UCLA student Marina Nazarbekian met with U.S. congressmen
earlier this week to lobby for U.S. recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and for favorable U.S. policies toward Armenia.
The exile and executions of Armenians by the Turkish government
in 1915 is commemorated nationally on April 24, but the U.S.
government does not officially recognize the events as a
genocide.
Many other countries have begun to recognize the event as a
genocide. On Wednesday, Canada’s House of Commons voted to
adopt a motion recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
Nazarbekian, a second-year political science and international
developmental studies student attended a two-day Washington, D.C.
conference in hopes of raising support in Congress for U.S.
recognition of the genocide.
“It is a moral issue to recognize the genocide. As the
most powerful nation, you would think the United States would not
be afraid of a country like Turkey,” Nazarbekian said.
Nazarbekian helped circulate a letter to be signed by
congressmen asking President Bush to recognize the tragedy.
In a White House statement in 2001, Bush referred to the forced
deportations and executions of Armenians as one of the “great
tragedies of history,” but followed the example of many past
modern presidents ““ Ronald Reagan being an exception ““
by not referring to a genocide.
Nazarbekian said it is important to recognize and commemorate
the event as a genocide so similar tragedies do not arise.
“It is not just an Armenian issue. It is a humanitarian
issue,” Nazarbekian said. “We’ve been through it
so we know what it’s like and we don’t want others to
go through it. People realize the world does care if you recognize
these crimes so perhaps it will not happen again.”
During the genocide in 1915, the U.S. government not only
recognized it as a genocide, it also condemned and documented the
crime, said Richard Hovannisian, a UCLA professor of modern
Armenian history.
Hovannisian cited fears of offending the Turkish government,
which has repeatedly denied the term “genocide” as the
reason modern U.S. governments have not given recognition to the
tragedy as a genocide.
Though Turkey recently canceled million-dollar contracts with
France after it officially recognized the genocide as a crime
against humanity, Hovannisian said the United States “should
not be overly concerned about international blackmail.”
In France, business with Turkey was “back to normal”
within a few months and the Turkish ambassador returned to France
around the same time, Hovannisian added.
“With so much Turkish dependence on American aid and
support, the scenario would be little different,” Hovannisian
said.
Besides working to gain the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, Nazarbekian used her time in Washington to lobby for U.S.
aid to Armenia and to make permanent the status of trade relations
with the country. She also lobbied for the removal of blockades set
by neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan that inflated Armenia’s
transportation costs and affected its economy.
Nazarbekian also campaigned for an increase in U.S. military
assistance to Armenia to match that given to Azerbaijan.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense because
of the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region. Many Armenians fear that
granting Azerbaijan $6 million more in U.S. military assistance
would undermine negotiation efforts and promote instability in the
region.