US Armenians step up 'genocide recognition' campaign ahead of Erdoğan visit

The largest and most radical U.S. Armenian group has stepped up its efforts to “educate” U.S. administration leaders and lawmakers about Washington’s formal recognition of what they call the Armenian genocide.

The group’s statement comes days before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to visit the United States for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Erdoğan and Obama are scheduled to meet at the White House on Dec. 7 as part of the Turkish prime minister’s first visit to Washington since the new U.S. president took office in January.

The Armenian National Committee of America, or ANCA, has been leading what it calls an education campaign ahead of Erdoğan’s trip. In response to ANCA’s call, thousands of U.S. Armenians have contacted the White House and Congressional representatives in recent days, urging them to work for the U.S. recognition of World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

The U.S. Armenians are also sending messages to leading media organizations in support of their cause as part of the campaign ANCA has dubbed the “countdown to Erdoğan.”

“Countdown to Erdoğan is a four-week, grassroots campaign urging President Obama to speak truthfully about the Armenian genocide when he meets Dec. 7 with Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdoğan,” ANCA recently said in a written statement.

Currently, two genocide-recognition resolutions, backed by pro-Armenian lawmakers, are pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

 Reconciliation process

U.S. Armenians are pushing for the resolutions’ passage despite an ongoing effort by Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations between the two countries.

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed a set of agreements Oct. 10 under which Ankara and Yerevan would set up normal diplomatic relations and reopen their land border. The deal, if ratified by the parliaments of the two neighbors, would effectively end decades of hostile relations.

U.S. Armenians are solely focusing on the objective of winning formal U.S. recognition of the last century’s killings as genocide. During last year’s election campaign, Obama pledged to back the U.S. Armenian cause if elected president.

During his presidency, however, Obama has fully backed the Ankara-Yerevan reconciliation process and abstained from actions that would jeopardize it.

The normalization process will be one of the top issues discussed by Obama and Erdoğan on Dec. 7, officials from both countries say.