U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills spoke at the Western Prelacy in La Crescenta, Calf., on March 10, during his tour of Armenian communities throughout the United States to brief them on his diplomatic work in Armenia.
In his welcoming remarks, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, expressed the hope that “the United States, as a champion of justice and human rights, will in due time join the scores of nations that have formally acknowledged the indisputable truth of the Armenian Genocide.”
Mills spoke about the progress Armenia has made in the last two decades and presented the four priorities being pursued by the U.S. Embassy:
1) deepening business and trade relations between Armenia and the United States;
2) countering corruption;
3) strengthening democracy, human rights, and civil society;
4) creating a better understanding of U.S. foreign policy goals.
The ambassador explained that the United States encourages reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey by continuing to support the protocols that were signed in 2009, but not ratified. Speaking of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Mills remarked that “Armenians were massacred and marched to their deaths by the Ottoman Empire,” carefully avoiding the term “Armenian Genocide.”
At the end of the ambassador’s presentation, I had the privilege of being called upon to ask the first question. I respectfully commented:
“I know that ambassadors don’t decide U.S. foreign policy. You are simply the messenger. I would like to go on record to say that it is deeply offensive to the Armenian community for you to come here and not use the word ‘genocide’ to describe what happened to Armenians in 1915. I am not blaming you. It is not your fault! You know what happened and the U.S. government knows what happened. American officials have repeatedly recognized the Armenian Genocide since 1951. I have written a book that documents U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which I will be happy to give you. It is not understandable to Armenians and non-Armenians around the world why the U.S. government is now reluctant to use a word that describes what it acknowledged a long time ago. This reluctance puts the United States at a disadvantage when its officials give lectures to Armenians in Armenia about democracy, morality, and justice, and yet they fail to comply with their own principles. The U.S. government should be an example to the rest of the world! I am just using you as a messenger. I see that one of your colleagues from the State Department is here with you. I hope that you would transmit my message to your superiors in Washington.”
Mills gave the following brief answer: “My only response will be to reiterate President [Barack] Obama’s goal which he set forth in his statement on April 24th: ‘We want full, frank, and just acknowledgment of what happened from the Turkish government and Turkish people.’”
Regrettably, the U.S. ambassador was simply following Obama’s deplorable reluctance to utter the words “Armenian Genocide,” despite his repeated promises to do so as a candidate.
Regardless of whether Obama and his underlings use the term genocide, the fact remains that the United States has repeatedly acknowledged the Armenian Genocide at the presidential and congressional levels.
Nevertheless, the Armenian-American community and Armenians worldwide have an obligation to confront and reject every attempt to minimize or distort the proper characterization of the Armenian Genocide. Remaining silent upon hearing such reprehensible terminology is an insult to the memory of the Armenian martyrs, particularly when unacceptable euphemisms are uttered in Armenian church halls and community centers.
Mills was probably surprised by the adverse reaction of the audience to his statements not only regarding the Armenian Genocide, but also his faulty claim that Turkey was fighting against ISIS!
Unfortunately, we cannot expect every American ambassador to sacrifice his/her diplomatic career by telling the truth to power as did John Evans, the former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. He boldly acknowledged the Armenian Genocide at a great cost, during a similar tour of the Armenian communities in the United States. Mills should be commended for his efforts to improve U.S.-Armenia relations. However, his superiors in Washington should be made aware that his good work is being undermined by their shameful word games regarding the Armenian Genocide!
Harut Sassounian
You are absolutely right!
Not only the genocide recognition issue , but the protocols which are essentially dead due to duplicity from Turkey. Surely , the ambassador know the credibility issue the protocols has in our community….. Especially since it was advocated by the now genocide denier or current presidential candidate Clinton, who stated the genocide ” is a matter of historical debate”. We can not compromise our core values.
I met john evans and his lovely canadian wife at a formal dinner organized in his honour by the armenian community in toronto. seldom will we find such a courageous ambassador. his recognition of the Armenian Genocide cost him his job. he,in a sense was a martyr in his own right. only a few more months of mr.obama, let’s hope for the best.
The Genocide issues aside, I wish our community would put even greater emphasis on the corruption and lack of hope that the current Armenian government is causing. The economy is something the government can control…unlike the Genocide issue. Improving the economy, eliminating corruption which leads to a more competitive economy would reduce the exodus of Armenians today… This is even more important.
As a U.S. expat living in the actual Republic of Armenia and in daily contact with Armenian-Armenians, I echo your comment Harout. The Armenian-Armenians I know are a bit more concerned about where they will get the money to feed, house, and clothe themselves and their children today and in the FUTURE, not about seeking revenge and/or foreign recognition for the PAST (although they certainly keep the Genocide in mind). I was surprised by how quickly the “Remember and Demand” movement in Armenia dissolved after April 24th of last year, but it is a good indication of what the priorities of Armenian-Armenians are.
