Pallone Calls on White House to ‘Side with Historical Honesty’ and Allow Display of Genocide Orphan Rug

“It is difficult to express in words how deeply troubling it is that a historical and cultural treasure accepted by President Coolidge on behalf of the people of the United States may be being kept behind closed doors because of Turkish desire to keep discussion of certain historical facts out of the public discussion.” –Rep. Frank Pallone

WASHINGTON—Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) this week urged President Obama to reverse an earlier decision and allow the display of the Armenian Genocide orphan rug, noting that the Turkish government should not be allowed to dictate whether this cultural treasure is available to the public, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a letter send to the White House, Rep. Pallone stated that “the refusal of the White House’s to allow display of the rug without explanation denies the American people access to a national treasure and suggests that discussion of the events surrounding the Armenian Genocide is unwelcome. The Armenian-American community continues to make valuable contributions to the United States and our government should be committed to helping the community explore their history, including the Armenian Genocide.”

“We want to thank Congressman Pallone for pressing the Obama Administration to do the right thing,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “It is a truly tragic testament to the depths of our administration’s deference to Ankara’s angry and irrational genocide denial campaign that our White House—having been gagged into silence by Turkey on the Armenian Genocide—is now allowing this foreign government to dictate which works of art—[which are] U.S. property and part of our American history—we are allowed to display at the Smithsonian Institution.”

Pallone joins Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) in pressing the White House to allow the display of the orphan rug through individual letters. This week, Representatives David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) launched a Congressional letter urging their colleagues to band together in petitioning the White House to release the rug for view. Both Pallone and Sherman have co-signed the letter along with a growing bi-partisan list of House members.

The ANCA launched a grassroots campaign last week calling on the White House and Congress to secure a prominent and permanent public display of the historic rug, woven by Armenian Genocide orphans and presented to President Calvin Coolidge on Dec. 4, 1925 in appreciation for U.S. humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the genocide.

The Armenian orphan rug measures 11’7″ x 18’5″ and is comprised of 4,404,206 individual knots. It took the Armenian girls in the Ghazir Orphanage of the Near East Relief Society 10 months to weave. A label on the back of the rug, in large hand-written letters, reads “IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE.”

According to Missak Kelechian, an expert on the topic, the gift of the orphan rug was widely covered in U.S. media, including in the New York Times in 1925 and the Washington Post in 1926. Kelechian describes the journey of the rug in a CNN clip available for viewing at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyDoZl7bYN8.

Additional information about the history of the rug is available in Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian’s book, President Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug, published on Oct. 20, 2013, by the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF) in Arlington, Mass., and soon to be available on Amazon.com.

Armenian-Americans can take action by visiting http://www.anca.org/orphanrug.