Chidem Inch: Verchabess!

The Montebello Armenian Genocide Martyrs' Monument
asbarez.com

     Verchabess… finally.      Today, Tuesday October 29th, was a most special day for Armenians, especially American Armenians. It was today, that the 116th Congress passed House Resolution 296. A summary of the resolution prepared by the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress is:

This resolution states that it is U.S. policy to (1) commemorate the Armenian Genocide, the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923; (2) reject efforts to associate the U.S. government with efforts to deny the existence of the Armenian Genocide or any genocide; and (3) encourage education and public understanding about the Armenian Genocide.

     The full text of the resolution can be found at H.Res.296 - Affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide.      The resolution was introduced back on April 18, 2019. It was voted on today. It passed by a wide margin of 405 to 11 warming the hearts and souls of all of Armenians in this country. The passing of a resolution like this in the House of Representatives has been a long time coming.      It was clear to all that H. Res. 296 was passed today as a reaction to our President abandoning our Kurdish allies in Northern Syria and giving Turkey a green light to move militarily against the them. The New York Times stated that the passing of this resolution was “made possible by a new torrent of bipartisan furor at Turkey.” It was wrong to abandon allies like that and it certainly exposed the intolerance of Turkey for its minorities from Ottoman times to now. Clearly, the Kurds in northern Syria are not Turkish citizens but they did have a organized militia that Turkey perceived might aid the Kurds living in Turkey. Also, Turkey does not want an autonomous or independent Kurdish state on its border.
       No matter what the reason, we have been advocating and waiting for a resolution like this to pass since 1965. That was the 50th Anniversary of the Genocide and marked the political awakening of the Armenians in the US in this regard. Today, it finally happened.     Personally, I am happy in a bittersweet kind of way. We have wanted this for a long time and it is good to see it come to fruition. I think the passing of this resolution will further distance the US from Turkey. Admittedly, it is hard for me to be objective, but I have never understood how the US could be so close to Turkey since the establishment of the current Republic.
      What’s next? What will the passing of this resolution mean for the Armenians? Will our presidents, moving forward, use the word Genocide in their April 24th commemorative messages? Are they under any mandate or obligation to do so? I am not sure about any of this. Given we are 104 years after the fact and the US influence in Turkey is probably at the lowest levels since 1923, I have little expectations. I am afraid that will be nothing more than a little speed bump for Turkey.
      For Armenians, we start thinking reparations immediately after recognition. This is why the Republic of Turkey will never recognize what happened as a genocide. It was. I do not see the US advocating for reparations. But then, we were not sure a resolution like this would pass either. Let us, therefore, keep advocating for, as the resolution stated, “Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians” as well as the Kurds.
      Thank you Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, and 166th Congress.