Agreed. The ‘screwing my fellow Armenian for my own gain’ mentality that seems pandemic in the current Armenian environment, is unacceptable. Its been noted many times that direct financial aid to Armenia is frowned upon as it understood that the money will be mostly diverted..Its also amazing the amount of apologists when this very subject is brought up who go into the usual “you don’t know” or “you didn’t fight the war” as if that’s an excuse to steal your fellow Armenian.
I have to object to this notion that the domestic condition in Armenia is the Diaspora’s responsibility. Like it or not, members of the Diaspora are not citizens of Armenia. Many of them are in Diaspora because of the Genocide and as a result, Genocide is more personally relevant to them than domestic conditions in a country that is *relatively* foreign.
I would on the other hand consider it imperialistic and condescending for foreigners who do not live or pay taxes in Armenia, and who have not served in its armed forces, to lecture that country.
Yes, of course, we must support respect for basic human rights, including the right to criticize the government. But support for democratization does not require openly aligning with the opposition.
Mr. Sassounian, this is a very valid argument. However, Genocide is not the only important issue that we Armenians as a whole face, and it’s not the only issue that was brought up during the Glendale meeting and you failed to acknowledge. Other issues that were raised by the participants and are so consistently ignored by the mainstream Diaspora organizations and by you personally are corruption, electoral fraud and political prisoners in Armenia. You would think someone who shouts about US hypocrisy and demands honesty from the US government should have no problem demanding the same from the Armenian unelected leaders who usurp power, plunder the resources and have pushed Armenia into extreme poverty. Likewise, hypocrisy in US policy is not limited to the Genocide recognition and must be called out by our leaders. The US hypocrisy extends to other vital issues of Armenia such as supporting the prime minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan who has been described in embassy reports as “chief executive officer of election fraud” and “crass nouveau riche whose brand of dirty-money politics, abuse of state administrative resources, and cunning opportunism is in the worst tradition of recent Armenian politics.” Or the ruling party in Armenia perpetrating massive electoral fraud so that Serge Sargsyan can enjoy his seat till the end of his life. Or the oligarchs monopolizing and choking the Armenian economy and plundering the Armenian people for super profits. To the average Armenian these are the issues that affect the day to day life and drive many out of Armenia, not the Genocide recognition issue which, as painful as it is for all of us, does not need to take up our entire national agenda.
Mr. Sassounian, don’t get me wrong. I admire your efforts over the years concerning the recognition of the Genocide. But ignoring other issues of equal or higher importance and urgency that we must address today, makes you as a community leader irrelevant to Armenia and the Armenians today. I urge you to be more honest yourself and talk about these other issues with equal vigor before calling on others to be honest.
Sincerely,
Sassoon Kosian
AMEN! Indeed, the Genocide is not the only, and far from the most important, issue for today’s Armenian-Armenians! And, you are equally right about U.S. foreign policy, which is not Armenia-centric, and is primarily about hegemony and cultural imperialism. The programs and policies of the European Union are far more realistic and useful to Armenia.
{Other issues that were raised by the participants and are so consistently ignored by the mainstream Diaspora organizations and by you personally are corruption, electoral fraud and political prisoners in Armenia.}
Electoral fraud?
Political prisoners?
Quick, setup another SorosaNGO in Yerevan to free those alleged “political” prisoners.
{makes you as a community leader irrelevant to Armenia and the Armenians today.}
The ones who are irrelevant are the couple dozen SorosaCadre malcontents who protest every so often in front of the RoA consulate in Glendale. Nobody but themselves pays any attention to their incoherent shouts.
Mr. Sassounian has been relevant to Armenia and Armenians since the Spitak earthquake. He has the respect and admiration of Armenian-American community and people and leaders in Armenia.
He has devoted his life to helping Armenia and Armenian causes.
What have the SorosaCadres ever done except cause harm?
Harut’s great column ends with a problematic concluding paragraph.
Being an ambassador is a choice and not a forced profession.
Choosing to deny the Armenian Genocide is wittingly exercising the worst form of hate speech, reflecting one’s own warped moral compass as well as those of one’s superiors.
And, yes, we can and should “expect every American ambassador to sacrifice his/her diplomatic career by telling the truth to power.”
No good-cop-bad-cop routine can straighten out the notoriously pro-Turkic U.S. State Department in the near future.
Additionally, U.S. ambassadors must no longer be welcome in our church halls and community centers until they genuinely support free and fair elections and good governance in Armenia, unanimously recognize the veracity of the Armenian Genocide, and comment positively on our just struggle for liberating our occupied homeland, Western Armenia, and attaining other meaningful reparations.
