Numbers count, too

Published: Saturday April 07, 2007

It's not the 90th anniversary this year. Nor the 95th. Those "round" figures seem to draw the biggest crowds to the annual Genocide commemorations.

This year, many of us may be content to mark April 24 in private, saying a prayer, reading a poem, remembering the atrocity, mourning our losses, and giving thanks for our collective survival and for all that we have achieved since 1915.

But at this year's 92nd anniversary events across the U.S., the spectacle of sheer numbers of people may count more than ever before.

As the Reporter has documented these past weeks, the Turkish government has been making strenuous efforts to derail the Armenian Genocide resolution. They seemed demoralized and resigned last month; but they're now showing optimism that their efforts are working - and whether it's bravado or not, Armenians need to take notice. Naturally, since deniers cannot win on the historical facts (and increasingly, their allies find it too distasteful to fight those facts), they are using pressure and blackmail to keep the resolution from ever reaching the floors of the House and Senate.

This week it was revealed that "major" Turkish protests will be organized in New York (on April 21) and Washington (on April 22); in the former case, the protest will occur one day prior to the Genocide commemoration in New York's Times Square. What "major" constitutes in the Turkish-American community remains to be seen; but Turkish rallies in Washington have been significant in the past. This year the events have been widely publicized, and people are being encouraged to board buses to attend the anti-Armenian rallies. No doubt they will find a few sympathetic and pliant ears in the media.

We have urged readers to get involved and contact their representatives about the Genocide resolution. It remains true that we can take nothing for granted. Members of Congress will support the resolution and the leadership will schedule a vote only if they see how deeply their constituents care about this issue.

Let us all make the time and go out of our way to attend the public Genocide commemorations scheduled for the week surrounding April 24. This is a cause that unites Armenians across all sorts of divides, and it is heartening to see the leaders of our organizations acknowledge that fact and encourage the community to gather at full strength.

Furthermore, the upcoming commemorations should not be exclusively populated by Armenians. This year more than ever, we should make an effort to bring our fellow American citizens to the events, to show that Genocide recognition is not just an "Armenian" issue, but an issue that speaks to the heart of everyone who believes in the American experiment.

And that brings us back to the Genocide resolution. Many Armenian activists have asserted that the resolution, though obstructed in the past, has its best chance of passage in the present Congress. But only if we make it happen.

A strong show of popular support at the Genocide gatherings across the U.S. will send an important message to our representatives in Washington at this critical moment. We Armenians have justice on our side, but that is not always enough. In a democracy, the show of numbers matters, too - and rightfully should matter, certainly more than the chummy insider relations of foreign operatives and former diplomats, on which our opponents rely to advance their anti-Armenian agenda. That's why, for this 92nd anniversary, visible public support for the large-scale commemorative gatherings across the country has a special urgency, and no Armenian-American can afford to stand on the sidelines.

For a detailed, worldwide listing of events commemorating the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, log onto www.GenocideEvents.com

For a current list of cosponsors of the House and Senate resolutions, go to www.anca.org or www.aaainc.org. If your senator or representative is not a cosponsor, ask them to be. If they are, send them a thank-you note.