My Turn
Genocide Resolution: A Major Victory, But Facts Should Not Be Ignored
On October 29, 2019, Armenian Americans scored a major victory in the halls of US Congress. For the first time in 35 years, the US House of Representatives adopted Resolution 296 affirming the facts
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Thank you Mr Sassounian.
As great as this non-binding resolution has been to boost the spirits of so many Armenians and non Armenians, i must question the amount of resources put in passing a resolution that is merely worth the same as a get well card ! Armenians our battles are in many fronts and resolutions are not on top of my list especially non binding resolutions. It seems we get happy for a week then every body goes back to business with shaking hands with Erdogan ! We Armenians and especially our institutions should fight the battles that will aid Armenias stance in the world politics,making Armenia a hub where any threat from outside will send shivers across the top 5 super powers ? Example Armenians have the rights to the turkish air bases, persuade the powers 100 years of free access with no conditions . Think about it
I totally disagree with the negative tone that Mr.Sassounian espouses about Res.296.
Mr.Sassounian, despite insisting otherwise, goes through some counter-arguments as if to downplay the passage of res.296 and goes through some moot points to prove that this is not as important as it seems.
Mr.Sassounian you are wrong, there are many important aspects that you choose to overlook;
a) The passage of this resolution (by a vote of 405 for and 11 against) jolted the Turkish political establishment, underscoring the futility of further Turkish counter-attack
b) This powerful resolution jolted the Russian political establishment into realizing that Russia is not the only superpower that can “benefit” from the Armenian issue. Russia is famous in using the Turksu factor into scaring Armenians into obedience but now it sees that the US can use the Armenian issue to strike against a common enemy and indeed use it in such a way that Armenia, as a result comes out as a winner. The day after the passing of the resolution we witnessed hysterical announcements from the Russian embassy in Yerevan about unsubstantiated and mysterious US plot to drive a wedge between “brotherly Armenia and Russia” and two days later the Russian defense minister rushed to Yerevan to “strengthen” the military base in Armenia. These cannot be a coincidence.
c) This resolution is a political act by the US aimed at Turkey by a combined by-partisan almost unanimous vote in time of modern post-Soviet independent Armenia. Furthermore, this resolution has passed at a sensitive time where Armenia is embroiled in a pan-Turkic war. The US official documents stating the facts of the Armenian genocide in 1951, and all other subsequent declarations of 1975, 1981, 1984 was during Soviet era where there were no internationally recognized independent State of Armenia. The Armenian at that time was part of a community, scattered throughout the world, including the USSR, and represented no official political status. One should not overlook this fact.
d) Out of the 29 States that have passed resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide only 4 (France, Greece, Cyprus and Argentina) have made the Armenian genocide resolutions the law of the land, the rest have all been non-binding parliamentary resolutions. The president of the United States not uttering the word “genocide” does not make it less official. The flag of the United States will be joining all other nations that have given their recognition in a similar manner.
e) Last but not least, even the co-president of the Turkish-American parliamentary friendship group, the one-time virulent anti-genocide recognition Rep. Steve Cohen, Democrat from Tennessee, voted “yes” for this resolution because he has had enough of Turkish shenanigans. This must be especially biting irony for the Turks.
I don’t know why Mr. Sassounian dwells on highlighting the negative where there are so many positives with the passage of Res.296. Could it be that he has argued continuously about stopping the lobbying efforts for the passage of an Armenian genocide resolution in the House of Representatives that today he feels obligated to justify his past insistence of not-so-correct theories.
Thanks you,
Zaven Zakarian
Montreal Qc.
Although I very often disagree with Sassounian either because of the tone or substance of his writings, he is overwhelmingly on the mark here. I would sum up his column thus: HR 296 is good as far as it goes. He does a good job pointing out what it does and does not accomplish, and what is needed to accomplish more. Well done.
The passage of Resolution 296 by the US House of Representatives was a major milestone
and a solid step in the right direction.
Sassounian’s article is an objective evaluation and analysis of what the legal implications are; might be considered negative in tone, but truthful.
Zaven Zakararian’s comment accentuates the positives and consequences that it might lead to.
A victory is a victory; but the work is not completed and the effort should continue
to achieve our ultimate objective; not only recognition but also reparations.
Turkey has to pay a price for its crimes; otherwise its all rhetoric and politics.
Vart Adjemian