WASHINGTON, DC – Following is the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) statement on ongoing pressure by the Obama Administration on Armenia to sign the Turkey-Armenia Protocols.

The Armenian National Committee of America expresses regret at news of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s participation in a possible signing ceremony for the Turkey-Armenia Protocols.

The Obama Administration’s attempts to force Armenia into one-sided concessions, through adoption of the Turkey-Armenia protocols, is short-sighted and will, in the long term, create more problems than it solves.

There can, as a matter of both basic morality and political reality, be no healthy or enduring relationship between Armenia and Turkey that is not built upon the foundation of Turkey’s acceptance of a true and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

The U.S. arm-twisting of the government in Yerevan to accept an agreement that would call this very crime against humanity into question, both squanders America’s moral capital in the cause of genocide prevention, and sets back the cause of genuine Armenian-Turkish dialogue by many years.

The Protocol’s proposed establishment of a “historical commission,” is already being used by Turkey’s leaders to bolster their government’s worldwide campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide. U.S. pressure to adopt these flawed documents dishonors the noble efforts of U.S. diplomats, such as Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Consul Leslie Davis, and others, who courageously worked to stop the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 – efforts that are well documented in the U.S. national archives. It also stands in sharp contrast to President Obama’s campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Rather than honoring this moral commitment, the President has, sadly, used the full force of American diplomacy to compel Armenia, a landlocked and blockaded nation still seeking to overcome the brutal legacy of the Armenian Genocide, to agree to a process that calls into question this crime against all humanity.

Armenian Americans remain deeply opposed, along with the rest of the Armenian Diaspora and a growing tide of domestic opposition within Armenia itself, to this one-sided agreement that directly threatens the security of Armenia, surrenders the rights of the Armenian nation, and insults the dignity of every Armenian.

For more information on the protocols, see the following links:

The ANCA’s point by point analysis of the Turkey-Armenia Protocols:
https://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/misc/protocols_explained.pdf

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian’s Letter to Secretary of State Clinton:
https://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/misc/093009_clintonletter.pdf

Asbarez / Armenian Weekly Survey on the Turkey-Armenia Protocols:
http://www.asbarez.com/2009/10/02/poll-over-90-of-armenian-americans-oppose-protocols/

To learn more about the Turkey-Armenia Protocols, visit:
http://www.stoptheprotocols.com
http://www.justicenotprocols.com