Originally posted by Cthulhu
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Well, not in the last few years have candidates promised anything near that. We have 42 States that recognize the events as Genocide, but it won't be official until the whole country recognizes it.Leave a comment:
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All the candidates always promise they will recognize the genocide but once they are in office they succumb to the pressures of the Turkish lobby and give in. I hope if Obama wins, things will be different but I honestly doubt it. - Ari OrakciyanLeave a comment:
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Photo Caption: Senator Joseph Biden.
Armenian National Committee - Western Region
104 N. Belmont Street, Suite #200
Fax. (818) 246-7353 * [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release ~ 2008-08-27
Contact: Ani Garabedian ~ Tel: 818-500-1918
Vice Presidential Candidate Senator Biden to be honored
at ANC-WR 2008 Banquet
Los Angeles, CA – The Armenian National Committee-Western Region (ANC-WR) is pleased to announce that Senator Joseph Biden will be honored with the esteemed Freedom Award at the organization’s annual banquet on October 12, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. On August 23rd, Presidential hopeful Barack Obama announced Sen. Biden as his choice for Vice Presidential candidate.
“Senator Joseph Biden has always stood out as a leader on human rights,” stated ANC-WR Executive Director Andrew Kzirian. “The ANC-WR banquet presents a wonderful opportunity to recognize his efforts to raise awareness on the dangers of genocide,” he added.
Senator Biden has provided friendship and support to the Armenian American community dating back to his first days in public office. As a United States Senator, Biden has served as an influential and consenus-building bipartisan leader. As Chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph Biden has cosponsored numerous Armenian Genocide resolutions and most recently presided over the confirmation hearing of Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch. At the conclusion of the contentious confirmation proceedings, Biden, along with Senators Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez, forced the State Department to retreat from statements calling into question the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide. In a letter to Chairman Biden, the State Department stated that it held the Ottoman authorities responsible for crimes committed during the Armenian Genocide.
Senator Biden was elected to office in 1972 and has since been a powerful voice on issues of concern to the Armenian American community. In May, 2007, Senator Biden, in response to a question from the Los Angeles Times editorial board about the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.Res.106), said, "I support it, and the reason is simple: I have found in my experience that you cannot have a solid relationship with a country based on fiction. It occurred. It occurred."
Senator Biden has been a cosponsor of every resolution reaffirming the Armenian Genocide introduced in the Senate over the past 20 years. He authored a resolution (S.Res.65), which was adopted in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by unanimous consent, to honor journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated in Turkey last year for writing about the Armenian Genocide.
In July, 2008, Sen. Biden reiterated his commitment to securing U.S. and Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide in connection with the nomination of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch. “Recognition by the United States of the Armenian Genocide is not the final goal. The real goal is the recognition of Turkey - of the Turkish Government - of the Armenian Genocide and the establishment of a common Turkish-Armenian understanding of the events and tragedy that took place," stated Sen. Biden.
The ANCA endorsed Senator Obama in the Democratic primaries. The ANC of Iowa had endorsed Sen. Joe Biden in his presidential election bid prior to the Iowa primary earlier this year.
Individuals interested in attending the ANC-Western Region banquet are encouraged to contact ANC-WR Banquet Coordinator Aida Dimejian at (818) 500-1918 or visit www.itsmyseat.com to purchase tickets. The banquet is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. Organizers of this event expect that it will be sold out well before September 15th.
