Obama Twice Uses Meds Yeghern

BREAKING NEWS By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
Friday April 24, 2009

U.S. Pres. Obama Twice Uses Meds Yeghern The Armenian Equivalent Of Genocide in His Presidential Statement.

http://www.zatik.com/newsvis.asp?id=1881

BREAKING NEWS
U.S. Pres. Obama Twice Uses Meds Yeghern The Armenian Equivalent Of Genocide in His Presidential Statement
By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
Friday April 24, 2009

Today, U.S. Pres. Obama Twice Used Meds Yeghern The Armenian Equivalent Of Genocide in His Presidential Statement issued in commemoration of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Several Armenian political observers agree with leading Armenian American activists such as Harut Sassounian that Armenians need to move on and pursue their quest for Justice.

Sassounian wrote on several occasions that the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide has already been achieved through the collective hard work by notable Armenian organizations during the past several decades.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times in April 2008, Sassounian stated: “Now the genocide is an established fact. So we’re not clamoring anymore about the world ignoring us. And the L.A. Times is the best example of that. The paper is on record recognizing the genocide. So are the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Even recently, Time magazine issued a statement recognizing it as genocide and saying it would be referred to as such.”

He continued: “In 1915 there was a nation living on its own ancestral homeland. They had been there long before there was a Turkey. In addition to losing 1.5 million people, we were uprooted from our homeland.”

He concluded: “Just asking for recognition from the Turks, having them come and say “Yes, 90 or 100 years ago, your ancestors were wiped out,” that doesn’t do anything. We already know we were wiped out. So what we want, as a right, no matter how impossible the implementation, as a right we demand justice for the Armenian people. For all the stuff that was taken from them we demand just compensation. And that can take many forms. This is where Armenians and Turks should sit down, and have a very lengthy and serious discussion about what can be done.”

Today over fifty thousand Armenians marched in Hollywood where Sassounian delivered the keynote address on the Armenian quest for justice.

Thousands more will join the protest rally in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles at 4PM this afternoon.

A Letter on Pres. Obama’s Statement on The Armenian Genocide:

President Obama Takes A Strong Stand In Solidarity, Uses The Armenian Word For Genocide “Meds Yeghern”

In using the Armenian phrase for what the Turkish government inflicted upon our nation in 1915, President Obama has taken a strong stand in solidarity with our community on April 24th. By using the words for Genocide in Armenian “Meds Yeghern,” the language of a people the Turks attempted to wipe off the face of the earth to describe what was inflicted upon our families, he has delivered a powerful message to Ankara that the Armenian people have triumphed.

It’s time now for us to move forward in the pursuit of the ultimate justice for our fallen nation, the return of our ancestral homeland.
William M. Paparian

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
April 24, 2009

Statement of President Barack Obama
on Armenian Remembrance Day

Ninety four years ago, one of the great atrocities of the 20th century began. Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who were subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories, just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people.

History, unresolved, can be a heavy weight. Just as the terrible events of 1915 remind us of the dark prospect of man’s inhumanity to man, reckoning with the past holds out the powerful promise of reconciliation. I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts.

The best way to advance that goal right now is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a part of their efforts to move forward. I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and Armenian people to work through this painful history in a way that is honest, open, and constructive. To that end, there has been courageous and important dialogue among Armenians and Turks, and within Turkey itself. I also strongly support the efforts by Turkey and Armenia to normalize their bilateral relations. Under Swiss auspices, the two governments have agreed on a framework and roadmap for normalization. I commend this progress, and urge them to fulfill its promise.

Together, Armenia and Turkey can forge a relationship that is peaceful, productive and prosperous. And together, the Armenian and Turkish people will be stronger as they acknowledge their common history and recognize their common humanity.

Nothing can bring back those who were lost in the Meds Yeghern. But the contributions that Armenians have made over the last ninety-four years stand as a testament to the talent, dynamism and resilience of the Armenian people, and as the ultimate rebuke to those who tried to destroy them. The United States of America is a far richer country because of the many Americans of Armenian descent who have contributed to our society, many of whom immigrated to this country in the aftermath of 1915. Today, I stand with them and with Armenians everywhere with a sense of friendship, solidarity, and deep respect.

Jabaria

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A RESPONCE TO MR. JABARIAN’S  ARTICLE FROM A DIFFERENT WEB SITE

Obama Uses Armenian Equivalent of Genocide Twice In Speech

It is true that president Barack Obama did not use the word Genocide when refering to the mass killings of the Armenian population in Eastern Anatolia (today’s Turkey), however, he used the Armenian very respected equivalent of Genocide “The Meds Yeghern” two times in his speech. Armenians use the phrase The Meds Yeghern when referring to the Genocide.

In his speech president Obama writes:

“The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories, just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people.” Also, three paragraph below the text reads “Nothing can bring back those who were lost in the Meds Yeghern.”

These two sentences can equally be translated and interpreted in the following way. The Armenian Genocide must live in our memories, just as it lives on in the heart of the Armenian people… Nothing can bring back those who were lost in the Armenian Genocide.

In other words Obama did a great political move: he satisfied both Armenians and Turkey. Today the newspapers are writing “Obama refrained from using the G word,” but tomorrow all of them will write, Obama used the G. word, but the Armenian equivalent and two times in his speech. In my opinion “The Meds Eghern” is a stronger way of labeling the mass attrocities It’s also a respected way of labeling the deaths. In fact, Obama used “Mets Eghern” twice in his text.

Why is the wording Genocide important? Since to this day Turkey has denied that what had taken place amounted to genocide Armenians are struggling and battling for justice to have the genocide recognized world-wide. The aim of this is to bring justice. An apology has to take place, perpertrators tried (all of them dead) and punished and reconciliation moved forward. In this regard, the United States recognizing the events as “Medz Eghern” as Genocide is a milestone in the worldwide recognition and condemnation of such an attrocity that payved the way of the Jewish Holocaust, Rwanda and Darfur. See how many countries have already recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey, so far, is in the state of denial. It is obvious because Turkey does not want to be labeled as a country who committed a genocide. However, how far can this policy sustain itself no serious historian or a statesman knows. Even there are several and growing number of Turkish scholars who take the critical view on own history and call on the Turkish government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Taner Akcam is one of them. On March 19 Turkish genocide scholar Taner Akcam in his lecture titled “Facing History” and delivered at the Clark University sent a powerful message to U.S. President Barack Obama, asking him to liberate Turks and Armenians by properly recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Barack Obama in today called the events “Meds Eghern,” saying his views have not changed. Now where do we go from here?

As an Armenian parent my dream is to see the Southern Caucasus as it is in Western Europe: full of prosperity, freedom and security. However, this cannot happen if the Turkish society and the government deny to believe deep in their hearts the suffering and the attrocities that their past political leaders have caused to the Armenian people. Note that I am not saying the Turkish people committed the genocide, as no one says the German people committed the Holocaust. It is the political leaders of Turkish past that have made this very bad decision during the first World War thinking a genocide and the annihilation of Armenians and deprivation of them from their homeland is a solution to their agenda. The souls of the innocent are crying for justice and have come to haunt today’s reality.

Turkey and Armenia are engaged in a reconciliation process. The idea of the start is already promising. However, the road ahead i very bumpy and requires strong political will. Only time will show how far the parties are ready to go. If there is a strong political will to change we may be able to leave a better world and future for our children and grand children. In the meanwhile the souls of the Genocide victims are waiting for justice. As the president Obama puts it “The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories” until justice and recognition triumph.

Armen Hareyan
www.huliq.com