UN to consider the Armenian Genocide

international | eu | opinion/analysis Wednesday April 24, 2019 11:52 by Derrick Harris

UN to consider the Armenian Genocide

For many years, international recognition of the Armenian Genocide has remained a foremost priority for Armenian Diasporas all over the world. Some achievements have been realized in this area (Armenian genocide's recognition by over 30 countries, the support of leading world's mass media and public organizations). But to date, it is clearly insufficient to fully resolve this issue, and that is why the struggle for this recognition is continuing with some success.

For instance, the US Armenian Diaspora has been working so actively in this area that it has recently achieved the signing of the relevant declaration by the Governor of the State of Alabama, whose state has become the 49th one that has recognized the Armenian Genocide. And now it comes down to the official recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the White House.

Moreover, Armenians may soon take this process to another level as evidenced by the documents indicating the US readiness to bring their matter before the UN Security Council.

In fact, not only adoption by the UN Security Council of the resolution on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide during the World War I, but also some sort of punishment of Turkey for its current insubordination rather than for its past mistakes may be made at the instigation of the White House through paying compensation for the Armenian people.

Armenians' insistence and resourcefulness can create and convey only respect for them. For more than 100 years, they have not forgotten about the tragic events happened when their people were mass executed, deported and became the subject of medical experiments. As a result, they had to run for their lives. The US Armenian Diaspora also consisted mainly of those people, who had managed to escape from the Ottoman Empire and had not become the targets of mass reprisals on grounds of nationality and religion. This is the pain of the Armenian people. They are legally and legitimately demanding the recognition of the genocide and calling for its condemnation and assumption of responsibility by Turkey for crimes committed.

And to achieve these goals they picked a pretty good time as relations between Washington and Ankara are at their lowest point. And, therefore, using the growing contradictions between the countries, the US Armenian Diaspora played the situation very shrewdly and urged Washington to recognize the Armenian Genocide although the USA was ignoring to discuss this issue for many years.

The White House was previously intent on maintaining cooperation with Turkey to avoid any damage to relations between NATO allies, yet as tensions between the two countries are mounting, Washington is rather keen on punishing Ankara. Rumors of the Americans having a hand in the 2016 failed coup attempt in Turkey as well as the fact that the United States provides shelter to Fethullah Gulen, a mastermind of the coup, serve only to exacerbate the situation. Furthermore, an incident with oppositional journalist Khashoggi, whose body had been dismembered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, did not improve relations between the countries either. The case has been widely publicized in the press, which has been initiated by Turkish authorities.

The US recognition of the Armenian Genocide can hurt Turkey badly. It is already not the subject of the US particular attention, and now this whole thing seems only logical for D. Trump, who wants to draw a line in the sand with such ambitious man as Erdogan.

This raises the question for Armenians whether it is worth initiating the recognition and condemnation of hundred-year-old crimes, which leads to heightened tension in the region.