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WHITE HOUSE: DISPLAYING THE ORPHAN RUG WOULD BE AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF U.S. GOVERNMENT PROPERTY
By MassisPost
Updated: November 13, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC - In a new twist to efforts to call attention to
the Armenian genocide, a group of lawmakers has accused the Obama
administration of blocking a Smithsonian display of a rug woven by
orphans of the mass killings about a century ago, The Los Angeles
Times writes.
The lawmakers have written to President Obama urging him to make
available the rug, presented in 1925 to President Calvin Coolidge and
in storage as part of the White House collection, for exhibition. The
bipartisan group includes more than a dozen representatives from
California, which has a large Armenian American population.
The roughly 12-foot-by-18-foot Armenian Orphan Rug was to be featured
in a Dec. 16 exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington that
sought to call attention to a new book about the rug by Hagop Martin
Deranian titled "President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan
Rug." The lawmakers had called a "pivotal icon related to the Armenian
Genocide."
The event was cancelled when the White House refused to release the
rug for display.
A White House spokeswoman said Tuesday that displaying the rug
"for only half a day in connection with a private book launch event,
as proposed, would have been an inappropriate use of U.S. government
property, would have required the White House to undertake the risk of
transporting the rug for limited public exposure, and was not viewed
as commensurate with the rug's historical significance."
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was oneof the lawmakers who had called on the
Obama Administration to allow exhibition of the "Armenian Orphan Rug"
at the Smithsonian. "The decision by the Administration to block
display of the Armenian Genocide rug is as inexplicable, as it is
hurtful to the Armenian community," Schiff explained. "The rug is
not only a symbol of the resilience of the Armenian people through
their darkest days, it also serves as a tangible expression of the
inherent truth that not only were 1.5 million people killed in the
first genocide of the 20th Century, but that the American government
was a central player in efforts to call attention to the plight of
the Armenian people and provide relief to survivors."
Schiff continued, "The rug deserves to be on display and the millions
affected by the genocide deserve the chance to see it - it's my hope
that the Administration will decide to allow the rug, a symbol worthy
of the Smithsonian, to be released."
http://massispost.com/archives/10027
By MassisPost
Updated: November 13, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC - In a new twist to efforts to call attention to
the Armenian genocide, a group of lawmakers has accused the Obama
administration of blocking a Smithsonian display of a rug woven by
orphans of the mass killings about a century ago, The Los Angeles
Times writes.
The lawmakers have written to President Obama urging him to make
available the rug, presented in 1925 to President Calvin Coolidge and
in storage as part of the White House collection, for exhibition. The
bipartisan group includes more than a dozen representatives from
California, which has a large Armenian American population.
The roughly 12-foot-by-18-foot Armenian Orphan Rug was to be featured
in a Dec. 16 exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington that
sought to call attention to a new book about the rug by Hagop Martin
Deranian titled "President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan
Rug." The lawmakers had called a "pivotal icon related to the Armenian
Genocide."
The event was cancelled when the White House refused to release the
rug for display.
A White House spokeswoman said Tuesday that displaying the rug
"for only half a day in connection with a private book launch event,
as proposed, would have been an inappropriate use of U.S. government
property, would have required the White House to undertake the risk of
transporting the rug for limited public exposure, and was not viewed
as commensurate with the rug's historical significance."
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was oneof the lawmakers who had called on the
Obama Administration to allow exhibition of the "Armenian Orphan Rug"
at the Smithsonian. "The decision by the Administration to block
display of the Armenian Genocide rug is as inexplicable, as it is
hurtful to the Armenian community," Schiff explained. "The rug is
not only a symbol of the resilience of the Armenian people through
their darkest days, it also serves as a tangible expression of the
inherent truth that not only were 1.5 million people killed in the
first genocide of the 20th Century, but that the American government
was a central player in efforts to call attention to the plight of
the Armenian people and provide relief to survivors."
Schiff continued, "The rug deserves to be on display and the millions
affected by the genocide deserve the chance to see it - it's my hope
that the Administration will decide to allow the rug, a symbol worthy
of the Smithsonian, to be released."
http://massispost.com/archives/10027