Dangers of the Proposed Protocols on Armenian-Turkey Dialogue - ANCA

September 2, 2009 Dangers of the Proposed Protocols on Armenian-Turkey Dialogue | Watch | Take Action: Protest U.S. Pressure on Armenia to Accept "Historical Commission" 1) ANCA Warns Capitol Hill About Dangers of Turkey-Armenia "Protocols" 2) Schiff Calls on Turkey to Recognize Genocide 3) In the News: "Denying the 'other' Holocaust", Jerusalem Post - 8/29/2009 ANCA Warns Capitol Hill About Dangers of Turkey-Armenia "Protocols" -- Alerts Legislators about Pressure on Yerevan to Accept Terms that Threaten Armenia’s Security WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today shared with Members of Congress the reservations of the Armenian American community regarding a recent set of secretly-negotiated, Swiss-brokered, protocols between Turkey and Armenia regarding the normalization of their bilateral relations. In a September 1, 2009 memo to Senate and House offices, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian reviewed these concerns, alerted these offices to the undue pressure applied to Armenia to accept dangerous concessions, and informed legislators on both sides of Capitol Hill about Turkey’s rapid backtracking from even the minor commitments it had undertaken in these agreements. In the note, Hamparian stressed that, “Among [the ANCA’s] primary concerns is that Armenia, blockaded by Turkey and under intense economic and diplomatic pressure, was forced into accepting terms that threaten her interests, rights, safety, and future – very notably in the form of a proposed ‘historical commission.’” He added that, “This provision, a tactic long pursued by Ankara to cast doubt on the historical record of the Armenian Genocide, is intended to serve Turkey’s drive to roll back the growing tide of international recognition of this crime against humanity. There can be no enduring relationship between Armenia and Turkey that is not built upon the foundation of Turkey’s acceptance of a true and just resolution of this crime.” Read More. . . Take Action: Protest U.S. Pressure on Armenia to Accept "Historical Commission" Schiff Calls on Turkey to Recognize Genocide WASHINGTON— Reacting to the Monday’s announcement of protocols for the establishment and development of relations between Armenia and Turkey, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said true reconciliation will occur when Turkey recognizes the Genocide. “While I welcome what may be an important step in the rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey and hope that the upcoming talks result in a swift opening of full diplomatic and commercial relations between Ankara and Yerevan, as well as a reopening of the border, I have serious concerns about some provisions of the protocols accompanying the announcement,” said Schiff on Tuesday. “In particular, I was deeply disappointed to see that the protocols call for the creation of an historical commission to review the events of 1915-23. This is a thoroughly discredited idea; there is no dispute among scholars that the Armenian people were the subject of genocide during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire and an historical commission is another effort to obfuscate the truth,” added Schiff. “Turkey cannot be allowed to re-write this tragic part of its history as a price for normal relations with Armenia. To do so means acquiescence in a charade that demeans the memory of so many victims,” explained the Congressman. “True reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish peoples will occur when Turkey acknowledges the genocide that was committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians from 1915 – 1923. The Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th Century, resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children and the sorrow that the Armenian people carry in their hearts cannot be healed by diplomatic relations alone,” reaffirmed Schiff. Denying the 'other' Holocaust August 29, 2009 | Marilyn Henry THE JERUSALEM POST Ten years ago, I was in Armenia for Genocide Memorial Day. Armenians from their "galut" around the world had come to Yerevan to participate with local citizens in the solemn commemoration. I was with a group that came from the US, including Henry Morgenthau III. He was there because the government intended to honor his grandfather, the first Henry, who as the US ambassador to Constantinople in 1915 had raised the alarm about the Armenian genocide. The Morgenthaus and I were Jews among the Armenians. After a week together, however, it was hard to remember that the Armenians weren't Jews. We have much in common: lost families, lost homes, lost countries, lost languages, lives as minorities, a diaspora, fears of assimilation, factions in religious practice - and genocide, as well as foes who would deny that the genocide ever happened. BUT THIS also is where Jews and Armenians part. No civilized society will tolerate Holocaust denial. Nearly a century later, however, denial of the Armenian genocide persists, and it pops up in the most unexpected places. Most recently it was in the federal appeals court in California. In a ruling on August 20, two members of a three-judge appellate panel did not quite deny the Armenian genocide; it was more like "genocide squelching." At issue was one of a handful of California laws that collectively extended the statutes of limitations so that Nazi victims, including slave laborers, as well as victims of the Armenian genocide, would have additional time to file various claims for redress from human rights abuses and other losses. Read more. . . Search the web with www.goodsearch.com and money from Yahoo advertisers will go to the ANCA without you spending a dime. A penny per search! Use www.goodshop.com for online purchases from hundreds of popular sites and a percentage comes back to the ANCA. 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