President Donald Trump stands next to the podium after speaking about the U.S. role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, June 1, 2017.
ishtartv.com - ahvalnews.com
2018-04-23
“Trump
now has an opportunity to shine a light on the massacre of over 1.5 million
Christian Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks,” wrote Andy Surabian, a
former special assistant and campaigner for U.S. President Donald Trump, in an
op-ed for the Washington Examiner.
After
decades of sporadic massacres of Armenians, a large-scale slaughter of as many
as 1.5 million began in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire began to systematically
deport and kill its Armenian population, fearful that the Christian minority
would act as a fifth column for the Ottomans’ Russian enemies.
Most
international scholars and 29 countries recognise the events starting in 1915
as a genocide; Turkey, however, admits that massacres took place but rejects
the term genocide.
The
United States has issued annual statements on Apr. 24, the date when mass
deportations began in 1915, now held as the annual Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day.
“Thankfully,
this April 24, Trump can finally end this 37-year presidential charade,” said
Surabian, who cited the president’s holocaust remembrance speech last year as
“one of the most moving of his presidency.”
“We
must never, ever shrink away from telling the truth about evil in our time ...
evil can only thrive in darkness,” said Trump on that occasion.
Surabian
also noted Trump’s repeated references to the killing of Christians in the
Middle East. Massacres of Christians, notably in Egypt and Syria, where
extremist jihadist groups have targeted non-Muslim minorities.
“One
hundred years later, the cycle of genocide is continuing in that part of the
world. He can continue his bold leadership and reinforce his standing as a
protector of Christians worldwide by speaking honestly about what was the first
Christian genocide of the 20th century,” said Surabian.
Surabian
also criticised Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, with harsh words that held
hints of the current president’s own rhetoric.
“The
worst of all was former President Barack Obama, who after making grandiose
promises to the Armenian-American community during his 2008 campaign, showed
nothing but weakness as he buckled under pressure from Turkey in embarrassing
fashion,” he said, referring to promises to recognise the genocide that had won
him the support of many Armenians.
“While
the Obama administration had the chance to lead when he was in office and
failed, Trump now has an opportunity to reject the weakness of his predecessors
and do the right thing,” said Surabian.
Any
such move by Trump would be sure to ruffle Turkey’s feathers at a time when relations
are already at a historic low, with anti-U.S. rhetoric a frequent fixture in
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speeches, and U.S. pastor Andrew
Brunson held on highly controversial terrorism charges in Turkey.
“The
inside-the-Beltway crowd will tell the president it can't be done. Ankara will
threaten the end of the world. Turkey's lobbyists will work the swamp to stop
him,” said Surabian.
“‘Experts’
will say that Turkey deserves a veto over his words because it is an
“ally," even though Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is undermining
American interests, jailing American citizens for practicing Christianity,
threatening to destroy Israel, and even threatening U.S. forces in Syria,” he
added.
Turkey
strongly opposed Trump’s statement recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli
capital, and has threatened on numerous occasions to attack Kurdish forces in
Manbij, an area of northern Syria where the United States has deployed troops.
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