Cablegate: Armenia Press Reaction: White House Statement

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000761

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PPD, EUR/CACEN, EUR, EUR/ACE,
EUR/SNEC, EUR/SE

E.O. 12958; N/A
TAGS: KPAO KMDR OPRC PREL TU AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIA PRESS REACTION: WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT
ON "ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE DAY"

-------
SUMMARY
-------

1. As they did last year, the Armenian media expressed
disappointment that President Bush did not use the term
"genocide" in his April 24 "Armenian Remembrance Day"
statement. Several newspapers focused on the
President's "failure, once again" to honor an alleged
promise made while campaigning in 2000 to "properly
characterize the genocidal campaign against the
Armenian people." Though the text of the President's
statement appeared in all newspapers, opposition
dailies led with regard to editorial comment. Only one
prominent pro-government paper, controlled by the main
nationalist party, offered an opinion, which came in
the form of quotes from the head of the party's
Armenian-American Diaspora arm. Despite the
understandable emotionalism surrounding the 90th
Anniversary of the 1915 events, reaction to the U.S.
statement was not extreme by local standards. End
Summary.

----------------------------
"[THEY] DIDN'T SAY IT AGAIN"
----------------------------

2. HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK, a popular opposition newspaper,
summed up media coverage of President Bush's April 24
statement on "Armenian Remembrance Day," in which he
did not characterize the events of 1915-1918 as
"genocide," with the April 26 front-page title, "[They]
Didn't Say It Again." [Note: Newspapers are not
published on Mondays in Armenia. There was no print
coverage on April 25.]

3. A1-Plus, a pro-western opposition paper, wrote
April 26, "The President again resorted to the use of
evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the
reality of Turkey's genocide against the Armenian
people."

4. ARAVOT, another opposition newspaper, published an
article titled, "They're Not Afraid of Hurting Our
Feelings," on April 26. The author reflects on the
lack of the word "genocide" in the President's
statement, saying, "Maybe [U.S. Presidents] want to
recognize it but they can't. There is something very
important that hinders [them] from keeping their
promises when the time for recognizing genocide
comes...Recognition of the Armenian genocide is not in
the U.S.'s interests yet, in spite of the influential
Armenian community in the U.S."

-------------------------
"BUSH BREAKS HIS PROMISE"
-------------------------

5. YERKIR, a newspaper run by the Armenian
Revolutionary Faction Dashnak [part of the governing
coalition,] joined opposition newspapers ARAVOT,
IRAVUNK, and A1-Plus, in expressing disappointment at
what they characterize as a broken campaign promise to
"American-Armenians." On April 26, YERKIR, the only
pro-government paper that has to date commented on the
statement, reported, "In February of 2000, then
presidential candidate George W. Bush, campaigning for
votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan Republican
primary, pledged to properly characterize the genocidal
campaign against the Armenian people." The article
continues, "In retreating from his promise, the
President ignored the counsel of one-hundred and
seventy-eight Representatives and thirty-two Senators."

6. IRAVUNK comments, "President Bush again did not use
the word 'genocide'...but for Bush's promise to the
American-Armenians during his campaign, this would not
be a surprise. It comes out that the leader of a
superpower like the U.S. can win votes by giving false
promises and then breaking them."

-------------------------------------
DIASPORA DASHNAK VOICE IN LOCAL PRESS
-------------------------------------

7. ARF Dashnak affiliated YERKIR, closely linked to
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
widely quoted ANCA's Armenian-American Executive
Director, Aram Hamparian, who said, "This statement,
sadly, once again, represents a form of complicity in
the Turkish government's shameful campaign to deny a
crime against humanity." Hamparian goes on to state,
"The Administration's refusal to recognize the Armenian
Genocide reflects a broader unwillingness to confront
genocide - as evidenced by [its] failure to take
decisive steps in Darfur."
EVANS

© Scoop Media