.What did this mean? Why was there suchan overwhelming need, this year, to go to themonument?The Armenian people understood thatthey had to come out, they had to show theworld that regardless of what kind of roadmap their authorities had agreed to with theTurkish side, they would never forget andnever stop demanding justice. It was a nationalobligation. It was a personal obligationto our grandparents who had witnessed akind of hatred that leaves its scent on generationsand generations to come.But the Armenians in Yerevan were notthe only ones who felt that something thatmight change the course of our lives, or ourcountry was developing. Most instinctivelyfelt the tug of history, of what shadowy relationswith our much stronger neighbor to thewest was capable of. From Stepanakert, thecapital of Nagorno Karabakh to Akhaltskha,Akhalkalak, and Ninotsminda in Javakhk,to Gyumri under a freak snow storm, Armenianspaid tribute, they remembered, theydemanded recognition and justice.Right across the globe, Armenians dispersedto the winds because of the Genocide,marched, demonstrated, held candlelightvigils, organized exhibitions, had book readings,and film screenings, clashed with riotpolice, handed over memorandums to Turkishmissions in all the major and some not-somajorcapitals around the world.Watching Armenians in different countriescommemorating the 94th anniversaryof the Armenian Genocide, I realized we areso unbelievably strong when we are united. Asmall nation, so small that people can forgetwe exist, yet our voices can be so strong as tobring global attention to the one thing thatwiped away even our personal histories, theArmenian Genocide.While the future is somewhat blurry andboth the homeland and the Diaspora arestruggling; while Armenians and Turks aretalking and the Azeris are sulking and theRussians and the Americans are maneuveringand who knows what Iran is thinking, Iam so proud to be an Armenian. fObama’s statement was“astonishing”Sir:It was astonishing to read that PresidentObama did not use the word genocide to describethe slaughter of nearly 2 million Armeniansin 1915–23, knowing that the word wascoined by jurist Raphael Lemkin specificallyto describe the barbarity that befell the Armeniansat the hands of the Turkish state.Dr. Lemkin, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish descentand Holocaust survivor, used the wordgenocide in 1943 to describe the genocide ofthe Armenians and then the Holocaust. Dr.Lemkin played an important role in compellingthe United Nations to adopt the Conventionon the Prevention and Punishment ofthe Crime of Genocide in 1948.In a 1949 CBS News interview, Dr. Lemkintalked about the UN Convention andthe Armenian Genocide. Showing footage ofTurkish soldiers brutally chasing and killingArmenians, Dr. Lemkin explained that theTurkish state acted with the intent to annihilatenearly 2 million Armenians, who weredriven from their homes to perish in the desertor die before they got there.Before the word genocide existed, Britishprime minister Winston Churchill andworld leaders described the events as the“Armenian holocaust.” President Obama,who does not speak Armenian, used theArmenian phrase “Mets Yeghern” (GreatCatastrophe), thus shielding Turkey fromany accountability for its crime of genocideunder the UN convention and internationallaw.Imagine if back in the days of West Germany,the U.S. president refrained from usingthe word Holocaust, not wanting to offendor sour relations with a strategic NATO ally,only describing the destruction of EuropeanJewry during World War II as “Ha Shoah.”Very truly yours,Berge JololianCambridge, Mass.Just say it alreadySir:Armenians, stop fooling yourselves aboutthe U.S. government and “Genocide”!Nobody welcomed the election of PresidentObama more than I. But on April 24, Mr.Obama thought he would appease Turkey bysubstituting the phrase “Mets Yeghern” forthe exact word that he had used throughouthis presidential campaign, “Genocide.”His attempt at cleverness failed miserably.He fell into a trap when Turkey’s President Gülnot only praised him for dropping genocide, butalso shot back that Mr. Obama should havealso referred to the “hundreds of thousands ofTurks” who were killed in the world war.Worst of all, just as Mr. Gül expected, theAmerican media dutifully published the disingenuousTurkish response, word for word.In Mr. Obama’s April 24 statement, heclaimed that his “interest remains theachievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgmentof the facts,” which he