Yervant1 Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 ARMENIAN 'ORPHAN RUG' IS IN WHITE HOUSE STORAGE, AS UNSEEN AS GENOCIDE IS NEGLECTEDWashington PostOct 22 2013By Philip Kennicott, Tuesday, October 22, 3:18 AM E-mail the writerThe rug was woven by orphans in the 1920s and formally presentedto the White House in 1925. A photograph shows President CalvinCoolidge standing on the carpet, which is no mere juvenile effort,but a complicated, richly detailed work that would hold its own evenin the largest and most ceremonial rooms.If you can read a carpet's cues, the plants and animals depicted on therug may represent the Garden of Eden, which is about as far removed aspossible from the rug's origins in the horrific events of 1915, whenthe fracturing and senescent Ottoman Empire began amurderous campaignagainst its Armenian population. Between 1 million and 1.5 millionpeople were killed or died of starvation, and others were uprooted fromtheir homes in what has been termed the first modern and systematicgenocide. Many were left orphans, including the more than 100,000children who were assisted by the U.S.-sponsored Near East Relieforganization, which helped relocate and protect the girls who wovethe "orphan rug." It was made in the town of Ghazir, now in Lebanon,as thanks for the United States' assistance during the genocide.There was hope that the carpet, which has been in storage for almost20 years, might be displayed Dec. 16 as part of a Smithsonian eventthat would include a book launch for Hagop Martin Deranian's "PresidentCalvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug." But on Sept.12, the Smithsonian scholar who helped organize the event canceledit, citing the White House's decision not to loan the carpet. In aletter to two Armenian American organizations, Paul Michael Taylor,director of the institution's Asian cultural history program, had noexplanation for the White House's refusal to allow the rug to be seenand said that efforts by the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John A.Heffern, to intervene had also been unavailing.Although Taylor, Heffern and the White House curator, William G.Allman, had discussed during a January meeting the possibility of anevent that might include the rug, it became clear that the rug wasn'tgoing to emerge from deep hiding."This week I spoke again with the White House curator asking if therewas any indication of when a loan might be possible again but he hasnone," wrote Taylor in the letter. Efforts to contact Heffern throughthe embassy in the Armenian capital of Yerevan were unsuccessful,and the State Department referred all questions to the White House.Last week, the White House issued a statement: "The Ghazir rug isa reminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armeniaand the United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan itout at this time."That leaves the rug, and the sponsors of the event, in limbo, afamiliar place for Armenians. Neither Ara Ghazarians of the ArmenianCultural Foundation nor Levon Der Bedrossian of the Armenian RugsSociety can be sure if the event they had helped plan was canceled forthe usual political reason: fear of negative reaction from Turkey,which has resolutely resisted labeling the events at the end of theOttoman Empire a genocide. But both suspect it might have been."Turkey is a very powerful country," says Der Bedrossian, whoseorganization was planning to fund a reception for the event.And it's a sign of the Obama administration's dismal reputation inthe Armenian American community that everyone assumes it must be yetanother slap in the face for Armenians seeking to promote understandingof one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century history.Aram Suren Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian NationalCommittee of America, says the president has had "a very negativereception across the board in the Armenian world, and that includesboth Democrats and Republicans." The principal emotion is profounddisappointment. As a candidate, and senator, Obama spoke eloquentlyabout the Armenian genocide, risking the ire of Turkey and Turkishorganizations. But since taking office, says Hamparian, Obama hasavoided the word, making more general statements about Armeniansuffering. Critics of his silence point to the geopolitical importanceof Turkey in a region made only more complex by the Arab Spring anda brutal civil war in Syria.The word genocide is a flash point in the ongoing animosity betweenTurkey, Armenia and the Armenian diaspora. Turkish resistance toaccepting the historical facts of the Armenian genocide has includedwholesale denial that the events took place, an effort to contextualizethem as the fallout of a complicated, violent period, and semanticargument based on the 1948 legal definition of genocide, establishedby the United Nations. Independent scholars have eviscerated thefirst of these claims, demonstrated the bad faith of the second(the treatment of the Armenians was egregious) and grappled seriouslywith the legal particulars, especially the difficulty of proving the"intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racialor religious group, as such." But few seriously argue that the eventsweren't genocidal.Samantha Power, for example, uses the term "Armenian genocide"throughout her landmark 2002 book on genocide, "A Problem From Hell."Power was appointed by Obama to serve as U.S. ambassador to the UnitedNations, and was confirmed in August.But the president's language has been more circumspect. As a candidate,he said, "The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personalopinion or a point of view, but rather a widely documented factsupported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. Americadeserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocideand responds forcefully to all genocides." But in his most recentpresidential proclamation honoring April 24's Armenian RemembranceDay, he used the Armenian term "Meds Yeghern" - "great calamity" -while avoiding explicit mention of genocide.U.S. government officials and the Smithsonian have been reluctantto address a controversy that is often dismissed as just anotherintractable historical dispute. Although Armenian musicians performedat the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2002, a Smithsonian spokeswomansays the institution hasn't taken up the subject of the genocide, aremarkable omission of scholarship concerning an important ethnic groupin the United States and one of the last century's most critical andnotorious historical events. (Even Adolf Hitler supposedly referredto the Armenian genocide in a quote that is also disputed by somescholars: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of theArmenians?" he asked in a speech just before Germany invaded Polandin 1939.)In Power's book, the author notes the power of "Turkish objections"to prevent official U.S. recognition of the genocide. As a presidentialcandidate, Obama said in a statement that he "stood with the ArmenianAmerican community in calling for Turkey's acknowledgment of theArmenian Genocide." But April's presidential proclamation finessed thedelicate situation by saying, "I have consistently stated my own viewof what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed," suggestinghe strongly supports a truth he no longer has the courage to utter.Calls and e-mails to the Turkish Embassy in Washington weren'treturned.The status of the rug remains ambiguous. It was last taken out ofstorage in 1995 and is reported to be in good condition. But a WhiteHouse spokesman declined to answer questions about whether it mightever be seen again, if the climate is simply too politicized for therug to be exhibited.And the Smithsonian is distancing itself from Taylor. "Dr. Taylorput this together on his own, nobody knew about it, certainly seniorleadership didn't know about it," says Randall Kremer, who handlespublic affairs for the National Museum of Natural History, whereTaylor is employed.Taylor says he doesn't want to speculate about why the White Housewon't lend the object, and he says he isn't an expert on the torturedpolitics of the region. It was the rug, its iconography, its statusamong Armenians and its history that intrigued him, especially afterhearing Armenians discuss it during a 2012 visit to Armenia."We're not afraid of doing Armenian exhibitions," he says. "I wouldlove to do one."Although the White House can offer no explanation about why the rugis off limits to the American people, Der Bedrossian is optimisticthat it might someday see the light of day."Rug weaving is a metaphor for me: We can make peace weaving together,"he says. "We are patient. I tend to believe in miracles.Someday it will come."http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/armenian-orphan-rug-remains-in-white-house-storage-as-unseen-as-genocide-is-neglected/2013/10/21/90458518-3a6d-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Turkey preventing U.S. institution from displaying Genocide-era artworkhttp://media.pn.am/media/issue/171/596/photo/171596.jpgOctober 22, 2013 - 10:01 AMTPanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has reportedly pressured the Obama