The Armenian National Committee - Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
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I can understand that.Joe Biden has been a great friend of Armenia,Greece and Cyprus for many years.Here`s some more info:
Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918 * Fax. (202) 775-5648 * [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release ~ 2008-08-23
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian ~ Tel: (202) 775-1918
OBAMA / BIDEN DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL TICKET STRONG ON GENOCIDE RECOGNITION; U.S.-ARMENIA RELATIONS
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s announcement of longtime Armenian American issues supporter, Sen. Joe Biden as his choice for Vice-President. Sen. Biden, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been an outspoken advocate of U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide and brings the principled international leadership needed to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
“As we stated back in January, Armenian Americans, a community that is deeply committed to a moral U.S. foreign policy and constructive American engagement abroad, respect Senator Biden’s leadership and, today, we welcome his addition to the Democratic ticket," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
Elected to office in 1972, Senator Biden has been a voice of moral clarity on issues of concern to the Armenian American community including:
* Support for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, dating back to his work with Senator Bob Dole to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.J.Res.212) in 1990, and stronger U.S.-Armenia relations.
* A perennial supporter of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, adopted in 1992, which restricted U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan due to its ongoing blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
* In May, 2007, Senator Biden, in response to a question from the Los Angeles Times editorial board about the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.Res.106), said: "I support it, and the reason is simple: I have found in my experience that you cannot have a solid relationship with a country based on fiction. It occurred. It occurred." Senator Biden has been cosponsor of every resolution reaffirming the Armenian Genocide introduced in the Senate over the past 20 years.
* In connection with his leadership in pressing the Administration to explain its firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, and the controversy over the subsequent nomination of xxxx Hoagland in 2007, Senator Biden secured from the Administration a number of commitments, among them that:
-- The next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia will meet extensively with representatives of the Armenian American community before and during their tenure in Yerevan.
-- The State Department will brief Members of Congress on its efforts to promote Turkish recognition of the real history of the Armenian Genocide.
-- U.S. ambassadors to Yerevan and Ankara would exchange visits for the purpose of ending Turkey's economic blockade of Armenia.
* He authored a resolution (S.Res.65), which was adopted in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by unanimous consent, to honor journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated in Turkey last year for writing about the Armenian Genocide.
* In July, 2008, Sen. Biden reiterated his commitment to securing U.S. and Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide in connection with the nomination of U.S. Ambassador to Armenian Marie Yovanovitch. “Recognition by the United States of the Armenian Genocide is not the final goal. The real goal is the recognition of Turkey - of the Turkish Government - of the Armenian Genocide and the establishment of a common Turkish-Armenian understanding of the events and tragedy that took place," stated Sen. Biden.
The ANCA endorsed Senator Obama in the Democratic primaries and will announce its general election endorsement decision following the Democratic and Republican primaries. The ANC of Iowa had endorsed Sen. Joe Biden in his presidential election bid prior to the Iowa primary earlier this year.
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Turks not thrilled about Joe Biden either
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ÖMER TAŞPINAR [email protected] Columnists
Obama and Ankara
Last week, as I was watching Barack Obama on TV, giving his Berlin speech in front of 200,000 people, a disturbing question came to mind. What would happen if Obama gave a speech in Turkey? Would the crowds be as large and enthusiastic? One side of me says, "Yes, we can!" I can't help but think that the Turkish people must be really excited about the prospect of radical change in the United States. After all, the Bush presidency will not be remembered with nostalgia among Turks. There is plenty of evidence illustrating this. For starters, according to global opinion polls, Turkey is consistently the number-one country in terms of dislike for the Bush administration's policies. Logically, in a country like Turkey, there must be a lot of sympathy for a new American president who represents by the sheer facts of his name, race, ideas and overall demeanor a mind-blowing contrast to everything that George W. Bush has come to symbolize. Add to this the fact that Turkey itself is a country where the power struggle is often defined as one between the "white elite" and the "black masses" of Anatolia. Wouldn't black Turks embrace their American brother? Think twice before getting carried away. Yes, under normal circumstances such parallels between Turkey and America would strike a chord and yes, under normal circumstances Obama would be the favorite of the Turkish people, mainly because he would be seen as the underdog defying the American system.
Yet one needs to emphasize the term "under normal circumstances." An Obama visit to Turkey may not draw hundreds of thousands of cheering crowds to the street. The reason is simple and painful. Whenever Obama's presidency is discussed in Turkey, there is a big Turkish elephant in the room: the Armenian "genocide" issue. Obama's position is well known: He is committed to the Armenian cause and has promised the Armenian-American community that he will support recognition of the "genocide." Now that's a show-stopper for Turkey. The Turkish press picked up the story from day one and began to ring alarm bells. It did not take very long for Obama's name to become synonymous with the Armenian lobby in the eyes of Turks. Similarly, the Turkish-American community in the United States has become very uncomfortable with the prospect of an Obama presidency. A senior Democratic member from the US Congress who happens to be a major Obama supporter told me last week that his staffers are already getting an earful from the Turkish community in his district. No wonder most Turkish-American organizations lined up to support Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries.
It is also no wonder that both the government in Ankara and the Turkish state apparatus (Note for dummies: government and state can mean different things in Turkish politics, especially these days…) appear to be on the same page about Obama: They prefer his opponent Republican candidate Senator John McCain. There is no major surprise here. The Turkish establishment has always had a deeply rooted love affair with Republicans. The roots of this martial romance -- which appears to have survived the Bush years -- go back to the good old days of the Cold War era, when there was no daylight between the Turkish military and the Pentagon. Iraq was of course a major bump in the road. But there are still ongoing financial reasons for this marriage of convenience to continue. For some mysterious reason (!)Turkey's best friends in Washington are always the defense companies; and the best friends of the defense companies are the Republicans. You get the picture, right? (Note for dummies No. 2: Republicans never cut America's defense budget.) Anyways, I digress. The crux of the matter for Turkey is the following: Obama is a Democrat who supports the Armenian cause whereas McCain is a Republican who values Turkey's strategic importance much more than the votes of Armenian-Americans. This is how Ankara perceives the situation.
As a result, Turkey is once again out of tune with the rest of the world. The whole world is going nuts about Obama while Ankara is stuck in history. Is there a way to remind Turkey that there are more important things in Turkish-American relations than the Armenian issue? This may be an uphill battle. But one way to do so is to focus on Obama's popularity in Europe. Imagine both McCain and Obama lobbying on Turkey's behalf with EU leaders. To whom do you think Europeans would prefer to listen? Take a second look at the crowd listening to Obama in Berlin.
28.07.2008Leave a comment:
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Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918 * Fax. (202) 775-5648 * [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release ~ 2008-07-10
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian ~ Tel: (202) 775-1918
U.S. AMBASSADORIAL NOMINEE RESPONDS TO OBAMA INQUIRIES ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE POLICY
ANCA Thanks Senator Obama
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Barack Obama has received written responses to the four written questions he submitted to U.S. Ambassador Designate Marie Yovanovitch as part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s ongoing review of her nomination to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“We remain troubled by Ambassador Yovanovitch’s evasive answers, her outright non-responses, and her refusal, in her replies to Senator Obama and other Senators, to offer anything approaching a reasonable or factually supportable explanation of the reasons behind Administration’s misguided policy on the Armenian Genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “This being said, it appears as though Ambassador Yovanovitch and her colleagues have learned from the disastrous Hoagland experience and are coming to understand that the U.S. Senate will not accept – and the Armenian American community will never allow - an Ambassador to Armenia who denies the Armenian Genocide.”
Ambassador Yovanovitch appeared as a witness before the Committee on June 19th. During this appearance, she faced a series of pointed questions from Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) regarding the Bush Administration’s policy to mischaracterize the Armenian Genocide. Afterwards, as many as eight Senators, including Senator Menendez, submitted a series of written inquiries to the nominee.
CLICK HERE to read her responses to Senator Obama, the seventh set of answers received to date.
Concerned that Senators had not been given enough time to review Ms. Yovanovitch’s responses, with many submitted less than 24 hours before the impending Committee vote, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) called for a delay in Senate consideration, until Senators had a clearer picture of the nominee’s position. A Committee decision on this posting is expected in mid-July.
