The presidential election to be held in the United States in two weeks, as far as I can understand, is interesting for the majority of Armenians insofar as whether Obama or Romney will utter the word “genocide” on April 24 or not. I am inclined to think that none
of them will say this word. However, even if they say, it will by no means mean that the US President loves Armenians very much or he is all for “historical justice.” It will just mean that serious problems have emerged between their country and Turkey and the word “genocide,” as well as the Armenian Question, play a role of an instrument in that game. It has been so for at least 150 years, why shouldn’t it be so now?
That the issue of “uttering or not uttering” occupies a pivotal place on our political agenda, in turn, testifies to the fact that the Armenian political thought has been filled with emotion and romanticism in those 150 years and few exceptions only prove that regularity. In reality, the everyday life of us, residents of Armenia, and probably also other Armenians doesn’t depend on the word “genocide,” whoever utters it.
However, to say that it makes absolutely no difference for us who will become the President of the US is also wrong. Particularly, developments in the region, as well as inside Armenia, depend on the relations between Russia and the US. And here opinions of Obama and Romney differ – the Republican candidate has a much more tough position on this issue. The latest debate on foreign policy, during which the former governor of Massachusetts stated that Russia was a geopolitical foe, testifies to that. “I will not wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia or Mr. Putin. I certainly am not going to say to him I will give him more flexibility after the election. After the election he will get more backbone,” Romney stated. Obama legitimately opposed it saying that such an attitude was basically a return to the policy of the 1980s.
Read also
It seems to me that it is obvious – the tenser the relations between the two superpowers are, the worse for us, because the more they will try to win over the small countries in the South Caucasus to this or that side. Thus, I think it is in our interest that Obama is reelected.
Some people will probably be excited about Romney’s stronger criticism of the Putin antidemocratic regime. However, who said that this criticism was honest. The regime in Saudi Arabia is worse, but I haven’t heard any President of the US criticize it.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
