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Open Letter To President Obama On The Armenian Genocide

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  • Open Letter To President Obama On The Armenian Genocide

    OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    armradio.am
    27.03.2009 12:17

    Chairman of the Board of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden,
    Historian and Editor in Chief of the Armenica.org Vahagn Avedian
    addressed an open letter to US President Barack Obama. The full text
    of the letter is presented below:

    "Mr. Minister, The persecutions of the Armenians have reached
    hair-raising proportions and all points to the fact that the Young
    Turks want to seize the opportunity, since due to different reasons
    there are no effective external pressure to be feared, to once and
    for all put an end to the Armenian question. The means for this are
    quite simple and consist of the extermination [utrotandet] of the
    Armenian nation. - Per Gustaf August Cosswa Anckarsvärd, Swedish
    Ambassador to Turkey, in his report to the Swedish Foreign Minister
    Knut Wallenberg, July 6, 1915, Constantinople

    Dear President Obama,

    The above stated report is merely one of several which were recently
    found in the Swedish National and Military Archives, confirming
    the reality which has since long been established by the genocide
    scholars regarding the events in the Ottoman Turkey during World War
    I. The world was far from as hesitating as it is today in condemning
    the treatment of the Armenians, demanding justice for the victims
    and punishment of those guilty of "crimes against humanity and
    civilization", the very first occurrence of the term in international
    circumstances. However, the soon growing Kemalist movement put a stop
    to the demands for justice and the clever politics of the Republic
    of Turkey have ever since held the world conscience as hostage in
    exchange for economic and political gains.

    In nine decades the Armenians and other affected minorities have lived
    this reality on daily basis while the rest of the world just recently
    has become aware of the "forgotten genocide of the 20th Century". The
    Armenian Diaspora, a direct result of the 1915 Genocide, has during
    the last 90 years of its struggle for recognition, been called liars
    and propagandists, smearing the Turkish reputation. But, what is
    more hurtful, is the fact that the surrounding world, including USA,
    has indirectly joined Turkey in labeling the victims as liars and
    propagandists, simply by refusing to recognize what is a historical
    fact. As the prominent Turkish Professor Taner Akcam pointed out
    recently, on April 24, the USA annually joins Turkey in its lie,
    "denying for one day what they believe the other 364 days of the year."

    The Turkish denial has developed and evolved, changing shapes and
    strategies during the past 94 years, adapting to the prevailing world
    situation and argumentation. The most recent morphing has supplied
    Turkey with the argumentation that the ongoing reconciliation process
    between Armenia and Turkey must=2 0be left unharmed and that external
    interference, such as an American recognition of the genocide, will
    jeopardize the fragile process. By saying this, however, Turkey is
    rather stating that history is a matter of negotiations. Taking into
    account the existing consensus among the majority of genocide scholars,
    evident not only in the massive bulk of research and publications,
    but also in the very resolutions of the International Association
    of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), the Armenian Genocide does not need
    revisiting or reconsideration. Thus, neither USA nor any other
    country in the world should refrain from recognizing the truth while
    the reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia continues and
    must go on. That process will not change the already established fact
    about the Armenian Genocide.

    Furthermore, it is my firm belief that no reconciliation process
    or any democratization process will benefit from harboring lies and
    suppressing the truth.

    Like the election campaigns of Your predecessors, the issue of the
    recognition of the Armenian Genocide and calling it by its true
    name, was one of the issues You have addressed at several occasions,
    correctly pointing out that "America deserves a leader who speaks
    truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to
    all genocides. I intend to be that President." I hope that You will
    bring the change You promised during the election campaign, breaking
    the tradition of Your predecessors in failing to honor their campaign
    vows in this regard, and that You, unlike the US Presidents before
    You, will tell the truth about the Armenian Genocide in each and one
    of the 365 days of the year.

    I wish You the very best in the tremendous challenges that You and
    Your Administration are faced with in the current world situation,
    and I am confident that You will fulfill our expectations regarding
    "The Change We believe in.""
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