By Harut Sassounian • The Armenian Weekly, on December 8, 2009

In his Nov. 20 letter to Armenian American organizations, President Obama once
again played shameful word games with the term genocide. At this point, one has
to be incredibly naive to believe that he is going to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide during the rest of his term in office.

During the presidential campaign, when then-Senator Obama was making repeated
promises to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, activists were nervously
following the Turkish government's attempts to use the false pretext of dialogue
with Armenia to prevent him from fulfilling his pledge after the election.

In early April, during a press conference in Ankara, when Obama was asked about
his views on the Armenian Genocide, he dodged the question by stating: "My views
are on the record and I have not changed views. What I have been very encouraged
by is news that under [Turkish] President Gul's leadership, you are seeing a
series of negotiations, a process in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve
a whole host of longstanding issues, including this one."

Clearly, Presidents Obama and Gul, for their own reasons, were scheming to
undermine the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by pushing forward the
Armenia-Turkey negotiations. They were joined in this unholy alliance by Russia
and the European Union in pressuring Armenia's leaders, who were only too eager
to comply.

This sinister deal was sealed when on the eve of April 24, Armenia and Turkey
issued a joint press release announcing a roadmap for reconciliation!

Not surprisingly, in his first April 24 statement, Obama repeated all the
euphemisms and word games that he had strongly condemned when they were used by
his predecessor, President Bush. Obama used the old and all too familiar
denialist terminology of past presidents, such as "atrocity," "massacre,"
"terrible events of 1915," and most incredibly, "Meds Yeghern"!

In that statement, Obama used the same evasive answer he gave in Ankara: "I have
consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that
history has not changed." Yet, he adamantly persisted in refusing to state what
his actual views were.

Furthermore, Obama urged Armenians and Turks "to address the facts of the past
as a part of their efforts to move forward." He expressed his strong support for
their "courageous and important dialogue…to work through this painful history…"
and applauded the Armenian and Turkish governments for accepting "a framework
and roadmap for normalization."

Consequently, Obama left no doubt that he was going to sacrifice the truth of
the "Armenian Genocide" on the altar of an illusory Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation, using it as a fig leaf to conceal his erstwhile pledge.

Last month, in a letter to Armenian American organizations, Obama reconfirmed
that his view on "one of the great atrocities of the 20th century" had not
changed. Once again, he failed to detail his views. The president was responding
to a letter from the AGBU, Armenian Assembly, and Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America. The three Armenian organizations had expressed their support for the
Armenia-Turkey protocols and appealed to the White House to acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide. In his response, Obama cleverly exploited the expression of
support by the Armenian organizations for the reconciliation process, and
downplayed his campaign pledge to acknowledge the genocide. He reiterated that
"the best way to advance…the just acknowledgment of the facts" is for Armenians
and Turks to address the past "as part of their efforts to move forward." He
pledged "to continue to vigorously support the normalization effort in the
months ahead." The president was thus using the protocols to undermine all
efforts to acknowledge the genocide.

Keeping his pledge on the genocide is in Obama's own interests, as it would help
rehabilitate his moral and political credibility by joining President Reagan and
scores of national parliaments, international organizations, and Holocaust and
genocide scholars who are already on record confirming the facts of the Armenian
Genocide.

Obama should not be surprised if Armenian Americans no longer trust him, and do
not support him for re-election. Those who play games with genocide should not
be rewarded.

Anyone who lacks the courage to stand up for the truth does not deserve a Nobel
Peace Prize.

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