LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

"The Armenian Weekly", Volume 74, No. 32, August 16, 2007

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.