April 24th marked the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide. It also marked the 7th year in
a row that Obama has broken his promise to use the “g” word to describe the
1915 massacre. Obama stands alone among a number of other major leaders,
including France, Germany, Russia, and Austria, who have recently stepped up to
describe the atrocity as genocide. The disappointment among scholars, the
Armenian-American community, and really anyone who cares about this issue has
been overwhelming. In my opinion, President Obama has been a good leader.
However, he is not the energized leader declaring “change” that we hoped and
thought we were electing in 2008. His failure to recognize the genocide gives
us another disappointing example of Obama’s inability to fulfill promises of
“hope” and “yes we can” that the American public yearned for.
Turkey repeatedly denies that the “events of 1915” could be
considered genocide, but scholars say otherwise. David Simon, professor of
political science and co-director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale,
says, “There is a near consensus that the Armenian genocide was a genocide, or that genocide is the right word. The deportations and massacres amounted to a crime we now know is genocide. In 1915 there was no such word.”
There wouldn’t be a debate about this issue, if it weren’t for Turkey’s denial of the genocide and the strategic importance of Turkey to us. As a NATO ally, rising economic power, and important Middle East partner, Turkey is much more important to us than Armenia, a comparatively impoverished, small state.
As a Senator and presidential candidate Obama repeatedly referred to the atrocity as genocide, and in 2008 pledged that as president he would recognize the genocide. Academic and author Samantha Power has championed this cause, and even recorded a five-minute video insisting that the Armenian-American community give Obama their vote because he would keep his promise on this issue. He sure got the vote, but where is the follow-through?
There wouldn’t be a debate about this issue, if it weren’t for Turkey’s denial of the genocide and the strategic importance of Turkey to us. As a NATO ally, rising economic power, and important Middle East partner, Turkey is much more important to us than Armenia, a comparatively impoverished, small state.
As a Senator and presidential candidate Obama repeatedly referred to the atrocity as genocide, and in 2008 pledged that as president he would recognize the genocide. Academic and author Samantha Power has championed this cause, and even recorded a five-minute video insisting that the Armenian-American community give Obama their vote because he would keep his promise on this issue. He sure got the vote, but where is the follow-through?
It is imperative that we recognize genocide, no matter how
long ago it may have occurred, in order to ensure that history does not repeat
itself. If we fail to do this and allow nations to overlook past atrocities, we
leave room for actions to repeat again. Recognizing the past is just as
important for the Armenian loss as it is for Turkey to come to terms with their
history, something that is important for a democratic way of life.
Political alliances are real and important to global governance, but President Obama can endure the brief blowback from Turkey. We are a more important alliance for Turkey than they are for us. Though other countries have stepped up, the U.S. is needed to isolate Turkey on this issue. I hope that President Obama can remember the candidate he was in 2008, and in his final years in office really change the status quo.
Political alliances are real and important to global governance, but President Obama can endure the brief blowback from Turkey. We are a more important alliance for Turkey than they are for us. Though other countries have stepped up, the U.S. is needed to isolate Turkey on this issue. I hope that President Obama can remember the candidate he was in 2008, and in his final years in office really change the status quo.
