The appropriateness of some things is often clear and unambiguous ““ say, for instance, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
But for others, as in the case of Congressional Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice, who visited the UCLA campus Saturday to receive the prestigious Jacoby International Award, there is neither clarity nor reason.
Before one rushes to honor Harman, consider the significant outrage by members of the UCLA community and the congresswoman’s own constituency over her actions regarding HR 106.
This resolution reaffirms the U.S. record on the Armenian genocide.
The adoption of HR 106 is a necessary congressional statement affirming the United States’ proud history in responding to the Armenian genocide.
It should also be seen as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to remain ever vigilant in confronting genocide.
In early October, it was revealed that, while she had originally co-sponsored HR 106, Harman turned her back on the legislation, sending a letter to Rep. Tom Lantos urging him to withdraw the resolution.
Harman says that the resolution’s simple admission of our own American historical record would “isolate and embarrass” Turkey, which would, in turn, react by jeopardizing American efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Simply put, she argues that now is not the right time to do the right thing.
The government of Turkey has been actively engaged in the denial of the Armenian genocide.
Furthermore, it continues to persecute individuals within Turkey who challenge its denial of the genocide, under the guise of its infamous Article 301, which bans citizens from committing “public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.”.
Turkey has issued threats against America and stability in Iraq, which have been interpreted by groups such as the editorial staff of Usanogh.com as an effort to impose its anti-freedom of expression criminal code on the United States Congress.
While this may sound surprising, it should not. Turkey has repeatedly taken actions against American interests in the region.
For instance, they refused to allow U.S. troops to enter northern Iraq in March 2003 through Turkey. And there have been several instances in which the U.S. has had to rein in Turkish military forces who were attempting to destabilize the Kurdish authority in northern Iraq.
These instances occurred in the absence of any Armenian genocide resolution.
It is disconcerting that individuals ““ especially leaders such as Harman ““ have allowed the false association between HR 106 and the instability of U.S.-Turkish relations.
They do so while ignoring the core problem that we face: A supposed ally feels that it must intimidate the U.S. by using language and threats that would be expected from America’s enemies.
The congresswoman should be reminded of the words of a person who would be a truly worthy recipient of the Jacoby Award, the late Rev. King.
In a letter from the Birmingham Jail in April of 1963, he identified the stumbling block to justice as the “moderate, who is more devoted to “˜order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
The highly prestigious award was established in 1983 in honor of Neil H. Jacoby, founding dean of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a founding member of the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students. It is given to those who have “enhanced international and intercultural understanding through volunteer or professional endeavors,” according to the UC Web site.
Sadly and ironically, Harman’s own retreat from principle in the face of Turkish bullying indicates that now was not the time to honor her with the Jacoby Award.
Hovsepian is a UCLA alumnus from the Class of 2006.