ANCA Again Calls on Obama to Meet with Armenian-American Leadership
By Weekly Staff // Posted on August 16, 2012 in News // 6 Comments // 
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WASHINGTON–The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has again called upon President Obama to meet with the broad-based leadership of the Armenian-American community, noting that his failure, over the past three and a half years, to consult personally with representatives of his Armenian-American constituents–major stakeholders in U.S. foreign policy on Armenian issues–is unhealthy for both American democracy and U.S. diplomacy.
Hachikian
To date, despite his January 2008 campaign promise of “active engagement with Armenian-American leaders on the full range of issues of concern to the Armenian American community,” Obama has failed to hold a single meeting with the community’s leadership.
The full text of the ANCA letter signed by Chairman Ken Hachikian is provided below.
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August 15, 2012
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
I am writing to ask you, in the spirit of your campaign pledge to actively engage with Armenian-American leaders, to invite the broad-based leadership of our community to a meeting with you to discuss your administration’s policies on Armenian issues.
As you know, the ANCA has, since the first months of your tenure, regularly, publicly, and formally requested opportunities such as this for you to communicate personally with Armenian-American leaders. Such a meeting, which, sadly, has yet to take place, would provide a much-needed platform for an open exchange of views, allowing you to hear directly about our concerns and disappointments as well as our expectations and our hopes for the future. The absence of a direct dialogue between you and your Armenian-American constituents is unhealthy both for our democracy as well as for our diplomacy.
Mr. President, given the attention that your administration has devoted to Armenian issues, and the time that you have personally devoted to meeting with other stakeholders–including foreign officials and domestic groups openly hostile to our community’s views and values–we remain hopeful that you will choose not to end your term in office without having held even a single official meeting with Armenian-American leaders.
Please accept our appreciation for your consideration of this, our most recent request for a personal meeting with the broad-based leadership of the Armenian-American community.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
Well worth a try but a waste of time.
I doubt if he will respond.
ANCA should not endorse him for the upcoming elections. In Calif and Mass we can heavily influence the outcome of the elections, and send a very strong message to this administration, and the future ones, that tey cannot neglect us, and make promises they do not keep.
It is time to make our vote count.
Vart Adjemian
Shouldn’t ANCA be focusing its efforts on preventing a war in Iran? Isn’t that more helpful to Armenia than genocide recognition from a morally bankrupt Congress?
Does ANCA actually care about Rep. of Armenia or rather anout keeping itself relevant?
It is obvious that President Obama and his administration do not care about the Armenian constituents otherwise they would have already made inititiated the necessary outreach in the past 3 years, and now during the presidential campaign. I do not think that this attitude is limited to Democrats and their administration. The same can be said of Republicans. So what can we conclude? I hate being a supplicant. We still have a lot of work to accomplish before we would be solicited for our support on issues of concern not only at the national level, but also for those that have a bearing on our community interests. It is obvious that the current organizational set up, and the range of activities covered by such set up, do not provide us with enough leverage to make people sit up and listen.
When are we going to understand that local politics, Congress, Senate, State Legislators etc will pander to their Armenian constitutes but on a national scale, President and especially every last US State department, is where that road ends.
Most every President, at one time or other, acknowledged something about the genocide and its recognition and what they will do once in office. Every one of these has ignored their pledge once President. EVERY ONE. Reagan even “mistakenly” uttered genocide in his first year and NEVER EVER again uttered those words from then on out..
Instead of these useless presidential letters we need to counter the US state department and their ottoman lords that run them. Otherwise it won’t matter who ever is President.
In all fairness to my comment I support the ANCA 100%, They are formidable and we should all be proud of them and the work they do. Also, there are genuine legislators that i believe do truly acknowledge the reality and the injustice of the Armenian Genocide and who no doubt believe their supporting our cause is the right thing. And yes we should support all of them.. I was merely pointing out that it seems at some level it always comes to a stop. In fact its so taboo that it even cost Ambassador Evans, a respected diplomat, his career for merely acknowledging the Genocide…That’s how serious some take the truth of the Armenian Genocide.
ANCA is trying to make Obama finally do the right thing, but I don’t see the benefit in this. He won’t budge and subsequently he would rather serve his Turkish lords than honoring the rights and the justice of Armenians. The only president that uttered the word Genocide in recent past was President Ronald Raegan, but even he didn’t pursue Turkey to do the right thing and accept their past crimes against their Christian minorities.
I think it is far better to support Armenia, Artsakh and the rights of the Javakhi Armenians. To pursue so that Armenia’s government would get rid of the oligarchs in Armenia, to have the mass population benefit from Armenia’s resources, breath better air and not look elsewhere to migrate and empty Armenia from Armenians.