“If they haven’t promised today, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is impossible to take a certain step tomorrow,” Kiro Manoyan thinks.
A presidential election will take place in the United States on November 6. This time the US presidential race was significant for the fact that the US Hay Dat Committee made a decision on October 16 that the Armenian American community would not endorse either Democrat Barak Obama or Republican Mitt Romney in the upcoming election, since both candidates for president had not deserved the support of Armenian Americans.
Commenting on this decision, Committee chairman Ken Khachikyan said that Barak Obama had broken his promises regarding the issues of Armenian Americans and Mitt Romney, a formal governor of Massachusetts, didn’t express publicly a clear position on the issues of importance for the Armenian community. According to the Hay Dat Office in Washington, in 2008, Obama came to power enjoying wide support of the Armenian American voters thanks to his numerous promises to recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as his assurances regarding a set of issues concerning the community – from the Nagorno-Karabakh issue to active cooperation with community leaders, strengthening mutual ties to increasing financial assistance for Armenia. Whereas as Elizabeth Chuljian, the spokesperson for the Committee, stated during a conversation with Radio Liberty, the past years of Obama’s presidency showed an absolutely different picture – the Armenian Genocide is not recognized and when there was a possibility to introduce a resolution in the House of Representatives, Obama was against it. At the same time, the Hay Dat Committee stated that it was ready and would try to present the opinion and values of the Armenian Americans to the winner of the November 6 election.
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Aravot asked Kiro Manoyan, an official at the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Hay Dat and Political Issues Office, yesterday what the grounds for such a decision were, whether it was the realization that under the conditions of long-lasting pragmatism of the US toward Turkey, it was pointless to continuously cherish hopes, then be disappointed, or perhaps, it had sent a message to the US presidential candidates by such a decision to be serious and rational.
K. Manoyan noted that it was not the first time the US Hay Dat Committee had decided not to endorse any of the candidates, a similar decision had been made 12 years before and it was a form of current political work, “There must be grounds for support and this time the Hay Dat Committee thinks that there are no such grounds taking into account a few points. In the case of the Hay Dat Committee, to endorse means to endorse factually and not just to make a statement; it will not be the case in this election. However, the Senate and House of Representatives elections will take place on the same day, regarding which the Hay Dat Committee has published a list, according to which it calls on the society to vote.” As for whether this decision would make the US presidential candidates show a more serious attitude, K. Manoyan noted, “I think that in some ways the candidates have started to show a more serious attitude toward the Armenian community and particularly toward the US Hay Dat Committee, they seem not to wish to say things that they will not do. In any case, the fact that neither of the candidates wished to meet with not only the Armenian community, but also the biggest organization representing the Greek community shows that Turkey’s influence is rather strong and in some ways the candidates prefer Turkey’s opinion or at least don’t want to bother Turkey.”
The Hay Dat Committee also stated that the Committee’s attitude may change, if the candidates suddenly change their position and respond to the call of the Committee to meet and present their opinion on different issues concerning the Armenian American community. We asked Mr. Manoyan whether it was possible to get more serious assurances from the candidates within the next few days, whether there were any backstage processes, which could change the decision of the Committee not to endorse one of the candidates at the last moment. In this regard, K. Manoyan noted, “I don’t rule out anything, but I think little time is left and there is little probability that one of the candidates would make a statement before the election. That is why I think that this time it will be this way.”
In response to a question whether the decision of the US Hay Dat Committee would not damage the Armenian American community leaving them undecided in that very important issue or perhaps, that decision would cause a misuse of the Genocide issue, K. Manoyan said, “If the candidates don’t wish to meet, to make up their mind, it is theirs to decide. And the Hay Dat Committee hasn’t called for not participating in the election, it has done active work for this election, in order that the US citizens of Armenian decent register and have the right to vote and every member of the Armenian community decides himself whom to vote for. So the organization has taken an attitude of not supporting and not avoiding participation.”
In response to a question of Aravot whether the long-lasting attitude of US presidential candidates, their promises and afterwards not keeping them were caused only by not wishing to oppose Turkey, K. Manoyan said, “I think it not just doesn’t wish to oppose Turkey, but it also uses it as leverage against Turkey and that is why I think that the candidates doesn’t wish to bother Turkey and the recent days were significant for the developments in the neighborhood of Turkey. It is not ruled out that in two years, for example, there will be a different situation and whoever is elected, it is possible that he will take a certain step; they just don’t want to undertake obligations today. So this doesn’t mean that it is impossible that they will take a certain step tomorrow, if they haven’t promised today. They just don’t want to offend Turkey today, but it doesn’t mean that their attitude will not be clearer and fairer in the future.”
EMMA GABRIELYAN
