Obama on Armenia: When is a Promise Worth Breaking?

categories: Armenian Genocide, Obama Administration

Published April 08, 2009 @ 06:21PM PT

On the campaign trail, then-candidate Barack Obama promised American Armenians that he would, at long last, officially recognize the genocide committed against them by the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey) from 1915 - 1923. In fact, his exact words were: "As president I will recognize the Armenian genocide."

The opportunity to do so came and went earlier this week, when the President was in Turkey, and sparked significant debate, and no small amount of disappointment from the Armenian community:

On Monday, a reporter asked Obama about his position on the matter during a joint press conference in Ankara with President Abdullah Gul of Turkey. Obama said his views hadn't changed, but then wouldn't use the word "genocide." He said Turkish and Armenian officials are meeting now to discuss a range of issues.

"I don't want to, as the president of the United States, pre-empt any possible arrangements or announcements that might be made in the near future. …"

The government of Turkey has been stubbornly resistant to any and all efforts to declare the murder of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide. Turkey even threatened to cut off access to military bases used by the US for operations in Iraq after Congress introduced a resolution on the issue in 2007.

Are diplomatic relations with Turkey worth playing politics with the term "genocide"? Does it set a double standard, vis-a-vis the administration's stance on Darfur --- or is that like comparing apples and oranges, given that Armenia is past, and Darfur is on-going? Or does that even matter --- why can't we just call it what it is?

Angie Drobnic Holan writes at the Obamameter:

Some might argue that Obama used wise diplomacy here, that as a guest in Turkey he was right not to upset his host. But the argument that it would be undiplomatic to antagonize Turkey is the same one the Bush administration used, which Obama criticized in making his promise.

We think Obama is trying to have it both ways. He said his views haven't changed, but he wouldn't use the term "genocide," which is what his campaign promise was all about.

Thoughts?

[Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the Turkish parliament in Ankara April 6, 2009.]

Share this Post

Comments (5)

Let me say up front that I am in absolute agreement that the events that occurred in Armenia between 1915-1923 constitute a genocide. What I do doubt is that if recognition of it as such by Turkey or Obama for that matter is really something we should be preoccupied with. Anyone who had anything to do with the genocide is long dead. There's no one to put on trial, no one to stand as an example of national reconciliation. Perhaps we should focus on saving the lives that are currently in jeopardy.

Posted by Karl Horberg on 04/08/2009 @ 07:33PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Karl
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
In response to the comment by Karl Horberg, I think the significance in Turkey's insistent denial of the Armenian genocide is that it actually reflects its current policies and treatment of its ethnic minorities, such as the Kurds. The fact that those responsible for the genocide are not around to be affected by any prosecutions etc should make it easy for Turkey to admit this part of its history, except that this admission is likely to implicate the current regime in crimes against other groups. Is this the kind of regime the Obama administration should be supporting?

Posted by Golriz Ghahraman on 04/09/2009 @ 03:57AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
Excellent point.

Posted by Michelle . on 04/09/2009 @ 04:05AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
I'm not certain I see the connection. If Turkey recognizes the genocide all the sudden the world will realize that the Kurdish minority is being persecuted?

If we refuse to do business with countries that have had a dark past we're going to find ourselves alone pretty quickly.

Posted by Karl Horberg on 04/09/2009 @ 06:15PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Golriz
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I haven't been able to follow this as much as I should, but there were also some stories a few weeks ago (not specifically about the Turkey visit) suggesting that the Obama administration may postpone any official recognition and/or may not support related resolutions in Congress (see http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-genocide17-2009mar17,0,3250498.story, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/64210.html, and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031902197.html). However, it is still possible that an official statement could be issued near April 24th, to mark this year's observance of the genocide.

You may also want to check out a couple of recent posts by Matt Welch of Reason magazine on the matter: http://www.reason.com/blog/show/132289.html (from earlier) and http://www.reason.com/blog/show/132722.html (newer).

Posted by Eric Jon Magnuson on 04/09/2009 @ 07:49AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Eric Jon
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Michelle became involved in the anti-genocide cause at a young age, and has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns, ever since.