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TIME FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Monday, April 20th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/134255/time-for-president-obama-to-acknowledge-the-armenian-genocide/
Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ed Royce
EDITOR'S NOTE: Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who is the chairman
of the House Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the op-ed piece
below exclusively to Asbarez urging President Obama to recognize the
Armenian Genocide.
BY REP. ED ROYCE
World leaders are "called to oppose such crimes with a firm sense of
duty, without ceding to ambiguity or compromise." That is what Pope
Francis said last week in discussing the Armenian genocide. On the
100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, it is time President
Obama acknowledged this horrific event for what it is - the first
genocide of the 20th century. The only way to honor the victims and
their families is by solemnly - and directly - recognizing the true
nature of the horrors that they suffered. Earlier this month, I sent
a letter to President Obama urging him to do so.
The orchestrated slaughter of 1.5 million men, women, and children
began quietly as Ottoman authorities rounded up 250 of the community's
religious and civic leaders. Once these community leaders were
assassinated, authorities arrested Armenian families, confiscating
their properties. Men were executed or sent to forced labor camps.
Women, children, and the frail were marched to the Syrian Desert,
deprived of food and water, and subjected to violent assault by gangs -
often with the foreknowledge and approval of Ottoman authorities.
The Ottoman leaders gambled that the international community would be
too involved in World War I to pay attention to their bloody campaign.
Unfortunately, they were largely right. I am proud that the United
States was one of the few nations that did pay attention. The U.S.
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morganthau,
documented the atrocities and wrote: "When the Turkish authorities gave
the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death
warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their
conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal
the fact..." The United States has continued to speak on behalf of
the Armenian people throughout the years, as President Ronald Reagan
famously did in his 1981 Holocaust Day statement when he called on
us all to remember the Armenian genocide. Unfortunately President
Obama each April has used every possible word except genocide.
I have had the honor of knowing so many great Armenian-Americans in
my life - some of whom were direct survivors of the genocide. In the
California Senate, I authored a resolution to recognize the Armenian
genocide. With the support of then-Governor George Deukmejian, the
resolution passed. It was the first measure of its kind adopted by
any state in the country.
Last April, I was honored to travel to Yerevan and lay a wreath at
Tsitsernakaberd in honor of the victims as part of the genocide
commemoration ceremonies. And this year, I joined with a number
of my colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging him
to refer to these tragic murders as "genocide" in his annual April
24th statement.
But, as we rightly focus on what happened 100 years ago, we must not
lose sight of the fact that Armenians face oppression, persecution,
and violent conflict today. Armenian Christians in Syria are caught in
the crossfire between Assad's forces and rebel groups, and are also
deliberately targeted by ISIS and other extremist groups. Since the
beginning of the Syrian civil war, I have called for more efficient
delivery of humanitarian aid.
Armenian Orthodox places of worship are also being attacked, as with
the tragic bombing last January of the Forty Martyrs Cathedral in
Aleppo. Armenian religious sites have been neglected, vandalized, and
confiscated elsewhere in the region, most notably in Turkey. That is
why last year I authored H.R. 4347, the Turkey Christian Churches Act,
to protect religious sites and to return them to their rightful owners.
Also, today it is important to recognize that Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh still face threats of violence. The hateful
rhetoric coming from Baku, so reminiscent of the attitudes in
Istanbul leading up to April 24, 1915, feeds the conflict. When
President Aliyev refers to Armenia as the "enemy" and "occupiers"
and says that "we will restore our territorial integrity either
by peaceful or military means. We are ready for both options...,"
it directly influences Azeri soldiers at the border. Violence there
has risen to the highest levels in twenty years. When I recently
met our envoy to the Minsk Group talks, Ambassador Warlick, I made
clear that the U.S. should be condemning such rhetoric, while also
pressing Baku to work in good faith for a lasting peace, including
the immediate withdrawal of their snipers and the announcement of a
date for a referendum on Nagorno-Karabakh's status.
We cannot get the future right if we ignore the lessons of the past.
There are some in our Administration and in Congress who seek to avoid
tensions with Turkey by allowing April 24th to pass unacknowledged. We
should instead strive for this anniversary to be an opportunity to
improve our bilateral relations, heal relations between Turkey and
Armenia, and focus on protecting threatened Armenians around the
world. That starts with a White House recognition of the genocide.
