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December 2007

Greek-Americans stand with Armenians in recognizing Armenian Genocide

By Allen Yekikan

The wall of genocide denial, obstructing the recognition--and future prevention--of the scourge of genocide is finally crumbling. Despite decades-long, state-- sponsored and now multi-million dollar campaigning by Turkey to distort history, buy off politicians, and threaten the interests of nations with the courage to recognize history, the issue of the Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey between 1915 and 1923 has again come into focus.

Over the last few years with the help of a growing coalition of human rights organizations and an ever-evolving advocacy strategy, Armenian Americans have gained recognition in dozens of major cities and 40 state legislatures. Now, amid unprecedented opposition, they are poised one again to gain recognition by the United States Congress as soon as Speaker Nancy Pelosi brings it to a full House vote during the next session of Congress.

Armenians have not been alone in this fight for justice. Greek Americans have been a longtime ally, working hand-in-hand with Armenians for official recognition of their past. Like the Armenians, they too are the orphans of genocide. Between 1914 and 1923 Ottoman Turkey slaughtered over a million Greeks in Asia Minor and Pontus and burned the Greek city of Smyrna annihilating its population. The Pontian Genocide shattered the lifeblood of an ancient community, completely removing any collective Greek presence in Asia Minor--a land they had inhabited for three thousand years. In 1997, legislation was introduced in Congress commemorating the Greek genocide. Met with opposition from Turkey, the resolution did not leave committee.

On January 30 2007, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a long-time supporter of genocide recognition, introduced a resolution in the House to properly acknowledge and commemorate the Armenian Genocide. This resolution quickly became the target of Turkey’s fiercest campaign of denial with Turkish officials openly articulating their intent to openly sabotage U.S. interests in Iraq by closing key supply routes. Jewish American organizations, along with the state of Israel, were reminded that failure to quash the resolution would lead to a domestic backlash against Turkey's Jewish minority. Former Members of Congress were recruited to lobby their colleagues. American diplomats, high-ranking members of the administration, State Department officials and even the President were marshaled to kill the resolution. The reach of Turkey’s new campaign to prevent recognition was unprecedented.

Nevertheless, since the resolution's introduction, Armenian and Greek Americans have taken an active grassroots approach in defense of the issue, combining traditional community mobilization with new methods of online activism. Online advocacy campaigns such as the Armenian National Committee of America's “Click for Justice Campaign” and the American Hellenic Council of CA’s “Online Action Network”, have allowed citizens to send e-letters to their representatives via the web, urging elected officials to support genocide recognition.

Activists from AHC's Online Action Network spanning over 30 states coordinated the sending of emails to their representatives urging for passage of the resolution. Meanwhile, the ANCA, in coordination with Greek and other human rights organizations, launched a ten day online genocide protest. Through extensive "netroots" outreach on social networks such as Facebook and Myspace and by distributing over 100,000 "Click for Justice" postcards at events and university campuses across the country, the ANCA organized thousands of "e-advocates" across the country to sent web-faxes to their representatives, urging them to vote for the resolution.

This type of online advocacy, coupled with a consistent campaign by the American Hellenic Institute, the AHC, and the ANCA to provide their membership with immediate up-to-date information about the issue helped communities build the grassroots momentum that resulted in the resolution gaining 226 cosponsors by the time it was brought before markup in committee.

Immediately after the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos announced the resolution was to be considered in committee, Nick Larigakis, Executive Director of the AHI, wrote a letter to him urging strong support for the resolution. Appealing to the only Holocaust survivor in Congress "as someone who understands the tragic consequences of genocide," Larigakis urged the Chairman to "secure committee approval" for the measure, to “help prevent future atrocities and genocides."

On October 10, hours after President Bush urged the panel to vote down the issue on national TV, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Co-chair of the Hellenic Caucus and an ardent supporter of genocide recognition, before a chamber marred by foreign influence spoke truth to power, urging his colleagues not to put the Armenian Genocide on "the back burner of history for fear of acknowledging the truth or offending our ally, Turkey." Despite intense pressure from the administration, Bilirakis voted yes on the resolution. Congressman Bilirakis and 26 other committee members, including Chairman Lantos, voted in favor of human rights, securing a majority vote for the resolution.

The following day, the adoption of the resolution became breaking news on prime time and made the front page of every major newspaper. Turkey’s ruling government immediately recalled its ambassador for “consultations.”

Meanwhile, President Bush marshaled his troops for a new round of lobbying aimed at preventing a full House vote on the bill. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, however, maintained her previous commitment to schedule a vote.

Although Ankara’s threats of cutting support for U.S. forces in Iraq successfully prevented the resolution from being put to an immediate vote before the winter recess, the validity of the Genocide never came into question. No member who voted against the resolution denied the historical facts of the Armenian Genocide. Much to Ankara’s dismay, the media also acknowledged the Armenian Genocide as fact, debating only the timing of the resolution.

The success of Armenian and Greek advocacy is that they have finally been able to break the wall of denial; the facts of the Armenian Genocide are no longer debated. It is uncertain when the resolution will come to a vote in the House, but Armenian and Greek Americans will continue to stand together to convince elected officials that there is no better time to recognize genocide than now.

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