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Armenian campaign aided by new forces Recognition of genocide grows
By Keith O'Brien, Globe Staff | August 26, 2007
For decades, it was almost strictly an Armenian issue. No matter how hard
they lobbied politicians to recognize the genocide of their people more than
90 years ago, Armenian-Americans often failed. When it mattered most, they
lacked the political clout and friends to make a difference.
But the recent uproar in Watertown, home to roughly 8,000
Armenian-Americans, shows that the dynamics of the debate have changed. It
is no longer just Armenian-Americans pushing for formal recognition of the
genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I, but
also Jews and politicians of many backgrounds.
Observers cite decades of lobbying and a raft of recent scholarly work on
the subject as reasons for the change. But the shift is also indicative of a
growing antigenocide constituency in the United States. Stirred up by recent
massacres in Rwanda, the Balkans, and Darfur, Americans may be more
concerned about genocide today than ever before, said Nobel laureate and
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
"Before it was known to some people," Wiesel said, "but now it transcends
age limits and society. It's everywhere. It's in theaters, on TV, in movies,
in books, in schools. It's all over, and all that is because people are more
sensitive to the Holocaust memory."
The feeling is evident in the US House of Representatives, where 227
members, a majority, are cosponsoring a resolution to recognize the Armenian
genocide. It is the largest number of cosponsors the resolution has had in
recent years. And perhaps more importantly, with Democrats in power
Armenian-Americans are optimistic the resolution will get to the floor for a
vote. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has supported the resolution in the past.
But a vote is hardly a guarantee. Representative Adam Schiff, the California
Democrat who introduced the resolution, said the Turkish efforts to lobby
against the measure are "beyond anything I've ever seen."
The Turkish government is paying big money to two former
congressmen-turned-lobbyists -- Bob Livingston, a Republican, and Dick
Gephardt, a Democrat -- to twist arms on Capitol Hill.
Last week, after the national ADL acknowledged the deaths of Armenians as
genocide in order to appease local board members but still refused to
support the congressional resolution, the Turkish government responded by
calling the genocide "historically and legally baseless" and asked the ADL
to "rectify" its position. For Armenian-Americans, it was a familiar
response.
"What I always say to Armenians is that they've won the most important fight
on this," said Samantha Power, a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy
School of Government and author of "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age
of Genocide. "Which is, they've won the battle for the history books, for
the court of public opinion, and for the culture. The only place they've
lost is with the Turkish government and the US government on the issue of
formal recognition."
On April 24, 1915, Ottoman Turks arrested hundreds of Armenian leaders and
began executing Armenians shortly thereafter. Henry Morgenthau, the US
ambassador to Turkey, told the State Department in July 1915 that the events
amounted to "a campaign of race extermination." In the years that followed,
as many as 1.5 million Armenians were massacred.
But in the homes of many Armenian-Americans, there was little discussion of
this history. For many children and grandchildren of the survivor
generation, the past was like a secret. Armenians were struggling just to
learn English and fit in. Some Armenian-American families even changed their
name*s* to remove the -ian ending. Ruth Thomasian's father, for example,
changed the family name to Thomason.
"That's how I grew up in Belmont," said Thomasian, who was born in 1945 and
heard little about the genocide for decades. "Everybody wanted to forget it,
just forget it. If you don't talk about it, it doesn't exist."
But the 50th anniversary of the genocide hit the Armenian people "like a
rocket of consciousness" in 1965, said Peter Balakian, author of "The
Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response."
The survivor generation was dying off, and a new generation, born in the
United States, wanted to take action.
Two local Armenian-Americans were part of a small group leading the way.
"We'd been mourning," said Robert A. Kaloosdian. "Now it was time to bring
some recognition to this, time to right an awful wrong."
In 1971, Kaloosdian and Haig Der Manuelian, both Belmont lawyers, began
talking with others about forming an Armenian assembly. The goal: speaking
with one voice. The group, later named the Armenian Assembly of America,
helped push for recognition of the genocide, along with the Armenian
National Committee. In 1975 and 1984, the US House commemorated the
genocide.
But instead of gaining momentum, the issue stalled. By 1985, when a similar
resolution came before the House, one West Virginia Republican called it
"the most mischief-making piece of legislation in all my experience in
Congress." The resolution was shelved and would continue to face challenges
over the next 20 years because of the difficult geopolitical relations of
the former Soviet Union and the region.