Until then, all future tours should be held on neutral, non-Armenian grounds; otherwise, even less people will undoubtedly show up to listen to their insulting rhetoric and lies.
Finally, do you know how many promising positions Armenians of all ages have turned down over the decades just because they were expected to deny or minimize the Armenian Genocide, i.e. they were expected to deny or minimize all that they are and all that drives them in life?!
Well done Mr. Sassounian.
One interesting thing: usually the American statement does not include “from the Turkish government and the Turkish people.” It just ends at “full, frank and just acknowledgment of facts.” Therefore, perhaps the new focus on Turkey is progress. The old formulation implied a sort of moral equivalency, in that both Armenians and Turkey had something to contribute to this acknowledgment.
Great job and good wording…..
Good work Sassounian
Great job Mr. Sassounian. You should have also told the imperial official that Armenia can do without Western style “democracy”, “human rights” and “civil society” because we saw what those Western fairytales brought to places like Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Ukraine. You should have also told him to stop encouraging the Armenia’s fifth column (the country’s Western funded political opposition) and start helping Armenia economically by forcing his Turkish allies to lift Armenia’s economic blockade.
I second this. Issues other than genocide recognition should have been also brought up to this ambassador’s attention, ones related to the priorities that he himself has presented as being pursued by the US embassy.
USAID gives grants for projects that “fight”—on paper—corruption in Armenia knowing full well that the monies are being appropriated by NGOs and those government agencies that are designated to fight corruption.
Strengthening democracy, human rights, and civil society have become so time-worn, so ridden-to-death clichés after what the world had seen the US did with “color revolutions” in Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, the so-called “Arab Spring” in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and with her henchman ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Deepening business and trade relations between Armenia and the US is another smokescreen. After the demise of the Soviet Union, the US has not actually stepped into the South Caucasus, let alone Armenia, not even with small share of her economic, trade and commerce potential. As a matter of fact, the West in general hasn’t done so, except for the British Petroleum pumping the remaining oil and gas from Azerbaijan.
As for creating a better understanding of US foreign policy goals, a ton of questions and accusations could have been brought up, starting from America’s support of the defeatist protocols, her OSCE Minsk Group rep’s anti-Armenian statements, the unnecessary aggrandizement of Turkey as “strategic ally” to the detriment of her relations with other countries in the region, including Armenia. And many more…
Not presenting these issues essentially gave a reprieve to this official and his administration on issues no less important than the genocide recognition.
Apres Harutik jan, hazar apres! Mr. Sassounian, I fully endorse Harutik’s comments. When your US makes its most important regional ally NATO member Turkey lift its economic blockade of Armenia and when the world’s most corrupt officials in DC begin uttering the word “Armenian Genocide” we Armenians will know that the US has good intentions towards Armenia. Until then it’s all hot air. All we see the US doing in is encouraging unrest in Armenia with US funded activists and spread misinformation against Armenia because we are allied to Russia and Iran. Let’s call it as is, the US is a menace to Armenia and to the world.
I’m ok with M Sasoon Kossian.
“You are [the US ambassador to Armenia, that is] simply the messenger.”
How valid is this point? Ambassador is an official representative of a government to a foreign country. Not just a messenger.
Henry Morgenthau Sr. was also a US ambassador, but he had the courage to describe the mass murders of the Armenians as a campaign of race extermination.
John Marshall Evans was also a US ambassador, but in sharp contrast to his cowardly administration, he had guts to refer to the mass annihilation of the Armenians as genocide.
It saddens me that an important meeting with the representative of the US government in Armenia wasn’t used by our community leaders in order to hold demands against ineffective US foreign policy towards the Republic.
Soon, and very soon, when the government of Turkey crumbles, the blocked will be removed and the issue of the Genocide will be resolved. Support the Kurds so they would finish what the Armenians started earlier last century.
For us as Armenians we should work on our nations democracy and economy and getting rid of corruption.
“1) deepening business and trade relations between Armenia and the United States”
That is always welcomed and it always has been.
“2) countering corruption”
Perhaps the USA can start with “NATO ally” Turkey and Azerbaijan, the usurped lands of despots, tyrants, criminals, terrorists and genocide perpetrators.
“3) strengthening democracy, human rights, and civil society”
When the USA achieves these, then you can be in a position to spread your knowledge elsewhere, until then we Armenians know what is good for our culture and what is not. Only a very unimaginative person would equate the needs of a diverse 350 million USA with a homogeneous 3 million Armenia.
“4) creating a better understanding of U.S. foreign policy goals”
Absolutely meaningless without the US also acknowledging Armenia’s and the diaspora’s foreign policy goals.
I always have one thing to say to any American official claiming they want to better Armenia. Mr Ambassador: you want to ‘help’ Armenia? Start with acknowledging a simple truth and that is recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Until the US does this, we will always know all your claims are hollow and disingenuous.