Administration into forcing the Smithsonian Institution to cancel an official display of the historic Genocide-era "Armenian Orphan Rug." The ANCA is deeply troubled that foreign interference, from Ankara, appears to be preventing the Smithsonian from displaying this historic Genocide-era artwork."We hope and expect that our government will, as a matter of principle, reject foreign efforts to censor how Americans view a truly pivotal chapter in the history of America's emergence in the early 20th Century - notably during the Armenian Genocide - as an international humanitarian power," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Any barriers to the display of the Armenian Orphan Rug should be removed, and this important piece of artwork made available to the American public."In an article in The Washington Post, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Philip Kennicott says: “If you can read a carpet’s cues, the plants and animals depicted on the rug may represent the Garden of Eden, which is about as far removed as possible from the rug’s origins in the horrific events of 1915, when the fracturing and senescent Ottoman Empire began a murderous campaign against its Armenian population. Between 1 million and 1.5 million people were killed or died of starvation, and others were uprooted from their homes in what has been termed the first modern and systematic genocide. Many were left orphans, including the more than 100,000 children who were assisted by the U.S.-sponsored Near East Relief organization, which helped relocate and protect the girls who wove the “orphan rug.” It was made in the town of Ghazir, now in Lebanon, as thanks for the United States’ assistance during the genocide.”“There was hope that the carpet, which has been in storage for almost 20 years, might be displayed Dec. 16 as part of a Smithsonian event that would include a book launch for Hagop Martin Deranian’s “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug.” But on Sept. 12, the Smithsonian scholar who helped organize the event canceled it, citing the White House’s decision not to loan the carpet. In a letter to two Armenian American organizations, Paul Michael Taylor, director of the institution’s Asian cultural history program, had no explanation for the White House’s refusal to allow the rug to be seen and said that efforts by the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John A. Heffern, to intervene had also been unavailing,” Kennicott says in the article titled “Armenian ‘Orphan Rug’ is in White House Storage, as Unseen as Genocide is Neglected.”"Although Taylor, Heffern and the White House curator, William G. Allman, had discussed during a January meeting the possibility of an event that might include the rug, it became clear that the rug wasn’t going to emerge from deep hiding. This week I spoke again with the White House curator asking if there was any indication of when a loan might be possible again but he has none,” wrote Taylor in the letter. Efforts to contact Heffern through the embassy in the Armenian capital of Yerevan were unsuccessful, and the State Department referred all questions to the White House. Last week, the White House issued a statement: “The Ghazir rug is a reminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armenia and the United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan it out at this time.”That leaves the rug, and the sponsors of the event, in limbo, a familiar place for Armenians. Neither Ara Ghazarians of the Armenian Cultural Foundation nor Levon Der Bedrossian of the Armenian Rugs Society can be sure if the event they had helped plan was canceled for the usual political reason: fear of negative reaction from Turkey, which has resolutely resisted labeling the events at the end of the Ottoman Empire a genocide. But both suspect it might have been.”Hamparian says the president has had “a very negative reception across the board in the Armenian world, and that includes both Democrats and Republicans.” The principal emotion is profound disappointment. As a candidate, and senator, Obama spoke eloquently about the Armenian genocide, risking the ire of Turkey and Turkish organizations. But since taking office, says Hamparian, Obama has avoided the word, making more general statements about Armenian suffering. Critics of his silence point to the geopolitical importance of Turkey in a region made only more complex by the Arab Spring and a brutal civil war in Syria.Related links:http://washingtonpost.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moogey Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 I read the article with interest and dismay. A comment caught my attention with the suggestion that children could weave or embroider a copy of the rug and send it to the White House. (on second thoughts, send it to the Smithsonian). This might embarrass them (hmmm....) It would be something, and might be seized on by the media. Maybe one of you (or more) might post a comment. I find it futile to go on bickering. Better to do something concrete, like writing or creating a work of art, creating waves. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 11:13 25/10/2013 » Society ANCA rallies against White House decision to block Smithsonian display of Armenian Genocide orphan rugArmenian Americans across the U.S. are calling upon the White House and Congress to secure a prominent and permanent public display of a historic rug woven by Armenian Genocide orphans and presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925, in appreciation for U.S. humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of Turkey's murder of over 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).The ANCA campaign was initiated after The Washington Post reported, earlier this week, that a planned December 16th Smithsonian Institution exhibit featuring the rug, organized in conjunction with the Armenian Cultural Foundation and the Armenian Rug Society, was abruptly cancelled when the White House, reversing an earlier affirmative decision, refused to lend the iconic symbol of American and Armenian shared heritage to the museum.Armenian Americans can take action by visiting:http://www.anca.org/action_alerts/action_disp.php?aaid=62978086Washington Post staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Philip Kennicott, reported, "There was hope that the carpet, which has been in storage for almost 20 years, might be displayed December 16th as part of a Smithsonian event that would include a book launch for Hagop Martin Deranian’s 'President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug.' But on September 12th, the Smithsonian scholar who helped organize the event canceled it, citing the White House’s decision not to loan the carpet. In a letter to two Armenian American organizations, Paul Michael Taylor, director of the institution’s Asian cultural history program, had no explanation for the White House’s refusal to allow the rug to be seen and said that efforts by the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John A. Heffern, to intervene had also been unavailing."Kennicott described the controversy as "a sign of the Obama administration’s dismal reputation in the Armenian American community that everyone assumes... must be yet another slap in the face for Armenians seeking to promote understanding of one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century history.”The complete Washington Post article is available online at:http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/armenian-orphan-rug-remains-in-white-house-storage-as-unseen-as-genocide-is-neglected/2013/10/21/90458518-3a6d-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.htmlThe White House response thus far has been vague - with National Security Staff Assistant Press Secretary Laura Magnuson offering the following comment to the Asbarez Armenian Newspaper: "The Ghazir rug is a reminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armenia and the United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan it out at this time." A statement with the same exact wording was released by the White House last week and included in Kennicott’s article.