Former US Ambassador to Armenia Michael Lemon has expressed his admiration for another former ambassador, John Evans.
“My respect and sympathy to Ambassador Evans, who publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide during his tenure,” Michael Lemon, Former US Ambassador to Armenia says.
Evans’ speaking out on the Armenian Genocide during his time as ambassador to Yerevan in 2005 marked the end of his career, when then-President Bush ousted him from the diplomatic service. But on April 24, 2021, the head of the White House did what John Evans once did. Joe Biden said the word ‘Genocide’. The American President’s April 24 speeches have been annual since 1994. It took 27 years for such a formulation to be in them.
Every year on this day we remember the lives of all those who died during the Ottoman era during the Armenian Genocide, and again pledge to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.
The topic immediately passed to the American press. CNN joined the Armenian embassy several times.
“Turkey has not reconsidered its position. Azerbaijan, with the full support of Turkey, carried out a 44-day aggression against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was recently, a few months ago, that Turkey sent jihadist terrorists to Artsakh. So recognition is not just about the past, it is about the future,” Varuzhan Nersesyan, Armenian Ambassador to the United States, says.
In 2019, the Congress also recognized the Armenian Genocide. Thus, the recognition process in the United States is complete with appropriate approvals in the legislative and executive branches. The next question after the joy is what will change, what will happen tomorrow.
“The statement should be followed by a certain policy. This is very important. As happy as this day is for Armenians, I would consider it an opportunity for Turkey to accept its responsibility, which may be followed by reconciliation,” Michael Lemon, Former US Ambassador to Armenia says.
“Our next step will be to transform this document into a policy - a real, lasting American policy, which will prioritize the security of the Armenian state, confrontation with Turkey and Azerbaijan, contributing to peace in our region,” Aram Hambarian, Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, says.
The American Union for the Defense of Christians congratulates the Armenians and notes that they wish the next step were the condemnation of the extermination of other Christians as well.
“Of course, we are very happy that President Biden condemned the genocide of Christian Armenians. We also remember the genocide of other Christians, Greeks, Aramaeans and Assyrians killed in Ottoman Turkey, which we demand to condemn next,” Sarah Basil, Press Officer for the Defense of the Christian Union, says.
These days, The Washington Post publishes article by article on the Armenian topic. The author of one of them is David Ignatius.
“What will be the future of US-Turkey relations? We will get the answer in June, when President Biden and Erdogan will meet at the NATO summit. We do not know in detail what they talked about yesterday, when our President told the Turkish leader that he intends to condemn the Genocide. I suppose Erdogan again tried to persuade that the situation was the result of Armenian propaganda,” David Ignatius, The Washington Post journalist, analyst, says,
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has already said this, calling the US Ambassador to the Foreign Ministry, they stated that Biden’s speech had no legal or historical basis, they are against it, and they condemn it and so on. The Speaker of the Mejlis joined the hysteria, criticizing not only Washington but also the Turkish Kurdish Party, which yesterday demanded from Ankara’s authorities to face the past.
The Turkish hysteria continued in the streets of Washington in the form of counter-measures.
The square and the street are closed. It is not clear why the Turks are happy today…
Azerbaijanis came to support the incomprehensible Turkish joy. There were Americans next to us. Kyle was one of them. Not being Armenian, he also pronounces ‘Mets Yeghern’ in Armenian quite successfully.
It is weekend in the US. On Monday, when government agencies start working fully, journalists will ask about Biden’s historic statement, reopening the topic on the US agenda.
