The Armenian Genocide resolution passed at a time in which there are "still survivors of the genocide"
Following years of frustration, Armenian Christians worldwide received a double blessing this week - U.S. Senate Armenian Genocide Vote.
Published in Christianity Today by Jayson Casper
"Armenia was the first nation to officially adopt Christianity, in 301 A.D."
Senate’s Armenian Genocide Vote Not the Only Good News for Armenian Christians: In addition to historic recognition by US lawmakers, this week a new patriarch was finally elected in Istanbul, Turkey.
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| Forget Me Not blossom- Government of Armenia for 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. |
For the first time in its history, the US Senate recognized the Armenian Genocide. And after 11 years of practical vacancy, the Armenian community in Istanbul, Turkey, elected a new patriarch.
“It is very emotional for the Armenian world, and anyone who wants to see the truth incarnated,” Paul Haidostian, president of evangelical Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon—the only Armenian university in the diaspora—told CT concerning the resolution.
“But it is very obvious this was the opportune moment to be bipartisan.”
Led by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, the unanimous passage yesterday drove his co-sponsor Sen. Robert Menendez to tears.
“I’m thankful that this resolution has passed at a time in which there are still survivors of the genocide,” said the Democrat from New Jersey, pausing for 20 seconds before being able to continue. “[They] will be able to see that the Senate acknowledges what they went through.”
About 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1923, as the defeated Ottoman Empire transitioned into the modern Republic of Turkey. Less than half a million survived.
The resolution also mentions the Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite, and other Christian victims who lived in Asia Minor and other Ottoman provinces at the time.
Turkey concedes that many Armenians died in the fighting and aftermath of World War II, though it believes the numbers are inflated. It calls for a joint academic commission of Turkish and Armenian scholars. But it rejects the term “genocide.”
Armenian Orthodox Leader: “We May Forgive One Day, But We Will Never Forget.”
“It is very emotional for the Armenian world, and anyone who wants to see the truth incarnated,” Paul Haidostian, president of evangelical Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon—the only Armenian university in the diaspora—told CT concerning the resolution.
“But it is very obvious this was the opportune moment to be bipartisan.”
Led by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, the unanimous passage yesterday drove his co-sponsor Sen. Robert Menendez to tears.
“I’m thankful that this resolution has passed at a time in which there are still survivors of the genocide,” said the Democrat from New Jersey, pausing for 20 seconds before being able to continue. “[They] will be able to see that the Senate acknowledges what they went through.”
About 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1923, as the defeated Ottoman Empire transitioned into the modern Republic of Turkey. Less than half a million survived.
The resolution also mentions the Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite, and other Christian victims who lived in Asia Minor and other Ottoman provinces at the time.
Turkey concedes that many Armenians died in the fighting and aftermath of World War II, though it believes the numbers are inflated. It calls for a joint academic commission of Turkish and Armenian scholars. But it rejects the term “genocide.”
Related: Will US Genocide Resolution Satisfy Armenian Christians?
The Senate’s Resolution 150 is a duplicate of the US House of Representatives’s Resolution 296, approved overwhelmingly six weeks earlier by a 405–11 vote, as CT reported. But they are not “joint resolutions,” and therefore neither require President Donald Trump’s signature nor have the force of law.
Turkey, nonetheless, responded harshly, calling the resolutions “irresponsible and irrational,” and “a political show.”
Following the House approval, Trump asked Republican Senate leaders to block the bill, according to al-Monitor. Engaged in negotiations over Syria and Russian weapons purchased by Ankara, Trump followed longstanding political practice and yielded to the objection of the fellow NATO ally. (During the administration of President George W. Bush, nearly 70 percent of air supplies to the US military in Iraq went through Turkey’s Incerlik airbase.)
Three times, Republicans obliged Trump’s request. But Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, who earlier helped delay the vote, grew frustrated with Turkish obstinacy.
“[Turkey has] thumbed their noses at us,” he said, according to The New York Times. “If we just look the other way on this, we will be viewed as weak.”
Instead, the Senate rebuke satisfied Armenian-Americans.
“I’ve invested, like, decades of my life," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America. “So it was a sense of relief and a bit of a vindication that [the US] put up a firewall against foreign countries coming into our democracy and dictating to us.”
The entertainment industry also contributed to the effort. Both Dean Cain, of Superman fame, and Kim Kardashian traveled to Armenia and campaigned in the US.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was grateful.
The Senate’s Resolution 150 is a duplicate of the US House of Representatives’s Resolution 296, approved overwhelmingly six weeks earlier by a 405–11 vote, as CT reported. But they are not “joint resolutions,” and therefore neither require President Donald Trump’s signature nor have the force of law.
Turkey, nonetheless, responded harshly, calling the resolutions “irresponsible and irrational,” and “a political show.”
Following the House approval, Trump asked Republican Senate leaders to block the bill, according to al-Monitor. Engaged in negotiations over Syria and Russian weapons purchased by Ankara, Trump followed longstanding political practice and yielded to the objection of the fellow NATO ally. (During the administration of President George W. Bush, nearly 70 percent of air supplies to the US military in Iraq went through Turkey’s Incerlik airbase.)
Three times, Republicans obliged Trump’s request. But Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, who earlier helped delay the vote, grew frustrated with Turkish obstinacy.
“[Turkey has] thumbed their noses at us,” he said, according to The New York Times. “If we just look the other way on this, we will be viewed as weak.”
Instead, the Senate rebuke satisfied Armenian-Americans.
“I’ve invested, like, decades of my life," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America. “So it was a sense of relief and a bit of a vindication that [the US] put up a firewall against foreign countries coming into our democracy and dictating to us.”
The entertainment industry also contributed to the effort. Both Dean Cain, of Superman fame, and Kim Kardashian traveled to Armenia and campaigned in the US.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was grateful.
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Prime Minister of Armenia |
“On behalf of the Armenian people, I would like to address words of appreciation to all members of the US Senate, also members of the House of Representatives,” said the Armenian head of state, according to Armen Press, “and to congratulate the Armenian people on the occasion of this historic victory of truth.”
Armenia was the first nation to officially adopt Christianity, in 301 A.D., and the faith first arrived as early as 40 A.D., traditionally attributed to the preaching of Jesus’ disciples Bartholomew and Thaddeus.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom tweeted its “applause.” In Defense of Christians, an advocacy group, stated the Senate “did the right thing.”
Armenia was the first nation to officially adopt Christianity, in 301 A.D., and the faith first arrived as early as 40 A.D., traditionally attributed to the preaching of Jesus’ disciples Bartholomew and Thaddeus.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom tweeted its “applause.” In Defense of Christians, an advocacy group, stated the Senate “did the right thing.”
Armenian Orthodox Leader: “We May Forgive One Day, But We Will Never Forget.”
Labels: Christianity Today, Istanbul Turkey, Jayson Casper, Nikol Pashinyan
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 10:15 AM
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