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Armenian Orphan Rug, Steeped In Controversy, May Go On Display

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  • Armenian Orphan Rug, Steeped In Controversy, May Go On Display

    ARMENIAN ORPHAN RUG, STEEPED IN CONTROVERSY, MAY GO ON DISPLAY

    The Los Angeles Times
    April 30 2014

    Richard Simon

    April 30, 2014, 6:00 a.m.

    Reporting from Washington--

    A rug woven by orphans of the Armenian genocide -- and the subject
    of modern-day political controversy -- may be put on display after
    years in White House storage.

    Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) said the White House has committed
    to exhibit the rug at a yet-to-be-determined event.

    "They finally have made the commitment," he said in an interview. "And
    we're looking forward to its display."

    But Aram S. Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National
    Committee of America, said he will believe it when he sees the rug.

    "The White House has been sending out false signals about a future
    showing ever since the controversy surrounding its cancellation of
    last December's Smithsonian exhibit, so we remain, quite naturally,
    reserved in welcoming progress until we have actually seen this
    artwork allowed on public display," he said.

    A White House decision last year to cancel a Smithsonian display
    of the rug caused a furor, with Hamparian at the time accusing the
    administration of "catering to the Turkish government's sensitivities
    about the Armenian genocide." A number of lawmakers, including some
    from California with large Armenian American constituencies, also
    were upset.

    An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks as
    the empire was dissolving during World War I, an episode historians
    have concluded was genocide. But Turkey has contended that Turks and
    Armenians were casualties of war, famine and disease.

    The roughly 12-by-18-foot Armenian Orphan Rug was to be featured in
    an exhibit to call attention to a new book about the rug.

    But the White House said the rug's display "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."

    Woven by orphans of the mass killings nearly a century ago, the
    rug was presented to President Coolidge in 1925 in appreciation for
    American aid.

    It was brought out of storage in 1995 for viewing by one of its aging
    weavers, according to the Armenian National Committee of America,
    but it has not been on put on broader public display for decades.

    At the White House, National Security Council spokeswoman Laura
    Lucas Magnuson said in an email Tuesday: "We've been working with
    Congressman Schiff on this issue for several months and appreciate
    his working with us to showcase this important artifact in a way
    that appropriately highlights the spirit in which it was given to
    the White House for U.S. involvement in assisting Armenian refugees."

    Schiff said he hopes to see the rug on public display as early as
    this fall.

    Earlier this year, Schiff sought the rug for an "educational" event
    on Capitol Hill, but the congressman's office said it never received
    a response from the White House, and the event ultimately was canceled
    because of a snowstorm.

    Resolutions have been introduced in Congress over the years to
    recognize the mass killings between 1915 and 1918 as genocide. But
    the measures have run into resistance amid fears they would damage U.S.

    relations with Turkey, an important ally.

    http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-armenian-rug-white-house-20140430,0,1080767.story#axzz30PFwFEP9

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