“The White House should simply come clean,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “It’s time for the White House to open up about Turkey’s role, and lay out all the facts about its decision to block the Smithsonian’s exhibit of the Armenian Orphan Rug - a historic, Armenian Genocide-era work of art that speaks powerfully to the common values and shared experiences of the American and Armenian peoples.”In a letter sent earlier today to President Obama's Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian reminded the White House that "upon receiving the rug, President Coolidge wrote, 'The rug has a place of honor in the White House where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth.' I ask you, in this spirit, to remove any obstacles to the Smithsonian’s display of this historic artwork and to secure a prominent and permanent public home for this powerful symbol of America’s humanitarian values and friendship with the Armenian people," continued Hachikian.Placing this latest controversy in context, Hachikian noted that: "since taking office, President Obama has not only failed to recognize the Armenian Genocide, but has actively blocked Congressional legislation (H.Res.252, 111th Congress) to commemorate this atrocity and, through his Solicitor General, officially opposed efforts in the U.S. courts (Arzoumanian v. Munchener Ruckversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft AG) to allow American citizens to pursue Genocide-era property claims. In addition, the Administration has regularly sent senior officials to speak at events organized by Armenian Genocide deniers, while refusing repeated invitations to simply attend Congressional observances of this atrocity. In these areas, and, sadly, many more, the President has not simply failed to honor his pledge, but rather - in both letter and spirit - worked to fundamentally undermine and reverse the very policies he pledged to pursue."According to Dr. Hagop Deranian, the Armenian orphan rug measures 11'7" x 18'5" and is comprised of 4,404,206 individual knots. It took the Armenian girls in the Ghazir Orphanage of the Near East Relief Society 10 months to weave. A label on the back of the rug, in large hand-written letters, reads "IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE."Source: Panorama.am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RUG'S FREEDOM A WORTHY CAUSE FOR AMERICAN JEWSJNS.org [Jewish News]Oct 25 2013By Rafael Medoff/JNS.orgNinety-nine years after the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, oneof the most poignant symbols of Armenian suffering is being heldhostage-by the White House.The prisoner is an 18-foot long rug. It was woven by four hundredArmenian orphan girls living in exile in Lebanon, as a gesture ofappreciation for America's assistance to survivors of the genocide. In1925, they sent the rug to President Calvin Coolidge, who pledgedthat it would have "a place of honor in the White House, where itwill be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth."Unfortunately, the rug is instead becoming a symbol of the unseemlypolitics of genocide. An Armenian-American dentist, Hagop MartinDeranian, recently authored a book called "President Calvin Coolidgeand the Armenian Orphan Rug," and the Smithsonian Institutionscheduled an event about Dr. Dernanian's book for Dec. 16. But whenthe Smithsonian asked the White House to loan it the rug for the event,the request was denied.Reporters who asked the State Department about it this week werereferred to the White House. When they asked the White House spokesman,they were curtly told that he had nothing to say except, "It is notpossible to loan it out at this time."Armenian-American leaders believe the Obama administration isresponding to pressure from the Turkish government, which denies thatgenocide took place. And Armenians have good reason to be suspicious.As a presidential candidate in 2008, then-Senator Obama declared,"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armeniangenocide." By contrast, the statements that President Obama has issuedeach April on Armenian Remembrance Day have never included the g-word.Instead, he has used an Armenian expression-"Meds Yeghern," meaning"the great calamity." Fear of displeasing the Turks appears to bethe only plausible motive for that rhetorical sleight-of-hand.Armenian-Americans are not the only ones who should be upset. AmericanJews should be up in arms, too. Not only because of the sympathythat victims of genocide instinctively feel for one another-but alsobecause if the White House can permit political considerations totrump recognition of the Armenian genocide, there is a danger thatmemorialization of the Holocaust could one day suffer a similar fate.In any event, at least one president did keep his word: Calvin Coolidgeproudly displayed the Armenian Orphan Rug in the White House for therest of his term.After he left office, Coolidge took the rug to his Massachusettsresidence. It was still there in 1939, when former First Lady GraceCoolidge became a leading figure in the struggle to rescue a differentgroup of children from a genocidal dictator. Mrs. Coolidge lobbied insupport of the Wagner-Rogers bill, which would have admitted 20,000German Jewish children to the United States. But President FranklinDelano Roosevelt refused to support the legislation, and it was buriedin committee.Ironically, FDR's relative and predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt,advocated declaring war on Turkey over the Armenian genocide. "Thefailure to deal radically with the Turkish horror means that alltalk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievousnonsense," the then-ex-president asserted in 1918. Teddy Rooseveltwas correct to fear that tolerating genocide would pave the way forit to happen again.Indeed, Adolf Hitler reportedly once assured his subordinates thattheir atrocities would not be remembered since "Who, after all,speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"The genocide rug eventually made it back to the White House and wasin use during at least part of the Clinton administration. But ithas not been seen in public since then. If the Obama administrationand the Turkish government have their way, it seems, the imprisonedrug may never again see the light of day.In December, Americans will flock to a new movie called "MonumentsMen." Directed by (and co-starring) George Clooney, it will tellthe true story of a handful of U.S. military personnel who riskedtheir lives to rescue famous paintings, monuments, and other preciousEuropean cultural artifacts from the Nazis in the waning days of WorldWar II. It seems that it might take a new generation of MonumentsMen to rescue the Armenian genocide rug and restore the treasuredheirloom to its rightful place-in a public display.Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute forHolocaust Studies, in Washington, D.C. His latest book is "FDR andthe Holocaust: A Breach of Faith."http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2013/10/25/nei27kbgs6gnsn3vmt9nagejbvfbp5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS A RUG GIFTED TO CALVIN COOLIDGE BY ARMENIAN ORPHANS WILL STAY IN STORAGE FOR NOWPRI.orgOct 25 2013Producer Shirin JaafariOctober 25, 2013 · 3:45 PM EDTUntil a few weeks ago, Armenian advocates hoped a rug that has beenin White House storage for almost 20 years would be put on displayat an event at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.00:0000:00 But hopes were dashed recently after the White Houseannounced it would not lend the carpet at this time. The rug inquestion is not just any rug.After the Armenian genocide, where between 1 million and 1.5 millionArmenians were either killed or starved to death, many children wereleft orphans. The US government set up a campaign to help relocatethese children and provide humanitarian relief.In 1925, a group of these orphans who had been relocated to Ghazir,now in Lebanon, wove a rug, now known as the "orphan rug," and gaveit as a gift to US President Calvin Coolidge.Philip Kennicott, arts and architecture critic at the Washington Post,says the rug is so professionally woven it's hard to tell it was thework of children."It's a big rug. It's a beautiful piece. It has on it many imagesof animals and plants and there is the sense by people who know whatthese images suggest, that it represents probably the garden of Eden,"he says.Kennicott says the rug traveled with the Coolidge family after theyleft the White House. It stayed with them until the 1970s. In the1980s, it arrived back at the White House, where it has been keptin storage.Only a few people have seen the rug since it was put into storage.Among them, Kennicott says, is a woman who saw a picture of the rugin the White House and recognized it as the rug her mother had helpedto weave.In 1995, she asked for, and received, permission from the Clintonadministration to see it. Current efforts to display the rug centeredaround a Dec. 16 event launching a book about the rug, "PresidentCalvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug" by Hagop Martin Deranian.Because the "orphan rug" has its roots in the Armenian genocide,it is a politically-sensitive object to display, says Kennicott."The US government does not want to touch the word genocide. That'sthe perennial political debate that comes back again and again,"he says. "It's a very delicate situation."The Turkish government doesn't want to call the events at the end ofthe Ottoman Empire a genocide. And the US, for its part, doesn't wantto upset the Turkish government by bringing the issue up at eventssuch as this.The White House issued a statement about the planned Smithsonian event,which said, "The Ghazir rug is a reminder of the close relationshipbetween the peoples of Armenia and the United States. We regret thatit is not possible to loan it out at this time."http://pri.org/stories/2013-10-25/white-house-says-rug-gifted-calvin-coolidge-armenian-orphans-will-stay-storage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 REP SHERMAN ASKS WHITE HOUSE TO PERMANENTLY DISPLAY ARMENIAN ORPHAN RUG AT SMITHSONIAN11:28 ~U 26.10.13Congressman Brad Sherman, in a letter to President