"The historical facts are clear," said John M. Evans, the former US
ambassador to Armenia. "But to the foreign policy elite in the State
department and members of the Senate and House who have to think hard about
foreign policy choices, there is no desire to irritate our ally, the Turks.
What comes through clearly again and again when it comes to that part of the
world is the role that Turkey can play in the Middle East."
Evans may know this better than almost anyone. He was dismissed in May 2006
after publicly acknowledging the genocide, an act many Armenian-Americans
cite as the latest example of the influence that Turkey enjoys with* *the US
government. In some Washington circles, Evans said, the word genocide is
taboo.
Historically, that word has been similarly problematic for some Jewish
groups such as the Anti-Defamation League. Turkey is a rare Muslim ally to
Israel, and the ADL, fearful of upsetting relations between Israel and
Turkey, has shied away from acknowledging the genocide for decades.
But last week, under pressure from Boston's Jewish leaders, the ADL reversed
its stance, called the Turkish atrocities "tantamount to genocide," and
announced that it would reconsider its position on the pending congressional
resolution in November.
The reversal was greeted by cheers in Armenian communities across the
country and especially in Watertown, where the debate began last month when
people in the town questioned its participation in an antibigotry program
sponsored by the ADL.
"All of this reaffirms the activism of the Armenian community, that the
truth is finally prevailing over all sorts of political powers and
pressures," said Harut Sassounian, publisher of the California Courier, a
newspaper in Glendale, Calif., that covers Armenian issues. "And this has a
domino effect. One by one all the pieces of denial are crumbling."
Others questioned the ADL's sincerity. Armenian-Americans said last week
that the ADL's statement asking for "further dispassionate scholarly
examination" of the genocide reflected little progress. Others wondered if
recent events will help the congressional resolution pass this fall.
Even Manuelian, 81, is taking a skeptical approach to the latest resolution
about a tragedy that began 92 years ago. "I'll believe it when I see it."
(c) Copyright <http://www.boston.com/help/bostoncom_info/copy right> 2007 The
New York Times Company
Source:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ articles/2007/08/26/armenian_campaign_aided_by_new _forces/
By Keith O'Brien, Globe Staff | August 26, 2007
For decades, it was almost strictly an Armenian issue. No matter how hard
they lobbied politicians to recognize the genocide of their people more than
90 years ago, Armenian-Americans often failed. When it mattered most, they
lacked the political clout and friends to make a difference.
But the recent uproar in Watertown, home to roughly 8,000
Armenian-Americans, shows that the dynamics of the debate have changed. It
is no longer just Armenian-Americans pushing for formal recognition of the
genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I, but
also Jews and politicians of many backgrounds.
Observers cite decades of lobbying and a raft of recent scholarly work on
the subject as reasons for the change. But the shift is also indicative of a
growing antigenocide constituency in the United States. Stirred up by recent
massacres in Rwanda, the Balkans, and Darfur, Americans may be more
concerned about genocide today than ever before, said Nobel laureate and
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
"Before it was known to some people," Wiesel said, "but now it transcends
age limits and society. It's everywhere. It's in theaters, on TV, in movies,
in books, in schools. It's all over, and all that is because people are more
sensitive to the Holocaust memory."
The feeling is evident in the US House of Representatives, where 227
members, a majority, are cosponsoring a resolution to recognize the Armenian
genocide. It is the largest number of cosponsors the resolution has had in
recent years. And perhaps more importantly, with Democrats in power
Armenian-Americans are optimistic the resolution will get to the floor for a
vote. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has supported the resolution in the past.
But a vote is hardly a guarantee. Representative Adam Schiff, the California
Democrat who introduced the resolution, said the Turkish efforts to lobby
against the measure are "beyond anything I've ever seen."
The Turkish government is paying big money to two former
congressmen-turned-lobbyists -- Bob Livingston, a Republican, and Dick
Gephardt, a Democrat -- to twist arms on Capitol Hill.
Last week, after the national ADL acknowledged the deaths of Armenians as
genocide in order to appease local board members but still refused to
support the congressional resolution, the Turkish government responded by
calling the genocide "historically and legally baseless" and asked the ADL
to "rectify" its position. For Armenian-Americans, it was a familiar
response.
