A Joint Statement Sent to President Obama

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
 
 
Dear Mr. President:

Thank you being sensitive in your April 24th statement, issued in commemorating the 97th Anniversary of the "great catastrophe" that befell Ottoman Armenians because of the Armenian Nationalist Movement in eastern Ottoman Anatolia, which appropriately did not characterize the events of 1915 as "genocide." Your statement supports longstanding United States policy not to characterize the Armenian case as genocide, and to establish a historical commission comprising experts on Ottoman history determine whether the Armenian case constitutes genocide as defined by the UN Convention.

While we welcome this principled approach which respects the presumption of innocence of people of Turkish and Muslim heritage, we are disappointed that the President's April 24 Statement continues to ignore the profound suffering of Ottoman Muslims and Jews, over four million of whom perished as the Ottoman Empire was torn apart, and over one million of whom perished in eastern Anatolia during the Armenian Revolt (1885-1919). Please see www.turkishcoalition.org/issues-information/forced-migration-and-mortality-64.htm .

This single frame of an unassuming photo from an Armenian source, currently located at www.ethocide.com, showing Armenian cadets at an Armenian Military Academy in Bulgaria in 1906, aggressively brandishing their Russian made MOSIN rifles, should convince any skeptics that the Armenian narrative is severely misleading.

We strongly urge edification on the broader issue of Muslim and Jewish migration and mortality as mostly Christian nationalist movements dismembered the Ottoman Empire and massacred and expelled its Muslim and Jewish populations.

The vast majority of scholars who are neither of Turkish or Armenian heritage and who would qualify as experts, believe that under the fact and international law, the Armenian case does not constitute genocide, and that to the contrary, Muslims and Jews have suffering of their own for which they might seek accountability. Please see, www.tc-america.org/scholar/scholar.html.

Furthermore, we are disappointed that the President's Statement does not address Armenian terrorism and extremism, which since 1974 has claimed more than 70 lives, injured more than 700 civilians, and caused billions of dollars in property damage around the world. On April 16, 2012, the Armenian Secret Army (ASALA) commando leader Vazgen Sisiyan declared, "The fact that French Senate recently passed law criminalizing denial of Armenian Genocide, I take as a result of the armed struggle of ASALA and the bloodshed by our colleagues".

Considering the fact that even an Armenian scholar places the origin of anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim Armenian terrorism at 1862 - 1920, one can clearly see the threads of continuity in Armenian extremism (www.tallarmeniantale.com/lowry-threads-continuity.htm) including the methods and weapons used, pre and post-terror propaganda, and media and political support. ASALA's statement of last week warns of a third wave of violence against people of Turkish and Muslim heritage

We strongly urge edification on the problem of Armenian extremism in all its forms, may that be terrorism, hate crimes, hate speech, defamation of scholars, suppression of cultural expression in Turkish Festivals and on campuses across America, and harassment of academicians, public servants and activists who disagree with the Armenian allegation of genocide. Please see ATAA's Victim Impact Statement and Affidavits in the criminal sentencing hearing of Mourad Topalian, former Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America for terrorism related crimes:
 www.ataa.org/reference/topalian/ATAA_Armenian_Terror_Report.pdf
 www.ataa.org/reference/topalian/
We are confident that in the future the President's Statement will be even more sensitive and fair to all who suffered in this mutual tragedy.
 
Respectfully,  
 

Ergun Kirlikovali, ATAA President
Ali Cinar , FTAA President
Adem Buyukacar, TACC Secretary General
Tomris Azeri, ASA President
Javid Huseynov, Ph.D., AAC General Director