Obama's Chiefof Staff Denis McDonough criticizing the White House's decision tokeep the Armenian Orphan Rug in storage, has called for the permanentpublic display of this historic artwork at the Smithsonian Institution,reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).Noting that, "an exhibit to display this relic at the Smithsonian wascanceled due to the White House's inexplicable decision not to loanout the rug," Representative Sherman stressed that, "this unique workshould not be hidden away in storage. Instead, it should be displayedon a permanent basis at the Smithsonian. It is in our national interestto recognize and remember the past. We must acknowledge and learnfrom the tragic crimes against humanity that orphaned the weaversof this rug to ensure that they are never repeated. I urge the WhiteHouse to take this intricate piece of history out of storage and todisplay it at the Smithsonian permanently.""We join with Armenian Americans in California and across America inthanking Congressman Sherman for his principled leadership in seekinga prominent and permanent public display for this powerful artisticsymbol of shared American and Armenian heritage," said ANCA ExecutiveDirector Aram Hamparian.http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/10/26/sherman-orphan-rug/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2013 Jihad WatchOct 26 2013Obama stops Smithsonian from displaying Armenian Genocide-era artworkfor fear of irking TurksTurkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide is consistent with anunbroken Islamic supremacist pattern: never, ever admit wrongdoing;never, ever take responsibility for actions that cause harm; never,ever acknowledge that jihad actions (such as the Armenian Genocide)cause immeasurable suffering to human beings; always, always insteadblame the kuffar who have the temerity to point out the wrongdoing.And Obama, who counts Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a friend, falls right in line."Armenian `orphan rug' is in White House storage, as unseen asgenocide is neglected," by Philip Kennicott for the Washington Post,October 21 (thanks to AINA):The rug was woven by orphans in the 1920s and formally presented tothe White House in 1925. A photograph shows President Calvin Coolidgestanding on the carpet, which is no mere juvenile effort, but acomplicated, richly detailed work that would hold its own even in thelargest and most ceremonial rooms.If you can read a carpet's cues, the plants and animals depicted onthe rug may represent the Garden of Eden, which is about as farremoved as possible from the rug's origins in the horrific events of1915, when the fracturing and senescent Ottoman Empire began amurderous campaign against its Armenian population. Between 1 millionand 1.5 million people were killed or died of starvation, and otherswere uprooted from their homes in what has been termed the firstmodern and systematic genocide. Many were left orphans, including themore than 100,000 children who were assisted by the U.S.-sponsoredNear East Relief organization, which helped relocate and protect thegirls who wove the `orphan rug.' It was made in the town of Ghazir,now in Lebanon, as thanks for the United States' assistance during thegenocide.There was hope that the carpet, which has been in storage for almost20 years, might be displayed Dec. 16 as part of a Smithsonian eventthat would include a book launch for Hagop Martin Deranian's`President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug.' But on Sept.12, the Smithsonian scholar who helped organize the event canceled it,citing the White House's decision not to loan the carpet. In a letterto two Armenian American organizations, Paul Michael Taylor, directorof the institution's Asian cultural history program, had noexplanation for the White House's refusal to allow the rug to be seenand said that efforts by the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John A.Heffern, to intervene had also been unavailing.Although Taylor, Heffern and the White House curator, William G.Allman, had discussed during a January meeting the possibility of anevent that might include the rug, it became clear that the rug wasn'tgoing to emerge from deep hiding.`This week I spoke again with the White House curator asking if therewas any indication of when a loan might be possible again but he hasnone,' wrote Taylor in the letter. Efforts to contact Heffern throughthe embassy in the Armenian capital of Yerevan were unsuccessful, andthe State Department referred all questions to the White House.Last week, the White House issued a statement: `The Ghazir rug is areminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armenia andthe United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan it out atthis time.'That leaves the rug, and the sponsors of the event, in limbo, afamiliar place for Armenians. Neither Ara Ghazarians of the ArmenianCultural Foundation nor Levon Der Bedrossian of the Armenian RugsSociety can be sure if the event they had helped plan was canceled forthe usual political reason: fear of negative reaction from Turkey,which has resolutely resisted labeling the events at the end of theOttoman Empire a genocide. But both suspect it might have been.`Turkey is a very powerful country,' says Der Bedrossian, whoseorganization was planning to fund a reception for the event.And it's a sign of the Obama administration's dismal reputation in theArmenian American community that everyone assumes it must be yetanother slap in the face for Armenians seeking to promoteunderstanding of one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century history.Aram Suren Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian NationalCommittee of America, says the president has had `a very negativereception across the board in the Armenian world, and that includesboth Democrats and Republicans.' The principal emotion is profounddisappointment. As a candidate, and senator, Obama spoke eloquentlyabout the Armenian genocide, risking the ire of Turkey and Turkishorganizations. But since taking office, says Hamparian, Obama hasavoided the word, making more general statements about Armeniansuffering. Critics of his silence point to the geopolitical importanceof Turkey in a region made only more complex by the Arab Spring and abrutal civil war in Syria....Calls and e-mails to the Turkish Embassy in Washington weren't returned....http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/10/obama-stops-smithsonian-from-displaying-armenian-genocide-era-artwork-for-fear-of-irking-turks.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2013 The Jawa ReportOct 26 2013White House Refuses Smithsonian Request For Armenian Rug DisplayNothing like denying history to avoid hurt feelings.The rug was woven by orphans in the 1920s and formally presented tothe White House in 1925. A photograph shows President Calvin Coolidgestanding on the carpet, which is no mere juvenile effort, but acomplicated, richly detailed work that would hold its own even in thelargest and most ceremonial rooms.If you can read a carpet's cues, the plants and animals depicted onthe rug may represent the Garden of Eden, which is about as farremoved as possible from the rug's origins in the horrific events of1915, when the fracturing and senescent Ottoman Empire began amurderous campaign against its Armenian population. Between 1 millionand 1.5 million people were killed or died of starvation, and otherswere uprooted from their homes in what has been termed the firstmodern and systematic genocide. Many were left orphans, including themore than 100,000 children who were assisted by the U.S.-sponsoredNear East Relief organization, which helped relocate and protect thegirls who wove the "orphan rug." It was made in the town of Ghazir,now in Lebanon, as thanks for the United States' assistance during thegenocide.There was hope that the carpet, which has been in storage for almost20 years, might be displayed Dec. 16 as part of a Smithsonian eventthat would include a book launch for Hagop Martin Deranian's"President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug." But on Sept.12, the Smithsonian scholar who helped organize the event canceled it,citing the White House's decision not to loan the carpet. [...]Last week, the White House issued a statement: "The Ghazir rug is areminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armenia andthe United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan it out atthis time."That leaves the rug, and the sponsors of the event, in limbo, afamiliar place for Armenians. Neither Ara Ghazarians of the ArmenianCultural Foundation nor Levon Der Bedrossian of the Armenian RugsSociety can be sure if the event they had helped plan was canceled forthe usual political reason: fear of negative reaction from Turkey,which has resolutely resisted labeling the events at the end of theOttoman Empire a genocide. But both suspect it might have been.http://www.mypetjawa.mu.nu/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Armenian Genocide Rug’s Freedom a Worthy Cause for American JewsOctober 28, 2013 9:46 am Author:http://www.algemeiner.com/wp-content/themes/tribune/images/avatar/medoff-avatar.jpgRafael Medoff / JNS.org Tags:Armenian genocide Armenian genocide Jews Armenian Genocide rug Armenian history Armenian Ottoman Armenian Turkey Ottoman Empire genocide White House Armenian Genocide http://www.algemeiner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Armenians_marched_by_Turkish_soldiers_1915-300x191.pngArmenians are marched to a nearby prison in Mezireh by armed Turkish soldiers in Kharpert, Armenia, in April, 1915. Ninety-nine years after the Armenian genocide, one of the most poignant symbols of Armenian suffering is being held hostage by the White House, writes Rafael Medoff. Photo: Project SAVE via Wikimedia Commons.JNS.org – Ninety-nine years after the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, one of the most poignant symbols of Armenian suffering is being held hostage—by the White House.The prisoner is an 18-foot long rug. It was woven by four hundred Armenian orphan girls living in exile in Lebanon, as a gesture of appreciation for America’s assistance to survivors of the genocide. In 1925, they sent the rug to President Calvin Coolidge, who pledged that it would have “a place of honor in the White House, where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth.”Unfortunately, the rug is instead becoming a symbol of the unseemly politics of genocide. An Armenian-American dentist, Hagop Martin Deranian, recently authored a book called “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug,” and the Smithsonian Institution scheduled an event about Dr. Dernanian’s book for Dec. 16. But when the Smithsonian asked the White House to loan it the rug for the event, the request was denied.Reporters who asked the State Department about it this week were referred to the White House. When they asked the White House spokesman, they were curtly told that he had nothing to say except, “It is not possible to loan it out at this time.”Armenian-American leaders believe the Obama administration is responding to pressure from the Turkish government, which denies that genocide took place. And Armenians have good reason to be suspicious. As a presidential candidate in 2008, then-Senator Obama declared, “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide.” By contrast, the statements that President Obama has issued each April on Armenian Remembrance Day have never included the g-word. Instead, he has used an Armenian expression—“Meds Yeghern,” meaning “the great calamity.” Fear of displeasing the Turks appears to be the only plausible motive for that rhetorical sleight-of-hand.Armenian-Americans are not the only ones who should be upset. American Jews should be up in arms, too. Not only because of the sympathy that victims of genocide instinctively feel for one another—but also because if the White House can permit political considerations to trump recognition of the Armenian genocide, there is a danger that memorialization of the Holocaust could one day suffer a similar fate.In any event, at least one president did keep his word: Calvin Coolidge proudly displayed the Armenian Orphan Rug in the White House for the rest of his term.After he left office, Coolidge took the rug to his Massachusetts residence. It was still there in 1939, when former First Lady Grace Coolidge became a leading figure in the struggle to rescue a different group of children from a genocidal dictator. Mrs. Coolidge lobbied in support of the Wagner-Rogers bill, which would have admitted 20,000 German Jewish children to the United States. But President Franklin Delano Roosevelt refused to support the legislation, and it was buried in committee.Ironically, FDR’s relative and predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, advocated declaring war on Turkey over the Armenian genocide. “The failure to deal radically with the Turkish horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievous nonsense,” the then-ex-president asserted in 1918. Teddy Roosevelt was correct to fear that tolerating genocide would pave the way for it to happen again.Indeed, Adolf Hitler reportedly once assured his subordinates that their atrocities would not be remembered since “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”The genocide rug eventually made it back to the White House and was in use during at least part of the Clinton administration. But it has not been seen in public since then. If the Obama administration and the Turkish government have their way, it seems, the imprisoned rug may never again see the light of day.In December, Americans will flock to a new movie called “Monuments Men.” Directed by (and co-starring) George Clooney, it will tell the true story of a handful of U.S. military personnel who risked their lives to rescue famous paintings, monuments, and other precious European cultural artifacts from the Nazis in the waning days of World War II. It seems that it might take a new generation of Monuments Men to rescue the Armenian genocide rug and restore the treasured heirloom to its rightful place—in a public display.Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, in Washington, D.C. His latest book is “FDR and the Holocaust: A Breach of Faith.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 REPS. VALADAO AND SCHIFF CALL ON WHITE HOUSE TO STOP BLOCKING EXHIBIT OF ARMENIAN ORPHAN RUGhttp://www.armradio.am/en/2013/10/29/reps-valadao-and-schiff-call-on-white-house-to-stop-blocking-exhibit-of-armenian-orphan-rug/12:21 29.10.2013U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and David Valadao (R-CA)are urging their Congressional colleagues to join them in co-signinga letter urging the White House to reverse its decision to blockthe public display of a rug woven by Armenian orphans and giftedto President Calvin Coolidge in appreciation for U.S. humanitarianassistance following Ottoman Turkey's genocide of over 1.5 millionArmenians from 1915-1923, reported the Armenian National Committeeof America (ANCA).The Congressional letter campaign comes in the wake of WashingtonPost and National Public Radio reports last week that the WhiteHouse, after agreeing to lend the rug for an exhibition at theSmithsonian Institute, organized in cooperation with the ArmenianCultural Foundation and Armenian Rug Society, mysteriously andabruptly announced it would not make this historic artwork availablefor display. In an interview with Public Radio International (PRI),Washington Post Art Critic Philip Kennicott noted that while the WhiteHouse has not offered an explanation for the reversal in decision,it is likely due to the U.S. government's deference to Turkey'sinternational campaign of genocide denial.In their Congressional letter, Reps. Valadao and Schiff, who arethe lead sponsors of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.227),note: "The Armenian Orphan Rug is a piece of American history and itbelongs to the American people. For over a decade, Armenian Americanorganizations have sought the public display of the rug and haverequested the White House and the State Department grant their requeston numerous occasions. Unfortunately, Armenian Americans have yet tohave their requests granted.""Armenian Americans from California and across the country jointogether in thanking Representatives Valadao and Schiff for theirleadership in launching this initiative, and in calling upon theirU.S. House colleagues to support this worthwhile effort to reversethis most recent White House capitulation to Ankara's hateful campaignof genocide denial," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.The Armenian orphan rug measures 11'7â~@³ x 18'5â~@³ and is comprisedof 4,404,206 individual knots. It took Armenian girls in the GhazirOrphanage of the Near East Relief Society 10 months to weave. Therug was delivered to the President Coolidge on December 4, 2025, intime for Christmas, with a label on the back of the rug, which reads"IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE."According to Missak Kelechian, an expert on this topic, the gift ofthe Armenian Orphan rug was widely covered in U.S. media, including inthe New York Times in 1925 and the Washington Post in 1926. Kelechiandescribes the journey of the rug in a CNN clip available at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyDoZl7bYN8Additional information about the history of the Armenian Orphan Rugis available in Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian's book, "President Coolidgeand the Armenian Orphan Rug," published on October 20, 2013, by theArmenian Cultural Foundation and soon to be available on Amazon.com at:http://www.amazon.com/President-Calvin-Coolidge-Armenian-Orphan/dp/061584734X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) Who knows this idiom? sweep something under the carpet 1. Lit. to hide dirt by brushing it away under the edge of a carpet. He was in such a hurry with the cleaning that he just swept the dirt under the carpet. She swept the dirt under the carpet, hoping no one would find it.2. Fig. to hide or ignore something. You made a mistake that you can't sweep under the carpet. Don't try to sweep it under the carpet. You are wrong! ԳՈՂ ՍԻՐՏԸ ԴՈՂ Edited October 30, 2013 by Arpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 PETITION TO OBAMA TO