"What I always say to Armenians is that they've won the most important fight
on this," said Samantha Power, a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy
School of Government and author of "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age
of Genocide. "Which is, they've won the battle for the history books, for
the court of public opinion, and for the culture. The only place they've
lost is with the Turkish government and the US government on the issue of
formal recognition."
On April 24, 1915, Ottoman Turks arrested hundreds of Armenian leaders and
began executing Armenians shortly thereafter. Henry Morgenthau, the US
ambassador to Turkey, told the State Department in July 1915 that the events
amounted to "a campaign of race extermination." In the years that followed,
as many as 1.5 million Armenians were massacred.
But in the homes of many Armenian-Americans, there was little discussion of
this history. For many children and grandchildren of the survivor
generation, the past was like a secret. Armenians were struggling just to
learn English and fit in. Some Armenian-American families even changed their
name*s* to remove the -ian ending. Ruth Thomasian's father, for example,
changed the family name to Thomason.
"That's how I grew up in Belmont," said Thomasian, who was born in 1945 and
heard little about the genocide for decades. "Everybody wanted to forget it,
just forget it. If you don't talk about it, it doesn't exist."
But the 50th anniversary of the genocide hit the Armenian people "like a
rocket of consciousness" in 1965, said Peter Balakian, author of "The
Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response."
The survivor generation was dying off, and a new generation, born in the
United States, wanted to take action.
Two local Armenian-Americans were part of a small group leading the way.
"We'd been mourning," said Robert A. Kaloosdian. "Now it was time to bring
some recognition to this, time to right an awful wrong."
In 1971, Kaloosdian and Haig Der Manuelian, both Belmont lawyers, began
talking with others about forming an Armenian assembly. The goal: speaking
with one voice. The group, later named the Armenian Assembly of America,
helped push for recognition of the genocide, along with the Armenian
National Committee. In 1975 and 1984, the US House commemorated the
genocide.
But instead of gaining momentum, the issue stalled. By 1985, when a similar
resolution came before the House, one West Virginia Republican called it
"the most mischief-making piece of legislation in all my experience in
Congress." The resolution was shelved and would continue to face challenges
over the next 20 years because of the difficult geopolitical relations of
the former Soviet Union and the region.
"The historical facts are clear," said John M. Evans, the former US
ambassador to Armenia. "But to the foreign policy elite in the State
department and members of the Senate and House who have to think hard about
foreign policy choices, there is no desire to irritate our ally, the Turks.
What comes through clearly again and again when it comes to that part of the
world is the role that Turkey can play in the Middle East."
Evans may know this better than almost anyone. He was dismissed in May 2006
after publicly acknowledging the genocide, an act many Armenian-Americans
cite as the latest example of the influence that Turkey enjoys with* *the US
government. In some Washington circles, Evans said, the word genocide is
taboo.
Historically, that word has been similarly problematic for some Jewish
groups such as the Anti-Defamation League. Turkey is a rare Muslim ally to
Israel, and the ADL, fearful of upsetting relations between Israel and
Turkey, has shied away from acknowledging the genocide for decades.
But last week, under pressure from Boston's Jewish leaders, the ADL reversed
its stance, called the Turkish atrocities "tantamount to genocide," and
announced that it would reconsider its position on the pending congressional
resolution in November.
The reversal was greeted by cheers in Armenian communities across the
country and especially in Watertown, where the debate began last month when
people in the town questioned its participation in an antibigotry program
sponsored by the ADL.
"All of this reaffirms the activism of the Armenian community, that the
truth is finally prevailing over all sorts of political powers and
pressures," said Harut Sassounian, publisher of the California Courier, a
newspaper in Glendale, Calif., that covers Armenian issues. "And this has a
domino effect. One by one all the pieces of denial are crumbling."
Others questioned the ADL's sincerity. Armenian-Americans said last week
that the ADL's statement asking for "further dispassionate scholarly
examination" of the genocide reflected little progress. Others wondered if
recent events will help the congressional resolution pass this fall.
Even Manuelian, 81, is taking a skeptical approach to the latest resolution
about a tragedy that began 92 years ago. "I'll believe it when I see it."
(c) Copyright <http://www.boston.com/help/bostoncom_info/copy right> 2007 The
New York Times Company
Source:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ articles/2007/08/26/armenian_campaign_aided_by_new _forces/