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Bishop Daniel Voices Concern for Armenia, Artsakh in Letter to President Biden
NEW YORK, NY – In the wake of President Biden’s inauguration as America’s 46th chief executive, Armenian Church of America (Eastern) Diocesan Primate Bishop Daniel Findikyan sent a letter to the White House conveying pressing concerns of the Armenian-American community.
Among these concerns, he said, are ensuring security for Armenia and Armenian communities in the Middle East; the health of our homeland in the aftermath of war and in the midst of the ongoing pandemic crisis; official recognition for Artsakh; and protection of Armenian and Christian heritage sites.
His appeal concludes: “Mr. President, as a man of faith yourself, I know that these concerns of an ancient Apostolic Christian nation are deeply meaningful to you. Please know that in pursuing the above objectives, the Armenian Church of America and its people are eager to support and assist your administration in any way we can.”
Read Bishop Daniel’s letter to President Biden below:
January 27, 2021
President Joseph R. Biden
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear President Biden:
On behalf of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church of America, I wish to extend my warm congratulations to you, on your inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America.
Today, the Armenian-American citizens of the United States look forward to your national leadership with great anticipation. In your tenure as a senator, Vice President, and public servant, we have admired your strong advocacy for official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and your unwavering support for the Republic of Armenia.
Security—of Armenia and of Armenian communities throughout the Middle East—remains a pressing concern among our people in America. We are heartened by your determination to promote a balanced international order, respectful of human rights, and strengthened by intercultural dialogue.
In this time of worldwide affliction, the good people of Armenia bore unique hardships. They were subjected not only to the pandemic, but also to a vicious, unprovoked war by their neighboring country of Azerbaijan. The outcome of the war has placed new burdens on the Armenian people. So it was heartening, in these early days of the Biden administration, to hear incoming Secretary of State Blinken strongly endorse the importance of the Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh) peace process, and confirm your pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Hand-in-hand with these matters is the issue of official recognition for Artsakh, and the protection of Armenian religious monuments in that region, as well as the preservation of Armenian and other Christian heritage sites in Turkey.
Mr. President, as a man of faith yourself, I know that these concerns of an ancient Apostolic Christian nation are deeply meaningful to you. Please know that in pursuing the above objectives, the Armenian Church of America and its people are eager to support and assist your administration in any way we can.
I should add that we would be honored to welcome you to the institutional center of America’s Armenian community: St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City, located a few blocks away from the United Nations. Please be assured that the cathedral will always be a spiritual home for you and your loved ones.
It is my prayer that you will remain healthy and safe in these still-trying times, President Biden. I pray that under your leadership the American people—and the world that looks to us for guidance—will emerge from this painful period, and progress towards greater peace and prosperity. And I pray that God will always keep you and our country under his watchful gaze. May God be with you, and with all of our fellow citizens.
With my prayers,
Bishop DANIEL
Primate
Trump, Biden Issue Dueling Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day Statements
By Taniel Koushakjian
On April 24, 2020 President Donald J. Trump issued the official White House statement on Armenian Genocide remembrance day “memorializing the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century. Beginning in 1915, 1 and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. On this day of remembrance, we pay respect to those who suffered and lost their lives, while also renewing our commitment to fostering a more humane and peaceful world,” the White House statement read.
Hours after President Trump’s statement, former Vice President Joe Biden issued his April 24 statement. Like Trump, and Obama before him, Biden invoked the phrase Meds Yeghern which what Armenians call the Armenian Genocide. However, Biden’s statement went all the way, using the Armenian and English versions.
“Today we remember the atrocities faced by the Armenian people in the Metz Yeghern — the Armenian Genocide,” Biden said. “From 1915 to 1923, almost 2 million Armenians were deported en mass, and 1.5 million men, women, and children were killed. Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians were also targeted. We must never forget or remain silent about this horrific and systematic campaign of extermination. And we will forever respect the perseverance of the Armenian people in the wake of such tragedy,” the former Vice President said.
Biden served as Vice President to President Barack Obama from 2008-2016. Biden and Obama pledged to recognize the Armenian Genocide as President once they reached the White House in 2008. However, the Obama-Biden Administration broke it’s promise to the Armenian American community and stopped short of using the “g” word.
Biden’s statement today seems to be the only step left for the Democratic Party to win over Armenian American voters, in terms of a campaign pledge and an actual policy correction in the Executive Brach of the U.S. government.
Campaigning for President in 2016, Donald Trump did not issue a campaign statement to the Armenian American community. Since taking office, the Trump White House has continued to refer to the Ottoman Turkish murder of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 as “mass atrocities” but has stoped short of applying the proper legal name for what historians overwhelming acknowledge as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Samantha Power to Armenians: “I am very sorry”
By Taniel Koushakjian
FLArmenians Political Editor
Yesterday, Samantha Power became the first Obama administration official to apologize to Armenian Americans for not recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
“I am very sorry that, during our time in office, we in the Obama administration did not recognize the #Armenian Genocide,” Power posted on Twitter.
In a series a tweets on April 24th, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, Power also discussed “Turkish denial” and expressed empathy for the “slaughter that wd kill 1.5 m.”
Samantha Power served on President Obama’s National Security Council from 2009-2013, and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 2013-2017.
She is the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, which focused on the U.S. response to 20th century genocides, including Armenia in 1915.
While the emphatic expression may be welcome to some, many Armenian Americans share the feeling of betrayal by Power, and President Obama, given the multiple statements and meetings they held with community members during the 2008 campaign.
“This is more insulting 2 our ppl than 8yrs of ignoring our requests.U sacrificed ur own conscience on the altar of geopolitical correctness,” FLArmenians Editor Arsine Kaloustian replied on Twitter.
The Obama administration’s moral laryngitis on the Armenian Genocide was compounded in 2015, the centennial anniversary, when Power and Vice President Joe Biden attended the international commemoration at the Washington National Cathedral.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 07: President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power attend the Armenian Genocide Centennial (NCAGC) Ecumenical Service at Washington National Cathedral on May 7, 2015 in Washington DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images for NCAGC)
Power’s re-acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide came moments after President Trump’s first statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was released yesterday morning.
President Trump’s statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day echoed President Obama’s use of the phrase “Meds Yeghern,” and invoked language similar to President George W. Bush.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked about President Trump’s omission of the word genocide during the daily press briefing. “The statement that was put out is consistent with the statements that have been put out for at least several of the past administrations,” Spicer said.
Florida Armenians 