U.S. Representative Ed Royce, of California, is Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Monday, April 20th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/134255/time-for-president-obama-to-acknowledge-the-armenian-genocide/
Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ed Royce
EDITOR'S NOTE: Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who is the chairman
of the House Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the op-ed piece
below exclusively to Asbarez urging President Obama to recognize the
Armenian Genocide.
BY REP. ED ROYCE
World leaders are "called to oppose such crimes with a firm sense of
duty, without ceding to ambiguity or compromise." That is what Pope
Francis said last week in discussing the Armenian genocide. On the
100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, it is time President
Obama acknowledged this horrific event for what it is - the first
genocide of the 20th century. The only way to honor the victims and
their families is by solemnly - and directly - recognizing the true
nature of the horrors that they suffered. Earlier this month, I sent
a letter to President Obama urging him to do so.
The orchestrated slaughter of 1.5 million men, women, and children
began quietly as Ottoman authorities rounded up 250 of the community's
religious and civic leaders. Once these community leaders were
assassinated, authorities arrested Armenian families, confiscating
their properties. Men were executed or sent to forced labor camps.
Women, children, and the frail were marched to the Syrian Desert,
deprived of food and water, and subjected to violent assault by gangs -
often with the foreknowledge and approval of Ottoman authorities.
The Ottoman leaders gambled that the international community would be
too involved in World War I to pay attention to their bloody campaign.
Unfortunately, they were largely right. I am proud that the United
States was one of the few nations that did pay attention. The U.S.
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morganthau,
documented the atrocities and wrote: "When the Turkish authorities gave
the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death
warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their
conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal
the fact..." The United States has continued to speak on behalf of
the Armenian people throughout the years, as President Ronald Reagan
famously did in his 1981 Holocaust Day statement when he called on
us all to remember the Armenian genocide. Unfortunately President
Obama each April has used every possible word except genocide.
I have had the honor of knowing so many great Armenian-Americans in
my life - some of whom were direct survivors of the genocide. In the
California Senate, I authored a resolution to recognize the Armenian
genocide. With the support of then-Governor George Deukmejian, the
resolution passed. It was the first measure of its kind adopted by
any state in the country.
Last April, I was honored to travel to Yerevan and lay a wreath at
Tsitsernakaberd in honor of the victims as part of the genocide
commemoration ceremonies. And this year, I joined with a number
of my colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging him
to refer to these tragic murders as "genocide" in his annual April
24th statement.
But, as we rightly focus on what happened 100 years ago, we must not
lose sight of the fact that Armenians face oppression, persecution,
and violent conflict today. Armenian Christians in Syria are caught in
the crossfire between Assad's forces and rebel groups, and are also
deliberately targeted by ISIS and other extremist groups. Since the
beginning of the Syrian civil war, I have called for more efficient
delivery of humanitarian aid.
Armenian Orthodox places of worship are also being attacked, as with
the tragic bombing last January of the Forty Martyrs Cathedral in
Aleppo. Armenian religious sites have been neglected, vandalized, and
confiscated elsewhere in the region, most notably in Turkey. That is
why last year I authored H.R. 4347, the Turkey Christian Churches Act,
to protect religious sites and to return them to their rightful owners.
Also, today it is important to recognize that Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh still face threats of violence. The hateful
rhetoric coming from Baku, so reminiscent of the attitudes in
Istanbul leading up to April 24, 1915, feeds the conflict. When
President Aliyev refers to Armenia as the "enemy" and "occupiers"
and says that "we will restore our territorial integrity either
by peaceful or military means. We are ready for both options...,"
it directly influences Azeri soldiers at the border. Violence there
has risen to the highest levels in twenty years. When I recently
met our envoy to the Minsk Group talks, Ambassador Warlick, I made
clear that the U.S. should be condemning such rhetoric, while also
pressing Baku to work in good faith for a lasting peace, including
the immediate withdrawal of their snipers and the announcement of a
date for a referendum on Nagorno-Karabakh's status.
We cannot get the future right if we ignore the lessons of the past.
There are some in our Administration and in Congress who seek to avoid
tensions with Turkey by allowing April 24th to pass unacknowledged. We
should instead strive for this anniversary to be an opportunity to
improve our bilateral relations, heal relations between Turkey and
Armenia, and focus on protecting threatened Armenians around the
world. That starts with a White House recognition of the genocide.
U.S. Representative Ed Royce, of California, is Chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress