Obama on Armenia: When is a Promise Worth Breaking?

by Michelle . · 2009-04-08 18:21:00 UTC
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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.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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