FREE ARMENIAN "ORPHAN RUG"http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/10/31/petition-to-obama-to-free-armenian-orphan-rug/12:08 31.10.2013Petition posted on the White House website calls on the ObamaAdministration to share the Armenian Orphan Rug with the Americanpeople. The petition reads:"The White House should make available for public display to theSmithsonian Institution the rug woven by Armenian refugee orphans in1925 and given as a gift to President Calvin Coolidge to thank theAmerican people for the generous humanitarian support they gave theArmenians after World War One."The Washington Post's shocking revelation that the White House hasblocked a planned Smithsonian exhibit of an Armenian Genocide-erawork of art has sparked thousands of calls and emails to Congressurging the public display of the historic "Armenian Orphan Rug"woven by child survivors of the Genocide.A bipartisan effort in Congress, spearheaded by Representatives DavidValadao (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), is collecting signatures ona letter calling on the White House to permanently and prominentlydisplay the rug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 AS WE SEE ITBy Prof. Osheen KeshishianYou Can't Sweep It Under the RugPosted on October 30, 2013Dr. Martin Deranian recently wrote a historical book - "PresidentCalvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug", the story of a rug wovenby over 400 orphan girls following the Armenian Genocide perpetrated bythe Ottoman government. The book was to be presented by the SmithsonianInstitution in December of this year. In 1925, the rug was sent tothe President of the United States Calvin Coolidge as a "Thank You"gift for his assistance to the orphans following the Genocide.Indeed a good gesture. The President assured the orphans that therug will have a " Place of Honor in the White House." And it did,as it was displayed in the White House during President Coolidge'sterm in office as US President.He took the rug home after his term expired and his wife gave it backto the White House.It was even on display during President Bill Clinton's era.But, on September 12 of this year, the Smithsonian scholar who helpedorganize the event for December 16, suddenly cancelled the exhibition,believe it or not, citing the White House's decision not to loanthe rug for the exhibit. The White House refused to loan the rug andgave a very vague and short answer explaining that the rug could notbe loaned out at this time. No further explanation was given. Veryirritating and astounding. Why not at this time? If not now, thenwhen will it be the time and loan it to the renowned SmithsonianInstitution, a reputable and world renowned American icon.Paul Michael Taylor, director of the institution's Asian CulturalHistory Program, gave no explanation for the White House's refusalto allow the rug to be on display and said the efforts by the USAmbassador to Armenia, John Heffern, to intervene, had also beenunavailing.The request goes back nine months. In the beginning of January ofthis year, when Ambassador Heffern was asked to assist in securingthe rug for display. Although Taylor, Heffern, and the White HouseCurator, William G. Allman, had discussed during the January meetingthe possibility of an event that night include the rug it becameclear that the rug wasn't going to come out of deep hiding.What's wrong in exhibiting a rug to the public to the public especiallywhen it is donated to a United States President who displayed it inthe White House.What's wrong in exhibiting a piece of handicraft?What's wrong in exhibiting a hand-made historic work?What's wrong in exhibiting a sample of cultural heritage?There has to be a reason as to why the White House, a symbol offreedom, is not explaining and giving reasons for not making the rugavailable to the public. Government secret? What else! Everyone thinksthat there has to be a political reason behind it and most probablyit is Turkey, and the US does not want to upset Turkey.Congressman Brad Sherman of San Fernando Valley, California was nothappy and wrote a letter to the White House and asked to have therug permanently displayed. Thank you Congressman.I also think that the grandchildren of President Coolidge should filea complaint, after all the rug was a gift to their grandfather andnow it is being tossed around.Many complaints have gone to the White House by important and wellknown individuals, Armenian and American. And I hope that the WhiteHouse will respond to the many request positively.The White House should know that you cannot sweep this Armenian rugunder the rug.http://www.thearmenianobserver.com/?page_id=21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2013 Rep. Adam Schiff urges White House to display Armenian orphan rug Armenian Orphan Rug By Kelly Goff, Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 11/08/13, 5:18 PM PST| A nearly century-old rug made for President Calvin Coolidge by orphaned girls from Armenia as a thank you gift for the support America lent to refugees during the Armenian genocide has become the focal point of a growing controversy. The Armenian-made rug was slated to be displayed in a planned exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. in December, but the White House pulled the plug on its loan to the museum with little explanation in mid-October. Now, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, has waded into the fray, sending a letter earlier this week to the White House, with co-author Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, urging a reconsideration of its stance on making the rug unavailable for public view. “I have had the opportunity to sit and meet with genocide survivors in their homes and get to know them,” Schiff said in a phone interview Friday. “When I saw the rejection of the rug display it seemed like yet another indignity, another retreat from acknowledging the genocide.” The letter was signed by 31 other House representatives, including Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks. The exhibit including the rug — a large, colorful, hand-knotted rug with depictions of plants and animals woven in ornate detail — was set to be displayed Dec. 16 to coincide with the book launch of “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug” written by Hagop Martin Deranian, a scholar whose parents were both genocide survivors and immigrants to the United States. The book details the rug’s origins, and the plight of nearly 100,000 children orphaned by the genocide who were helped by U.S. missionaries and government outreach. The girls who made the rug were living in the Ghazir Orphanage of Near East Relief, in present-day Lebanon, which was created and funded through the U.S. Congress. The White House issued a simple statement addressing the issue, offering no explanation for its refusal to loan the rug to the museum. “The Ghazir rug is a reminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armenia and the United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan it out at this time,” the statement said. But Schiff and Armenian community groups suspect the White House’s refusal to display the rug has more to do with politics than anything else. The Obama administration has routinely stopped short of referring to the atrocities committed against the Armenian population as genocide in what was then the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The conflict left up to 1.5 million people dead, and Schiff said the refusal to allow access to the rug is most likely the result of diplomatic pressure from Turkey. The government in Ankara has staunchly refused to acknowledge the conflict as a genocide. “I can’t imagine another reason,” Schiff said. “I can’t imagine what it means that it is unavailable. It’s not like it’s at the dry cleaners.” Advocates say the rug is a tangible link to the historical importance of the Armenian community, and to support the U.S. gave to immigrants fleeing the region. “The piece is as important to American history as it is to Armenian history,” said Tereza Yerimyan, government affairs director for the western region of the Armenian National Committee of America, whose offices are in Glendale. The White House has not yet responded to Schiff’s letter, or to emails sent from members of the Armenian National Committee, urging cooperation for a display of the rug, but Yerimyan said she hopes the effort will sway opinion. “This was made by people who found a new life because of the help of Americans,” she said. “Why shouldn’t it be displayed?” About the Author Reach the author at Kelly.Goff@Dailynews.com or follow Kelly on Twitter: @KellyGoff_DN. Full bio and more articles by Kelly Goff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2013 Foreign PolicyNov 7 2013Art as Politicsby Ani Torossian | on November 7th, 2013It is not often that a rug becomes caught in the crosshairs of foreignpolicy and cast away from artistic appreciation, yet the 1920sArmenian orphan rug that was planned for display in December at theSmithsonian Museum suffers just this fate.Bound by the common thread of their identity as children and survivorsof the Armenian genocide, Armenian orphans in a Lebanon refuge campwove a room-sized rug as a gift presented to the White House in 1925.Each woven thread contained a symbolic message of gratitude forAmerican humanitarian aid in the Middle East, Greece and Armenia -assistance that came in the form of education, healthcare andrelocation for the hundreds of thousands of orphaned children in aregion devastated by the Turkish atrocities committed against thebackdrop of World War I.As a work of art, this Armenian rug represents an image of theBiblical Garden of Eden. It was set for display at the Smithsonianbefore the Obama administration's unexplained refusal to loan the rug.Now, it fades from significance in a White House storage room.As a work of art imbued with a political subtext, the Armenian rugrepresents far more than meets the eye. Many note that its publicdisplay would complicate U.S.