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lETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my outrage at what I observed in the
televised broadcast of the opening ceremonies of the Summer
2008 Olympics.
We anxiously watched as the athletes from the participating
nations proudly marched behind their flag bearer into the
stadium during the opening ceremonies. Anyone watching the
“parade” soon realized that the nations were not in
alphabetical order. As each nation came into the stadium,
Matt Lauer, I believe, from NBC’s The Today Show, called out
the name of the country and spoke briefly and sometimes a
bit longer about the country. Finally, we heard “Armenia”
and nothing more was said. NBC never showed the athletes
marching nor was there any commentary made about Armenia.
The nation to follow Armenia was Spain. Spain had a very
large contingent and also Nadal (the famous tennis player)
present. I can understand why more attention was given to
Spain. But I cannot comprehend why nothing was said about
Armenia, nor were the athletes shown as they walked in the
procession. There were many nations who only had a few
athletes participating, but they were duly recognized. I
ask, “Why was Armenia ignored?” Was it deliberate on NBC’s
part or was it an innocent omission? I think NBC needs to
address this question. The athletes from Armenia were denied
the opportunity to be seen by the Armenian-American public
on U.S. television and the public was denied the opportunity
to proudly view the athletes from Armenia.
Every Armenian friend of mine watching the opening ceremony
felt exactly as I did. Perhaps we need to collectively
address this issue with NBC. What happened was not fair and
it was wrong.
Please also accept my best wishes to you and your staff. You
are doing a great job. I look forward to getting my paper
each week.
Sincerely,
Katharine A. Eastman
Waltham, Mass.
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Dear Editor,
The upcoming presidential election will be the most
significant in our country’s history. Armenian-Americans
should ask themselves: Which candidate will support Armenia
during their administration? Where are the candidate’s
respective positions on the Armenian Genocide, the firing of
Ambassador John Marshall Evans? Will the candidate hold
Turkey accountable for their nearly century-long denial
campaign?
Representative Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party nominee,
spoke vehemently against genocide deniers, saying, “You have
forever shattered your credibility, at least with this
Representative.” Congresswoman McKinney also opposed the
firing of Ambassador Evans. While Senator Obama agrees with
his colleague, his potential administration seems more
prepared to support Armenian-Americans. Not only has Senator
Obama repeatedly called on Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice to examine the firing of Ambassador Evans, he and his
fellow Senators also spearheaded the campaign to ask tough
questions to ambassadorial nominees Richard Hoagland and
most recently, Marie Yovanovitch. In addition, Senator Obama
stated his position on the Genocide Resolution clearly on
July 16th, 2008: “…the United States must recognize the
events of 1915 to 1923 carried out by the Ottoman Empire as
genocide…we must recognize this tragic reality.” Senator
Obama furthers: “The Armenian Genocide is one of these
situations where we have seen a constant denial on the part
of the Turkish government.” The Obama campaign pledged that
his administration will, in fact, recognize the genocide.
Senator John McCain falls short of properly characterizing
the genocide and issued this statement: “It is fair to say
that this tragedy, the brutal murder of as many as one and a
half million Armenians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire,
has also been one of the most neglected. The suffering
endured by the Armenian people during that period
represented the prologue to what has come to be known as
humanity’s bloodiest century.”
This statement sounds eerily similar to President George W.
Bush’s denial earlier this year: “This resolution is not the
right response to these historic mass killings.”
That’s good enough for the ATAA (Assembly of Turkish
American Associations), whose president is invited to speak
at a luncheon during the Republican National Convention. In
fact, despite Senator McCain’s statement, during his tenure
as Senator, he voted against all Armenian Genocide
resolutions and has failed to speak out against Turkey’s
denial… That might explain why he’s inviting them to lunch.
All Armenian-Americans should consider these issues before
casting their ballots.
Garo Youssoufian
Princeton, N.J.
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