The ANCA has thanked Senator Boxer for providing Senators, the Armenian American community, and all citizens who care about ending genocide with the opportunity to meaningfully review the responses of a public servant nominated to fill a diplomatic posting that has been the center of national attention since the Administration’s firing of Ambassador John Evans over his truthful remarks on the Armenian Genocide.
“We compromise our standing as a nation when we require that our Foreign Service officers either lie or conceal the truth in the conduct of our foreign affairs. This exercise of euphemisms and evasion in relation to the Armenian Genocide, which everyone knows is the result of Turkish government pressure, undermines our credibility,” added Hamparian. "Our diplomats should be sent abroad with a clear message: speak the truth and America will stand with you.”
President Bush nominated Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch in March of this year to serve as America's next Ambassador to Armenia. The ANCA has spoken to Committee members about the value of carefully questioning Amb. Yovanovitch on the many issues she will face as the U.S. envoy in Yerevan, among them the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey and Azerbaijan's ongoing blockades of Armenia, and the need for a balanced U.S. role in helping forge a democratic and peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
President Bush's previous nominee as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard Hoagland, was subject to two legislative holds by Sen. Menendez and was ultimately withdrawn by the Administration, following the nominee's statements denying the Armenian Genocide. The ANCA led the Armenian American community campaign opposing Hoagland's nomination, stating that a genocide denier could not serve as a credible and effective U.S. spokesperson in Armenia.
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Armenians For Obama Participate In Major LA Event Held For Presidential Nominee
June 26, 2007
Los Angeles, CA - Armenians For Obama joined political leaders and fundraisers earlier this week at U.S. Senator Barack Obama's first major event in Los Angeles since he became the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. The fundraiser, held on June 24th at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, drew together political leaders and Hollywood stars and provided an opportunity for Senator Obama to learn more about the 500,000 Armenian Americans who live and work in and around the City of Angels.
In his remarks to those in attendance, the presidential candidate emphasized the urgent need to change the environment in Washington. He also stressed the importance of unity not only within the Democratic Party but for the nation as a whole, emphasizing that we all have common goals and common dreams for ourselves and for our world.
"We were pleased to be part of a successful event for Senator Obama," commented Armenians for Obama Chair Nora Hovsepian. "The Armenian American community looks forward to being there every step of the way for Barack Obama as he makes his way to the White House. It is energizing that so many Republicans, Democrats and Independents in our community have united to support Senator Obama. We are enthusiastically looking forward to Senator Obama becoming President Obama next year," Hovsepian added.
"In my discussion with Senator Obama tonight, I emphasized the moral strength of his position on the Armenian Genocide and ending the twin Turkish and Azeri blockades of Armenia. He reassured me that he is committed to these issues and expressed gratitude for our support in the Armenian-American community."
Earlier this week, Obama submitted questions on the Armenian Genocide to Marie Yovanovitch, President Bush's nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. The Senator serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must confirm Yovanovitch before she can assume her post in Yerevan.
According to the Associated Press, the gala fundraiser in Los Angeles included the participation of big-name directors and other celebrities, including actors Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Quaid and Don Cheadle, models Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford, singer Seal, and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. Also on hand were Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who has created two music videos for Obama during the primary season - including one called "Yes We Can" that set music to clips from his speeches and became an Internet sensation.
Individuals interested in learning more about Senator Obama's record on Armenian American issues and how they can help get him elected President are encouraged to visit www.armeniansforobama.com.
The ANC-PAC endorsed Senator Obama for President earlier this year and is gratified that he is now the presumptive nominee. The ANC-PAC is a non-partisan federally registered political action committee established to support campaign committees for Members of Congress who share the values of the Armenian American community. The ANC-PAC is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the voice of the Armenian American community is clearly heard in our nation's capital. The ANC-PAC continues a century old tradition of Armenian Americans engagement on the public policy issues facing national political leaders, both in the U.S. Congress and the White House.
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