Anca.org to feature 28 days of Armenian Genocide affirmation activities leading up to White House visit by Turkish PM
WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) this week unveiled “Countdown to Erdogan,” a month-long campaign of grassroots activism aimed at encouraging the U.S. Congress, the media, and ultimately the White House to put America on the right side of the Armenian Genocide.
The ANCA website (www.anca.org/countdown) will launch a new action item every day, ranging from online activism and call-in days to social networking, coalition-building, community outreach, and hands-on activities, all aimed at educating and inspiring President
Obama, on Dec. 7, to tell Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that American stands for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide. Each week will also include at least one action item geared to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, as part of the ANCA’s broader commitment to fostering U.S leadership in ending the cycle of genocide.
The first week of the campaign will address the U.S. Senate, the second the U.S. House, followed by the media on the third week, and then a final push in the final seven days directly to the White House. Obama is set to meet with Erdogan on Dec. 7.
On the first day of the campaign, activists were urged to send a free ANCA WebFax to their senators and encourage them to co-sponsor the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.316, spearheaded by Senators Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and John Ensign (R-Nev). A special Call-in Day for senators is set for Thurs., Nov. 12.
“As we all know far too well, when President Obama met this April in Ankara with Prime Minister Erdogan, he got it wrong, breaking his clearly and repeatedly stated promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian, in a letter to campaign participants. “Even worse, in the weeks that followed, he compounded his broken pledge by joining with Turkey in pressuring Armenia, a landlocked and blockaded country, into accepting a ‘historical commission’ that calls into question this very crime against humanity. This time, on American soil, President Obama has a chance to make it right—to honor his pledge and be, as he stated during the campaign, the president the American people deserve.”
The “Countdown to Erdogan” campaign launch coincides with recent statements by Erdogan denying both the Armenian and Darfur Genocides. In recent remarks, he asserted that “It’s not possible for a Muslim to commit genocide.” His statements came in response to international pressure on Turkey to arrest Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir during a scheduled visit, later postponed, to Ankara. “We are comfortable [with the visit of al-Bashir],” Erdogan explained.
U.S. President Obama should be very cautious in relationships with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr. Erdogan can blame Mr. Obama for Indian Genocide as well as for racist behavior in international affairs. Plus to that, Obama should remember that his rating in the United States of America is drastically falling.
jeshmarid@yahoo.com