on the silk road


Armenians For Obama Joins Major LA Event For Nominee
June 28, 2008, 2:33 am
Filed under: Armenian Diaspora, US Politics | Tags: , , , ,

LOS ANGELES–Armenians For Obama joined political leaders and fundraisers earlier this week at US Senator Barack Obama’s first major event in Los Angeles since he became the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. 

The fundraiser, held on Tuesday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, drew together political leaders and Hollywood stars and provided an opportunity for Senator Obama to learn more about the 500,000 Armenian Americans who live and work in and around the City of Angels. 

In his remarks to those in attendance, the presidential candidate emphasized the urgent need to change the environment in Washington. He also stressed the importance of unity not only within the Democratic Party but for the nation as a whole, emphasizing that we all have common goals and common dreams for ourselves and for our world. 

“We were pleased to be part of a successful event for Senator Obama,” commented Armenians for Obama Chair Nora Hovsepian. “The Armenian American community looks forward to being there every step of the way for Barack Obama as he makes his way to the White House. It is energizing that so many Republicans, Democrats and Independents in our community have united to support Senator Obama. We are enthusiastically looking forward to Senator Obama becoming President Obama next year,” Hovsepian added. 

“In my discussion with Senator Obama tonight, I emphasized the moral strength of his position on the Armenian Genocide and ending the twin Turkish and Azeri blockades of Armenia. He reassured me that he is committed to these issues and expressed gratitude for our support in the Armenian-American community.” 

Earlier this week, Obama submitted questions on the Armenian Genocide to Marie Yovanovitch, President Bush’s nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. The Senator serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must confirm Yovanovitch before she can assume her post in Yerevan. 

According to the Associated Press, the gala fundraiser in Los Angeles included the participation of big-name directors and other celebrities, including actors Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Quaid and Don Cheadle, models Heidi Klum and Cindy Crawford, singer Seal, and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. Also on hand were Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who has created two music videos for Obama during the primary season – including one called “Yes We Can” that set music to clips from his speeches and became an Internet sensation. 

Individuals interested in learning more about Senator Obama’s record on Armenian American issues and how they can help get him elected President are encouraged to visit www.armeniansforobama.com. 

The ANC-PAC endorsed Senator Obama for President earlier this year and is gratified that he is now the presumptive nominee. The ANC-PAC is a non-partisan federally registered political action committee established to support campaign committees for Members of Congress who share the values of the Armenian American community. The ANC-PAC is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the voice of the Armenian American community is clearly heard in our nation’s capital. The ANC-PAC continues a century old tradition of Armenian Americans engagement on the public policy issues facing national political leaders, both in the U.S. Congress and the White House. For more information, you may logon to www.ancpac.org. 

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Genocide Recognition Still On Armenia Foreign Policy Agenda
June 28, 2008, 2:31 am
Filed under: Armenia, Armenian Diaspora, genocide recogntion | Tags: , , , , , ,

YEREVAN–Armenia will continue to seek international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Armenia’s Foreign Minister said in a press conference on Friday. His statements come despite recent speculations by the US funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that president Serzh Sarkisian is ready to agree to the creation of a highly controversial Turkish-Armenian commission of historians to study the fact.

In what RFE/RL’s Armenia bureau has reported as an apparent policy change, Serzh Sarkisian indicated during a town hall meeting with the Russian Armenian Community this week that he was “not against” the Turkish proposal. But he made clear that the commission of historians can be set up only if Turkey agrees to unconditionally normalize relations with Armenia.

Sarkisian’s statement does not mean that Armenia will no longer work to have the Armenian Genocide recognized by foreign governments and parliaments, Foreign Minister Nalbandian said. 

“The genocide issue remains on our agenda,” he said. 

“Armenia has repeatedly stated and continues to state that we are ready to establish relations with Turkey without any preconditions,” said Nalbandian. “We are also ready to discuss all issues of interest to the two countries after the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening of the border.”

In a press conference with journalists Friday, Sarkisian’s spokesman Samvel Farmanian explained that president’s position and policy on Armenian-Turkish relations are known and have not changed. 

He said, however, that Sarkisian is not against any study even of the obvious facts and widely recognized events, but such a study cannot call into question the reality of the facts.” He went on to say that the creation of such commission will make sense only after the Turkey establishes diplomatic relations and drops its blockade. 

Otherwise the entire venture may become another way for Turkey to distort the facts and postpone the normalization of relations, he said, stressing that there should be no closed borders in the 21st century, as they are detrimental to regional security and stability.

The idea of setting up such a commission was floated by Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a 2005 letter to then Armenian President Robert Kocharian. Erdogan said its members should jointly determine whether the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted a genocide.

Kocharian effectively rejected the idea by making a counterproposal to set up a Turkish-Armenian intergovernmental body that would deal with this and other issues of mutual concern.

Turkey cites Yerevan’s policy of Genocide recognition as one of the reasons why it keeps its border with Armenia closed and refuses to establish diplomatic relations with the latter. Ankara stubbornly denies the Genocide, saying that was a civil war and not part of a premeditated government effort to exterminate the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian minority.

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