Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

U.S. conflicted over Armenian Genocide
by Karen Albrecht, Daily Bruin U. California-Los Angeles - January 23, 2001
Posted: Sunday, January 28, 2001 08:13 pm CST

(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES -- In France, "genocide" now officially describes the death of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks, after landmark French legislation passed Jan. 18.

In the United States Congress, a similar Armenian Genocide resolution was killed last October, preempted by warnings from former President Clinton that it could jeopardize good U.S.-Turkey relations. The Turkish government denies the 1915 event ever occurred.

"National interests, fear of destabilization, and possible alienation of an allied power are cited as justification for killing the measure in the U.S.," said Richard G. Hovannisian, Armenian and Near Eastern history professor at the University of California-Los Angeles. "This is an untenable position, because it contradicts everything the U.S. claims regarding human rights issues and condemnation of genocide."

It is likely that the measure would have passed the house had the Clinton administration not intervened, Hovannisian said.

The U.S. values the strategic location of Turkish allies, and was correct in defeating the resolution in the House, according to Ersin Sivrican, fourth-year aerospace engineering student and president of the Turkish Student Association at UCLA.

"I do not think the U.S. will make the same mistake as the French government in acknowledging this 'genocide,'" Sivrican said. "I also believe that France will have to reconsider this matter in the near future."

Beginning in 1915, Ottoman Turks, members of the Triple Alliance during World War I, began to relocate their minority Armenian population to Syria. Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians died in the process, many succumbing to the elements and to starvation during their forced displacement.

While acknowledging that up to 600,000 ethnic Armenians were left dead during this period, Turkish officials have traditionally denied that the casualties were a result of an organized government effort.

But American diplomats, missionaries and other personnel have provided evidence of genocide through eyewitness accounts, according to Hovannisian.

"Thousands of U.S. documents in the U.S. national archives attest in no uncertain terms to the reality and factuality of the genocide," he said.

Among others, Italy, the Vatican, Greece, Belgium and Russia have previously recognized the Armenian Genocide.

"The U.S. is now in somewhat of an embarrassing situation as European counterparts, one after another, recognize the genocide," Hovannisian said.

While it is disappointing that the U.S. did not pass the resolution last October, French recognition is symbolic of increasing international awareness, said David Dahle, third-year political science and sociology student, and deputy chief of staff for Undergraduate Students Association Council President Elizabeth Houston.

"As long as people recognize that genocide took place, it is a step in the right direction," he said.

The French legislation could spawn lawsuits and demands for legal compensation from Turkey similar to that paid to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Furthermore, French business relations with Turkey will likely suffer, according to Sivrican.

But Hovannisian said it is in the interests of the Turkish government to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and deal with the consequences. Their tactics of denial, he said, have not made the issue disappear.

The Armenian presence in Southern California has grown to more than 500,000 since 1915, and has become the largest Armenian community outside of their country.

In addition, the number of UCLA students of Armenian origin has risen to several hundred, according to Hovannisian.

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