As the world marked Genocide Awareness month this past April, representatives of the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) and the Armenian National Institute (ANI) broadened the discussion of the Armenian Genocide with the American public and abroad with several appearances in national and international media, reported the Assembly.
On the heels of the Islamic militant attack on Kessab Armenians launched from Turkey, Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny told the International Business Times, “For Armenian Americans, current images of Armenian homes being looted and occupied in Kesab, and innocent lives tragically lost, invoke painful memories of the early phases of the first genocide of the 20th century at the hands of Ottoman Turks.”
The Assembly's efforts to secure the release of the Armenian Orphan Rug from the White House also made headlines.
“The Armenian Assembly ramped up pressure by displaying a 'sister rug' in Boston and Boca Raton, Fla.," reported the Miami Herald, while Ardouny told KPPC-Southern California Radio that, "The display of this tangible expression of gratitude for America's humanitarian intervention to save the survivors of the Armenian Genocide is a positive development”.
Following President Barack Obama's April 24 statement which again fell short of his 2008 campaign promise to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, Assembly Board Chairman Hirair Hovnanian told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Armenia service, that "In 1981 President Ronald Reagan squarely acknowledged the Armenian Genocide ... This accurately reflects America's values and record of speaking out against genocide, and I welcome this approach." "In a related development, a member of the Assembly's board, Van Krikorian, praised the influential American Jewish Committee (AJC) for urging Turkey to 'address the realities' of the Armenian genocide," the same RFE/RL report said.
In addition, former Assembly board member Mark Momjian, Esq. discussed the Armenian Genocide on WBAI/NYC 99.5 FM Radio. On Sunday, April 13, Momjian appeared on the show “Beyond the Pale,” which explores cutting edge Jewish culture and offers local, national, and international political debate and analysis from a Jewish perspective.
The Assembly's activities surrounding the decision by Suffolk University Law School to invite Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Director Abraham Foxman to deliver this year's commencement address was also noteworthy. "'If the ADL now supports the pending Congressional resolution, this would truly be a courageous act against injustice,' said Anthony Barsamian, a 1990 Suffolk Law School graduate and member of the Armenian Assembly of America," to the Boston Globe. In 2007, Foxman and the ADL publicly opposed the Armenian Genocide resolution that was pending in Congress.
With over 30,000 downloads in the first few weeks, the release of "The Last Refuge & the First Defense: The Armenian Church, Etchmiadzin, and the Armenian Genocide," a free, online exhibit jointly produced by ANI, the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), the Assembly, and in cooperation with the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, and the Republic of Armenia National Archives, also expanded the scope and reach of genocide awareness. Appearing on Voice of America-Armenia, ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian discussed the unique focus of the exhibit and its broad appeal. ANI's website registered one million hits during March and April of this year alone.
On April 24, Dr. Adalian also discussed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's April 23 announcement and President Obama's statement with Arabic-language Al Hurra TV broadcast throughout the Middle East. In addition to reaching international audiences on Armenian Genocide remembrance day, Adalian told Business Insider that "'[Obama] has made unambiguous statements as a senator and in his presidential campaign to fully recognize the genocide ... But he has avoided using the actual word for obvious reasons: pressure from Turkey, whom the U.S. considers an important ally.'"