knows fullwell is totally impossible because the Turkshave thoroughly established that despite theenormous weight of irrefutable documentationby qualified historians and eyewitnessesto the contrary, only their version of eventsis to be tolerated. Ever.Better that he should endorse an internationalconference to determine whether pie ala mode can ever be served without ice cream.That, at least, might be amusing.Meanwhile, Mr. President, please be “perfectlyclear” when you contend that yourviews of the slaughter of Armenians had notchanged. It is not difficult. Instead of leavingit to your readers or listeners to look up whatyou had said, “Say it!”Very truly yours,George AvakianNew YorkA timeline, pleaseSir:When and why did Europe cease using theterm holocaust for the Armenian Genocide,and when and why did Turkey begin to denythe Genocide?Armenia and Armenians all over theworld are marking the 94th anniversary ofthe Armenian Genocide. During the past 94years, Armenians have put all their energyand effort trying to prove to the world andto Turkey that the events of 1896–1923 weredeliberate and calculated genocide, not verydissimilar from the acts of Nazi Germanyagainst the Jews.The wartime prime minister of Great BritainDavid Lloyd George, in his Memoirs of aPeace Conference (1939) wrote, “The actionof the British government led inevitably tothe terrible massacres of 1895–97, 1909, andmost of all the holocaust of 1915.”Arnold Toynbee, in his book Murder of aNation used the words “Armenian Holocaust”to describe the unfolding genocide againstArmenians. Before Raphael Lemkin’s coiningof the word genocide, the term holocaustwas used in the English language to indicatewholesale and organized destruction of a civilianpopulation. The exclusivity of the wordholocaust only for the murder of the Jewsappears much later.Soon after the events many books werepublished in Turkey, probably with the approvalof the Turkish censor, indicating thatthe then-rulers of Turkey had acknowledgedthe events and were not shying away fromlearning about them.My question to Armenian Genocide expertsis this: When and why did Europe ceaseusing the word holocaust for the Armenians?Similarly when and why did Turkey begin todeny the Genocide?Very truly yours,Dr. Vrej NersessianLondonObama wants Turkey to acknowledge the Genociden Continued from page 18by Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, somethingto the effect that Armenians’ relationship tothe past is one of remembering, while forthe Turks it’s one of forgetting. When Gülgets the final word (as in the joint press conference)and says that the “happenings” of1915 are a historical matter to be decided byhistorians from both sides, he is speakingvery much as a Turk who believes the pastis there to be forgotten. For Turks, historybegins with Atatürk.I then think about what “history” actually is,and why Gül would think it beneficial to framethe Genocide as something for historians fromboth sides to study and resolve. History is adiscipline, a social science, and as such, historiansseek to elucidate doubt as well as fact.Historians develop hypotheses and formulatetheories, not truth. As long as it’s decided byhistorians, it’s not necessarily “truth,” and itcan be excluded from a political process.Obama, however, seems to be framing theGenocide issue as an integral part of a politicalprocess, and as long as that continuesit’s probably a positive thing for Armenians.When framed as part of a political process,it is possible to include notions of reparationand justice that have legal implications.The historicity of it almost becomes secondary.Yes, it’s disappointing that he didn’t gothe full distance, but can he do so as headof a government that hasn’t yet passed aGenocide bill? He’s always been a masterof “both/and” rather than “either/or”. Incalling it “Mets Yeghern” in Armenian, heactually switches codes. He both says it anddoesn’t say it.Framing it as part of a political process,however, implies that both sides are goingto have to make some concessions. For manyArmenians, the thought of any concessionson the matter of the Genocide is unbearableand unthinkable. This may be due, partly, to adeeply held notion that there can be no healingwithout acknowledgement. I personallydon’t believe this. Many survivors of traumacan and do actually transcend their traumaand in some ways, this facilitates eventualacknowledgement.Regards,PatriciaDo you have a comment? Write letters@reporter.amf
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