President Obama Will Not Recognize the Armenian Genocide

Design of Armenian Genocide Memorial in Pasadena.

Congressman Adam Schiff sent a letter to his constituents regarding the U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Dear Friend,

By now you may have heard the news that President Obama will not recognize the Armenian Genocide this year, and therefore not as President. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that the President will now leave office without fulfilling his commitment.

For a President who knows the history so well, who spoke so passionately about the genocide as a Senator and Presidential candidate, and who has always championed human rights, the choice of silence and complicity is all the more painfully inexplicable. Remaining silent in an effort to curry favor with Turkey is as morally indefensible as it will be ineffectual.

How many administrations must be intimidated into silence before we realize that it never changes Turkish behavior for the better and only emboldens the increasingly authoritarian regime? Recognition of the Armenian Genocide could have been a proud part of the President’s legacy; instead this decision will be just another sad milestone in the struggle to prevent genocide by exposing genocide and its perpetrators.

Rep. Schiff Delivers Open Letter to President Obama on House Floor on the Armenian Genocide (Photo – still frame, YouTube).

Earlier this week, I took to the House Floor to deliver an open letter to the President of the United States, urging him to recognize the Armenian Genocide in his final year in office and in advance of the 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

This is a deeply distressing, if now predictable, end to the hopes that yet another Administration would do the right thing. But the fight continues, and will continue, until every nation on earth, including Turkey and including our own, recognizes the undeniable facts of history.

Congressman Adam Schiff