-Turkey relations. To this day, Turkeyrefuses to label the atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire asgenocide.Yet to deny the American public access to the rug is to deny theopenness necessary for historical scholarship and artisticappreciation.President Obama has made diplomatic dances around the term `genocide'far too many times for the administration to worry about the rug'snegative impact on the foreign policy agenda with Turkey.His promise as a presidential candidate was as follows: `Americadeserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocideand responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be thatpresident.'But the courage with which Mr. Obama confronted the issue as apresidential candidate has faded. During his presidency, he omittedthe term `genocide' from his public statements.Appeasing Turkey at the cost of glossing over historical facts hadbeen regretfully swallowed in the past. The refusal to now displayartwork for the sake of foreign policy considerations is not at allwhat the American public deserves.And if the White House's refusal does not rest on an attempt topolitically appease Turkey and protect its relationship, then theObama administration would do well to offer the American public anexplanation that actually consists of an explanation. Otherwise, itleaves a political can of worms open in the form of speculationunpleasant to both the government and its public.http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2013/11/07/art-as-politics/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2013 (edited) Burbank congressman wants White House to display Armenian rug Kitty Felde | http://a.scpr.org/i/be68993df7aa2c5161802f63ff733ca4/71801-eight.jpg The carpet was a thank you gift to America for aid to orphans of Armenian genocideThe battle over official U.S. government recognition of the Armenian Genocide has recently focused on a rug woven by orphan girls and presented to President Calvin Coolidge nearly a century ago. A Southern California lawmaker is calling on the White House to put the carpet on display.The ruby red and purple rug took ten months to weave and was a thank-you gift for American aid to more than 100,000 Armenian orphans. Young women tied more than four million knots to create the carpet.It was supposed to be the centerpiece of a Smithsonian event next month to launch a new book called “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug." But the White House declined to make the rug available, saying in a statement that it’s “not possible to loan it out at this time.”Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and colleague David Valadao (R-Hanford) are circulating a “dear colleague” letter, urging the president to change his mind. So far nearly three dozen lawmakers have signed on.Schiff says the president's reluctance comes down to a single issue: "the Administration doesn’t want to offend Turkey."Turkey is an important military ally. Ottoman Turks are said to have killed more than a million Armenians in the early years of the 20th century. The Turkish government maintains that number is inflated and the victims were caught in the middle of a civil war. Official Washington has been reluctant to go on the record acknowledging the genocide.Schiff, who spoke on the House floor in Armenian on the April anniversary of the genocide, says the rug, with its millions of knots, is a tangible way to come to grips with the genocide. "These girls were real. What they went through was real. And I think it’s the power of that rug that is part of the reason the administration doesn’t want to exhibit it."An online petition on the White House website asks for the rug to be displayed, but so far, it has fewer than 600 signatures.Candidate Barack Obama said, “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide.” But President Obama has avoided using the term. http://a.scpr.org/i/e767b41bd74066df371417277ae6b4ae/44747-thumb.jpgKitty Felde, Washington, D.C. Correspondent Edited November 11, 2013 by Yervant1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 REP. SCHIFF URGES OBAMA TO ALLOW ORPHAN RUG DISPLAYhttp://asbarez.com/116142/rep-schiff-urges-obama-to-allow-orphan-rug-display/Tuesday, November 12th, 2013Representative Adam SchiffWASHINGTON-On Tuesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) once again called on theObama Administration to allow exhibition of the "Armenian Orphan Rug"at the Smithsonian Museum. The rug, woven by orphans of the ArmenianGenocide in 1920, was presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925as thanks for U.S. assistance during the genocide. The rug - whichhas been in storage at the White House for decades - was supposed tobe released for exhibition in a Smithsonian event for the launch ofHagop Martin Deranian's new book President Calvin Coolidge and theArmenian Orphan Rug. Unfortunately, the event was cancelled when theWhite House refused to release the rug for display."The decision by the Administration to block display of the ArmenianGenocide rug is as inexplicable, as it is hurtful to the Armeniancommunity," Schiff explained. "The rug is not only a symbol ofthe resilience of the Armenian people through their darkest days,it also serves as a tangible expression of the inherent truth thatnot only were 1.5 million people killed in the first genocide of the20th Century, but that the American government was a central playerin efforts to call attention to the plight of the Armenian peopleand provide relief to survivors."The Administration has been reluctant to call the Armenian Genocidewhat it was, a genocide, and this latest decision to keep the rugout of the Smithsonian comes without explanation. Schiff continued,"The rug deserves to be on display and the millions affected bythe genocide deserve the chance to see it - it's my hope that theAdministration will decide to allow the rug, a symbol worthy of theSmithsonian, to be released."Schiff and Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) sent a letter, along with 31other Members, to President Obama urging him to allow exhibition ofthe rug. The full letter is below:***Dear Mr. President:As Members of Congress who represent America's Armenian community,we write to inquire about numerous reports that the White House hasblocked the exhibition of an important Armenian Genocide-era icon ofshared American and Armenian history scheduled to open December 16th;the "Armenian Orphan Rug."This historic rug was hand-woven by orphans of the Armenian Genocidein an American-sponsored orphanage run by an U.S. charity created byan act of Congress. The rug, which has over 4,000,000 hand-tied knots,was presented, in 1925 to President Calvin Coolidge as a symbol ofgratitude for American aid and generosity. President Coolidge notedthat, "The rug has a place of honor in the White House where it willbe a daily symbol of goodwill on earth." The presentation of therug to President Coolidge enjoyed wide publicity including in TheNew York Times and resulted in millions of dollars being raised forhumanitarian assistance.The Armenian Orphan Rug is a piece of American history and itbelongs to the American people. For over a decade, Armenian Americanorganizations have sought the public display of the rug and haverequested the White House and the State Department grant their requeston numerous occasions. Unfortunately, Armenian Americans have yet tohave their requests granted.We urge you to release this American treasure for exhibition. Welook forward to working with you to ensure this important piece ofAmerican and Armenian history is publicly displayed and we eagerlyawait your response.Sincerely, Members of Congress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 OBAMA WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY TURKEY, PROTESTERS SAYWashington TimesNov 26 2013Protesters will use President Obama's fundraising trip to SouthernCalifornia on Tuesday to highlight his refusal to live up to acampaign promise to recognize the Armenian genocide in Turkey nearlya century ago.The Armenian National Committee of America has organized an event inGlendale, Calif., calling on Mr. Obama to allow a public display ofthe so-called Armenian Orphan Rug, a carpet woven by orphans of thegenocide and presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925.The rug, which is held