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ARMENIA: OBAMA ESCAPES BLAME FOR OMISSION
Gayane Abrahamyan
Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
May 1, 2009
Rather than blame US President Barack Obama, many Armenians are
holding Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan responsible for the American
leader's failure to use the word "genocide" in an April 24 speech
to commemorate Ottoman Turkey's 1915 massacre of an estimated 1.5
million ethnic Armenians.
Many in Yerevan see a connection between Obama's omission and the April
22 announcement that Armenia and Turkey had settled on a "road map"
for the normalization of relations. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. Obama, many believe, did not want to possibly damage
the normalization process at a delicate stage.
The US president might not have felt so constrained had the "road map"
announcement not taken place.
"It is useless to expect anything from Obama, when the president of
our own country signs an obscure agreement with unknown consequences,"
commented management consultant Harutiun Mesrobian at an April 30
public discussion in Yerevan about Armenia's relations with Turkey.
Instead of "genocide," Obama, like former president George W. Bush
before him, opted for the Armenian expression "Mets Yeghern" or
"Great Calamity."
Discussions about Obama's speech among young Armenians on social
network sites Facebook.com and Hayland.am have confronted the issue
head-on: "Obama simply exploited Armenians' stupid diplomacy. What
a shame!" one Facebook user exclaimed.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun, which split
from Armenia's ruling coalition over the agreement, echoes that
view. "Obama broke his promise," said Giro Manoian, director of
the party's International Secretariat, in reference to Obama's
pledges while a presidential candidate to recognize the massacre as
genocide. "We are disappointed, but our first disappointment was
on April 22, when Armenia and Turkey signed the secret agreement,
which gave a clear notion of what Obama would say."
Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesperson for the governing Republican Party of
Armenia which Sargsyan heads, countered that "Obama could not make his
decision on what to say in a day, or based on one single agreement."
The document, to date, has not been publicly released. The lack
of an official text has merely fuelled speculation over the past
week. While a mood of suspicion is widespread, Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute Director Haik Demoian is optimistic on the issue,
believing that Obama's failure to use the term "genocide" could turn
out to play a positive role in Armenian diplomacy.
"President Obama is a greatly charismatic person. The talk about his
not keeping the promise to use the word 'genocide' created a tumult
that can facilitate increased awareness of the Armenian problem
internationally," Demoian, told an April 30 news conference.
The controversy shows little sign of diminishing in Armenia. On
April 25, a group of young people, chanting "Where are the changes,
Obama?" and "You did not keep your promise!" conducted a rallies
in front of the American Embassy and the Armenian Foreign Affairs
Ministry in Yerevan. The opposition Heritage Party's youth movement
organized a similar protest on April 23.
A prominent historian suggested that Obama use or non-use of
the word "genocide" could not be expected to exert influence
on Turkey. "Forty-two of the 50 states in the United States have
officially recognized the genocide. More than 20 countries worldwide
have done it . . . but, as we can see, this does not affect Turkey's
position," commented Ashot Melkonian, director of the National Academy
of Sciences' Institute of History.
Gayane Abrahamyan
Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
May 1, 2009
Rather than blame US President Barack Obama, many Armenians are
holding Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan responsible for the American
leader's failure to use the word "genocide" in an April 24 speech
to commemorate Ottoman Turkey's 1915 massacre of an estimated 1.5
million ethnic Armenians.
Many in Yerevan see a connection between Obama's omission and the April
22 announcement that Armenia and Turkey had settled on a "road map"
for the normalization of relations. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. Obama, many believe, did not want to possibly damage
the normalization process at a delicate stage.
The US president might not have felt so constrained had the "road map"
announcement not taken place.
"It is useless to expect anything from Obama, when the president of
our own country signs an obscure agreement with unknown consequences,"
commented management consultant Harutiun Mesrobian at an April 30
public discussion in Yerevan about Armenia's relations with Turkey.
Instead of "genocide," Obama, like former president George W. Bush
before him, opted for the Armenian expression "Mets Yeghern" or
"Great Calamity."
Discussions about Obama's speech among young Armenians on social
network sites Facebook.com and Hayland.am have confronted the issue
head-on: "Obama simply exploited Armenians' stupid diplomacy. What
a shame!" one Facebook user exclaimed.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun, which split
from Armenia's ruling coalition over the agreement, echoes that
view. "Obama broke his promise," said Giro Manoian, director of
the party's International Secretariat, in reference to Obama's
pledges while a presidential candidate to recognize the massacre as
genocide. "We are disappointed, but our first disappointment was
on April 22, when Armenia and Turkey signed the secret agreement,
which gave a clear notion of what Obama would say."
Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesperson for the governing Republican Party of
Armenia which Sargsyan heads, countered that "Obama could not make his
decision on what to say in a day, or based on one single agreement."
The document, to date, has not been publicly released. The lack
of an official text has merely fuelled speculation over the past
week. While a mood of suspicion is widespread, Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute Director Haik Demoian is optimistic on the issue,
believing that Obama's failure to use the term "genocide" could turn
out to play a positive role in Armenian diplomacy.
"President Obama is a greatly charismatic person. The talk about his
not keeping the promise to use the word 'genocide' created a tumult
that can facilitate increased awareness of the Armenian problem
internationally," Demoian, told an April 30 news conference.
The controversy shows little sign of diminishing in Armenia. On
April 25, a group of young people, chanting "Where are the changes,
Obama?" and "You did not keep your promise!" conducted a rallies
in front of the American Embassy and the Armenian Foreign Affairs
Ministry in Yerevan. The opposition Heritage Party's youth movement
organized a similar protest on April 23.
A prominent historian suggested that Obama use or non-use of
the word "genocide" could not be expected to exert influence
on Turkey. "Forty-two of the 50 states in the United States have
officially recognized the genocide. More than 20 countries worldwide
have done it . . . but, as we can see, this does not affect Turkey's
position," commented Ashot Melkonian, director of the National Academy
of Sciences' Institute of History.