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On May 12, I wrote an
article titled “Obama Alienates Armenian Americans,” in which I
presented the reaction of Armenian leaders and commentators to
what the community views as the continuous stream of blows from
the Obama Administration in recent weeks. In the two days
following the posting of the article on the Armenian Weekly
website, many readers posted their views on Obama’s “betrayals”
and their suggestions about the road ahead.
The comments compelled me
to write a second article, this time quoting the readers, some
of whom were very insightful. After all, who are the leaders and
commentators to listen to before formulating their policies and
writing their commentaries if not the community itself?
At the end of the article,
I suggest a way for the Obama Administration to begin remedying
the situation.
‘I
told you so’
Several readers said they
had never trusted Obama in the first place and were surprised by
the full support Obama had received from the Armenian community
during his presidential campaign.
“Is anyone really
surprised?” asked one reader. “I am continually surprised that
people believed him. Obama wants everyone to think he’s
different. But he isn’t. He’s just another politician who will
say anything he has to get elected.”
Another reader agreed. “I
was amazed how the Armenian community was supporting Obama and
all my friends thought I was crazy every time I told them that
Obama will change his views shortly after becoming president…
Well, I am sad to say it happened…”
“I’m not one bit surprised
that Obama has turned on the Armenians,” said a third reader.
“I’m sorry to all of you fellow Armenians who actually voted for
him, believing his empty promises of standing behind Armenians,
among all of his other promises. The man is a good ‘campaigner’
and that’s it.”
After criticizing those
who voted for Obama as well as the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA) for endorsing him, one person said, “I just
feel sorry for all of you that thought Barack Obama was a
‘friend’ to Armenians. I knew this was coming, and judging from
some of the previous posts here, I’m not the only Armenian with
some sense!”
“I guess there were a lot
of Armenians who drank the Obama Kool-Aid. You have been
scammed. He got what he wanted: votes,” said yet another reader.
‘Crushed’
Most Armenian Americans supported Obama during his campaign and
are now deeply disappointed.
“I
am embarrassed to say that I was one of Obama’s first
supporters. I purchased books and t-shirts to support Obama the
candidate… I no longer like Obama the president,” read one
comment.
“President Obama, you systematically crushed our hopes,” read
another. “I feel duped, foolish, broken-hearted, and disgusted,
all at the same time. I think you missed your ‘calling’: you
should have been an actor…”
“I
have never been disappointed in anything more than President
Obama’s not using the ‘g-word’ on April 24th,” wrote one reader.
“On five occasions he pledged to recognize the Armenian Genocide
but failed as a president on recognizing the truth.”
Yet
another reader summarized the situation as follows: “President
Obama, you lost the love and trust of 1.5 million American
Armenians and 6 million Armenians worldwide.”
Commenting on those who said they were disappointed by Obama,
one person wrote, “I am glad you saw the light on Obama. There
may be hope for you yet.”
‘Barking up the wrong tree’
A sentiment that is widely
felt in the Armenian American community (and the Armenian
Diaspora in general) is that the real actor to blame is the
Armenian government, which signed a memorandum of understanding
with Turkey on the eve of April 24, the Armenian Genocide
Commemoration Day.
“I blame all this entirely
on the Armenian president Serge Sarkisian,” wrote one reader on
the website. “It is entirely his fault that Obama is breaking
all his promises. He signed that so-called ‘road map’ agreement
two days before April 24. He is a spineless man who has caved in
to foreign pressure. He is not acting on the interests of the
Armenian people and thus, he is dangerous to have as our
president.”
The reader added, “By
jeopardizing our national security, he and our foreign affairs
minister have committed treason against the Armenian state.
What’s worse, he is going to stay as our president for at least
another three years.”
“We American Armenians
need to stop blaming Obama’s administration,” said another, “and
shift our attention to Armenia and its government. To gain
credibility, respect, and monetary help, change Armenia’s mafia
government.”
‘Return the
paraphernalia’
The suggestion Armenian
Weekly readers made ranged from the sublime to the ridiculously
extreme. Most of them seemed to agree, however, that there is a
need to get even more active, and make the Obama Administration
feel the heat.
One person said, “It’s
time to send all Democrats a message. Do not contribute to any
Congressional races; get the word out about the other ways in
which the president is systematically breaking his promises…”
Another asked his fellow
Armenians to “wake up and change the way we do things,” calling
for “a demonstration against the president and the State
Department.”
A powerful call to action
came from a reader who wrote, “There is no question that we’ve
been ditched by the Obama Administration which is following
State Department policy. I’ve just finished two letters—one to
the president and one to Speaker Pelosi on these issues. Exactly
right as stated in the article—the genocide resolution must now
be back on the table and Congress must not let parity between
Azerbaijan and Armenia be ignored. Letters, phone
calls—everything—we’ve got to get back to work.”
A clearly disappointed
Obama supporter had another idea: “I suggest we pick a day where
all Armenians that supported him send back their Obama
paraphernalia, together with it a note stating, ‘I hope the
Armenian issue doesn’t mark the beginning of a huge back-slide
of compromised campaign promises.’”
Making sense of it
all
The Obama Administration’s
genocide denial, its failure to appoint any Armenian Americans
to a decent position in the administration, and its proposal to
break the military aid parity between Azerbaijan and Armenia and
decrease foreign aid to Armenia, not only alienated most
Armenian Americans but also placed the major Armenian American
organizations—all of which had supported Obama—in a very
difficult situation. After all, an entire community was
mobilized to support what was touted as the most
“Armenian-friendly administration” ever. And it was very
difficult to challenge that label, with people like Joe Biden,
Samantha Power—and Barack Obama himself—on the team.
With its actions, however,
it seems that the administration is trying to become the
administration that is the most unfriendly to Armenians.
Adding insult to injury,
there has been no reaching out from the administration to the
Armenian American community in any shape or form. Armenian
Americans feel insulted and betrayed, and—regardless of what the
president thinks about policy issues—they deserve some respect.
The administration has to reach out to the
Armenian American community. That is the only smart way ahead.
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