White House meeting with Erdogan takes place as Armenian Americans continue call-in campaign urging Obama to honor his Armenian Genocide Pledge
WASHINGTON–Armenian Americans made the final push in their month-long Countdown to Erdogan with a White House call-in day urging President Barack Obama to honor his campaign pledge by telling visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that the U.S. condemns the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America, (ANCA).
“In April, President Obama missed an opportunity to reclaim the moral high ground on ending the cycle of genocide,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Today, in his meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan, we urge President Obama to ‘get it right’ – by recognizing the Armenian Genocide and urging Turkey’s leadership to do the same.”
The ANCA Executive Director had expressed concerns about Prime Minister Erdogan’s efforts to use the meeting with Obama to continue U.S. complicity in Armenian Genocide denial:
“Prime Minister Erdogan – having succeeded in using the Ankara-inspired Protocols to enlist the cooperation of yet another U.S. Administration into its campaign to block recognition of the Armenian Genocide – is now coming to Washington to cement his gains and further press his advantage,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
“High on his agenda, it seems, will be showcasing Turkey’s public disregard for President Obama’s twin priorities for Armenia-Turkey normalization, namely that they be established without preconditions and within a reasonable time-frame. Today, more than seven months after our President’s speech in Ankara – during which he broke his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide – it’s patently clear that Turkey has in fact imposed preconditions, will not act in a reasonable time-frame, and, more broadly, views this entire process as simply a way to extend U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denials from one April 24th to the next,” added Hamparian.
Countdown to Erdogan Campaign Channels Armenian American Concerns to White House, Congress, and Media
Armenian Americans concerned about the Obama-Erdogan agenda have participated in the ANCA’s “Countdown to Erdogan” campaign – the month-long grassroots initiative to encourage President Obama to challenge Turkey’s Prime Minister with the facts of the Armenian Genocide during their December 7th White House meeting.
The “Countdown” has generated media coverage in the U.S., Turkey, and Armenia, and, as participation in the campaign grew with each passing week, it came under increasingly heavy attack from the Turkish lobby. The United Press International reported, on December 1st, that, “The Armenian National Committee of America stepped up its lobbying efforts ahead of the [Erdogan] visit, calling on its supporters to contact their Washington representatives to encourage Obama to make true on his campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide.” The Turkish Coalition publicly criticized the campaign as a political “blitzkrieg.”
The final days of the effort are devoted to calling directly on President Obama – through phone calls, letters, and social networking vehicles – to honor his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide and urging him to demonstrate resolve in working to end the ongoing cycle of genocide and denial. The calls are increasingly important following a letter issued by President Obama last week praising the Turkey-Armenia protocols, and once again, refraining to properly characterize that crime against humanity.
Obama, you despicable lying coward……… we elected you, not Erdogan. You are accountable to us, the American voters, not to foreigners.
It is a shame that when Obama was nothing the Armenians had hope in him.
He was promising left and right to the Armenians
Look at him now.
The only thing I got to say to him is,how do you feel when you look in the mirror in the mornings.
Armenians must regroup and plan a new strategy.
I’m a strong supporter of the ANC, however, I feel like betrayed by a handful of “Obama” supporters who seem to have usurped the soul of this organization by their near sighted naive political leanings. Today, Mr. Hachikian, seems to be shooting letter after letter to this administration, who don’t seem to be shredding these letters before they are opened. This goes back to an article by Garen Yegparian who discussed his our communities muscle, but how can any administration, federal, state or local government politician, take our community seriously when last february Assembly member fuentes claims of Armenians commiting genocide went uncontested, especially from the ANC western region or even by Mr. Hachikian. I personally find him and a handful of zealot democrats who usurped this organization and eventually made me change my party affiliation and vote for Mr. Obama.
I hope the AAA, A.G.B.U and the Armenian church which I have the utmost respect are proud of themselves listening to this Turkish mad dog barking .Do they still think they got it right?I don’t think so.
Shame on you.
One wise man said: “Beware of Superficial and Feel-Good Formulations”. Raffi Hovhannisian’s words can be useful for us as well.
“Do the right thing”. This phrase suggests a moral approach to a political question. The belief in the pursuit to recognition of a political issue, the Armenian genocide, based on morality is a contradiction in terms and will lead to nowhere. Armenian organizations, especially the ANCA approaches this issue from the point of view of embarrassing President Obama into submission to truth. The insistence of “but you PROMISED” in such complex political issues not only does not work but backfires, rendering a legitimate issue into pesky “here they go again” attitude which serves the purpose of our enemies.
I think at this point some serious re-thinking is required and new approaches developed. In my opinion one of these new strategies requires the formation of political elite made up of Armenian-Americans and stop relying only on non-Armenian politicians who flock our communities come voting time. The most important pro-Israel work is achieved by non-elected, highly effective and behind the scenes Jewish-Americans who have truly succeeded in underlining Israel’s worth to American foreign policy. But the fact that Israel is a true democracy only helps their efforts, while Armenia is a soviet-kingdom, and a very bad one even at that.
Antranik I agree. These people have lost their souls to the devil.
The leadership of AAA, A.G.B.U and the Armenian church have become the laughing stocks of the Armenian nation,not to mention the corrupt and crooked government in Armenia under the leadership of master traitor Serzh which they have been supporting blindly and giving state medals to each other thus demeaning all the state medals with it in the process.
They are all a disgrace.God help us all.
Looking at the photo it sure seems like Mr. Obama is being lectured!
Never again endorse a presidential candidate.
Obama Mobama, Erdogan Merdogan… They can spin all sorts of tales as they wish… the true tale is that of a whole civilization that disappeared from its homeland. Erdogan is admitting that they were deportations, as if deportations are very normal things to subject women, children, men and elderly to. But of course he stops short in describing where those people were led, and under what conditions. They were deported to deserts to die. They were denied food on purpose, even when they had the money to pay for it… Because Turks do not commit Genocide … They only deport… to … where again?…. to sure death… If you deport people from their ancestral lands to deserts with no food, you basically want to get rid of them on purpose which is equal to Genocide. You then of course release Chettehs, Kurds and angry mobs at them, to rape them and use all sorts of tools to slaughter them and take away their clothes and possessions. All of this of course is part of Deporting, a word Erdogan refers to as if it was a very minor thing to do to a population. Obama and Erdogan can continue spinning conversations brainwashing each other that there was no Genocide, because they need each other. Of course the Armenian side will never be given the chance to continue the story where Erdogan left it off, and describe what happened during those deportations at press conferences at the White House. It is up to the US, Switzerland, France and of course Turkey to decide what happened to us, and what should still happen to us now. Because you know, that is a very Democratic thing to do.
One more thing….
Erdogan admitted during his press conference that there were “deportations”… If I were among the journalists sitting in front of him, I would have been tempted to ask: ” But Mr. Erdogan, how can you deport a people from ITS OWN LANDS?”,… deporting a people from its own country is GENOCIDE.
Vasken, neither shall I ever again endorse a presidential candidate. Like Obama, they are all puppets.