WASHINGTON, DC – ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian made the following statement following the signing of the Turkey-Armenia protocols earlier today.

“The success of Turkey in pressuring Armenia into accepting these humiliating, one-sided protocols proves, sadly, that genocide pays.”

“President Obama, rather than honoring his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide, went in exactly the opposite direction, applying the full force of our nation’s diplomacy to twist the arm of a landlocked and blockaded Armenia – a nation still struggling with the brutal legacy of its near-destruction – into accepting a dangerous set of protocols that call into question this very crime against humanity.”

“The ANCA and all Armenian Americans will continue our efforts to restore morality to our nation’s response to the Armenian Genocide, and, more broadly, to the cause of genocide prevention. We will also work to prevent Turkey from using this agreement to further its genocide denial campaign, to undermine the rights of the Armenian nation, or to threaten the freedom of Nagorno Karabagh.”