On April 12, the Armenian Council of America (ACA) Executive Board sent United States President Barack Obama a letter. In the letter, the ACA addressed the upcoming anticipated meeting between the President and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as the annual April 24th presidential statement on the Armenian Genocide issue.
With the letter, ACA urges President Obama to advocate for greater democratic reforms within the region and honor his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide on its solemn 95th anniversary of April 24, 2010, instead of the ill conceived Armenian Turkish Protocols.
The letter reads:
“The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States of America
On behalf of the Armenian Council of America and Armenian Americans, we urge you to follow through with your pledge to the community and recognize the tragedy that occurred 95 years ago as a historical fact by acknowledging the events by its rightful name, the Armenian Genocide.
Distorting the significance of the Armenian Genocide in favor of international or domestic political and economic gain is counterintuitive to progress and continues the precedent for allowing future genocides and human rights violations to occur as evident in the recent genocide in Darfur.
While some in your Administration may advise you to encourage Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ratify the Armenian Turkish Protocols, we instead ask you to encourage the leaders to adopt democratic principles in their respective nations in order to promote future solidarity and friendship in the region.
The protocols signed by Armenia and Turkey whose history of continuous conflict dates back to the end of the 19th century appeared as a symbolic step towards normalized relations between the two estranged states. Peace and cooperation are components to the region's prosperity and the Armenian Council of America is willing to work towards that endeavor, however, these important elements cannot be achieved at the cost of a historical accuracy or through undemocratic means.
It is vital for neighboring nations to co-exist in peace, yet the protocols present a facade of harmony and good-will between Armenia and Turkey. Its intentions are being manipulated and concocted by the Turkish government to set preconditions and unequivocally continue the atmosphere of distrust within the region.
Turkey has closed its borders unilaterally and should open its borders unilaterally without any pre-conditions. The statements that have been made by Turkish leaders regarding the protocols negate all claims of the non-existence of preconditions.
The current regime in the Republic of Armenia has unfortunately used the protocols to stabilize their stranglehold of power, leaving the Armenian people fragile and virtually unsupported for their desire of democracy by the international community.
The Armenian American community seeks for Armenia to truly become a democratic nation where the rule of law and citizens' rights are protected. The United States as the leading global democracy has the power to influence the Republic of Armenia and its leadership to establish and maintain these principles.
President Obama, Armenian Americans strongly insist that you do what is in the best interest of human rights and democracy; advocate for greater democratic reforms within the region and honor your promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide on its solemn 95th anniversary of April 24, 2010.”