in storage by the White House, was given inappreciation for U.S. humanitarian assistance in the aftermath ofTurkey's murder of more than 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923,the ANCA said.Armenian Americans have been hoping that the rug could be displayed atthe Smithsonian Institution next month as part of an event launchinga book about the circumstances of the gift to Mr. Coolidge. But theWhite House has resisted, saying it's not possible to loan the carpetfor such an event."The White House should simply come clean," said ANCA ExecutiveDirector Aram Hamparian in a statement. "It's time for the WhiteHouse to open up about Turkey's role, and lay out all the factsabout its decision to block the Smithsonian's exhibit of the ArmenianOrphan Rug - a historic, Armenian Genocide-era work of art that speakspowerfully to the common values and shared experiences of the Americanand Armenian peoples."In a pattern common to the last three presidents, Mr. Obama pledged, asa candidate stumping for Armenian-American votes in the 2008 campaign,that he would recognize the genocide if he became president.But since taking office, he has resisted labeling the episode as a"genocide," a move which would anger NATO ally Turkey.In April, Mr. Obama marked the anniversary of the Armenian deathswith a statement that called it "one of the worst atrocities ofthe 20th century" but never used the word "genocide." The word is aspecific term under international law, both for its symbolic valueand because it imposes duties upon other states and penalties uponthe perpetrating country.Turkey doesn't deny that its military and paramilitary forces killedmany Armenians at the time in question, but it disputes vehementlythe "genocide" charge and has warned that formal U.S. steps to usethe term will hamper relations.In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, ANCAChairman Ken Hachikian said that President Coolidge, upon receivingthe carpet, wrote that "the rug has a place of honor in the WhiteHouse where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth.""I ask you, in this spirit, to remove any obstacles to theSmithsonian's display of this historic artwork and to secure aprominent and permanent public home for this powerful symbol ofAmerica's humanitarian values and friendship with the Armenian people,"Mr. Hachikian wrote to the White House.He said that since taking office, Mr. Obama "has not only failed torecognize the Armenian Genocide, but has actively blocked congressionallegislation (H.Res.252, 111th Congress) to commemorate this atrocityand, through his Solicitor General, officially opposed efforts inthe U.S. courts ... to allow American citizens to pursue Genocide-eraproperty claims."The rug measures 11 feet, 7 inches by 18 feet, five inches, and iscomprised of 4,404,206 individual knots. It took Armenian girls inan orphanage 10 months to weave. A label on the back of the carpetreads, in all capital letters: "in golden rule gratitude to PresidentCoolidge."http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/25/obama-wont-acknowledge-armenian-genocide-turkey/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted December 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 ARMENIA: DID TURKEY PUT THE KIBOSH ON CARPET DISPLAY?EurasiaNet.orgDec 5 2013December 5, 2013 - 1:51pm, by Liana AghajanianIt's not often that Calvin Coolidge's name is invoked these daysin Washington. But the long-dead 30th president is figuring in acontroversy involving several Armenian-American organizations, theSmithsonian Institution and the White House.At the center of the controversy is an intricate and colorful carpetdepicting the Garden of Eden, woven by orphaned Armenian girls andpresented to then-president Coolidge in the late 1920s. It is knownas the Ghazir Rug, named after the Lebanese city where it was madeby 400 orphans who lost their families during the mass slaughter ofArmenians by Ottoman Turkish forces starting in 1915.The gift to Coolidge was a gesture of gratitude to the UnitedStates, specifically for the relief efforts mounted by the Near EastFoundation, an American philanthropic organization founded in responseto the Armenian mass slaughter in Ottoman Turkey. The foundation'sprograms were credited with saving hundreds of thousands of lives.For close to a century, the Ghazir Rug has remained largely hiddenin White House storage. But a similar carpet, known as the "ArmenianOrphan Sister Rug" will be on display December 5 in Boston, as partof a holiday event sponsored by the Armenian Assembly of America,a prominent Diaspora group. Martin Deranian, author of a book on theGhazir Rug's history, titled President Calvin Coolidge and the ArmenianOrphan Rug, will be a featured speaker at that event. The sister carpetto be displayed in Boston is part of Deranian's personal collection.The Boston holiday gala, however, has not quelled a controversy thatbegan in the autumn, when the White House abruptly decided not tolend the Ghazir Rug to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,DC, for an event to mark the publication of Deranian's book.In a September letter, Paul Michael Taylor, director of the Asiancultural history program at the Smithsonian, wrote to organizers-- Ara Ghazarians, curator at the Massachusetts-based ArmenianCultural Foundation and Levon Der Bedrossian at the Armenian RugsSociety - expressing regret that the White House had, without reasonor explanation, decided not to lend the rug for the Smithsonianevent. As a result, the event, which had been scheduled for December16, was canceled."Needless to say this was a great surprise and disappointment ...because White House staff had previously offered considerableassistance or the use of the rug," Taylor wrote in the Septemberletter. The letter also mentioned that the US Ambassador to Armenia,John Heffern, made inquiries on his own, but determined that the loanof the Ghazir rug would not be possible.The White House issued a statement last month: "The Ghazir Rug isa reminder of the close relationship between the peoples of Armeniaand the United States. We regret that it is not possible to loan itout at this time."Thirty-one members of Congress, including Adam Schiff, whose districtincludes a large number of Armenian-Americans, signed a letter inmid-November urging the Obama administration to let the rug bedisplayed. The White House has remained firm on not lending outthe carpet.The Smithsonian or Taylor did not respond to requests from EurasiaNetfor comment. The U.S. Department of State referred a request tothe White House. Officials at the White House did not respond to aEurasiaNet.org query.Without an explanation from the White House, representatives ofDisaspora groups, including the National Association for ArmenianStudies and Research (NAASR), believe the Smithsonian cancellationwas prompted by pressure from the Turkish government, which deniesthat the 1915 events constitute Genocide. Turkey has been known toexert diplomatic pressure on the United States on matters relatingto the recognition of the 1915 events."I see this to be a clear cut example of an administration playingunfairly and unjustly to a people who deserve so much better," saidStephen Kurkjian, a former journalist for the Boston Globe and memberof NAASR.Levon Der Bedrossian of the Armenian Rugs Society, a California-basedorganization, suspects the same political motives. "We've seen thistime and again, after so many years it is the strength of the Turkishlobby, there is no other explanation," Der Bedrossian said.Anthony Barsamian -- who headed the group "Armenian-Americans forObama" in 2008 and 2008 and 2012, and a board member of the ArmenianAssembly of America -- characterized the decision to not loan GhazirRug as unacceptable - especially as the centennial of the massslaughter approaches in 2015. "Why should the White House deny theArmenian Community their artifact?" he asked.Editor's note: Liana Aghajanian is a freelance writer based in LosAngeles.http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67835 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 THE ORPHANED RUGReason.comMarch 2014Matt Welch from the March 2014 issueIn 1925, a group of orphans who had lost their parents to Turkey'sgenocide of Armenians presented this ceremonial rug to President CalvinCoolidge. Despite the exertions of many activists and historians,the rug has been kept away from public view since the mid-1990s.Armenian Americans have long suspected that the rug was warehousedbecause the government of NATO ally Turkey does not want to seeor read any official-sounding communication that even broaches theg-word. So when the publishers of a slim new volume titled PresidentCalvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug asked the White House torelease the Ghazir artifact for a private book party in December,the terse response was, "We regret that it is not possible to loanit out at this time."Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) responded by planning a historicallyappropriate event that he hoped even the White House couldn't refuse.But Schiff's initiative probably will end up in the same place asthe annual congressional drive to get the president to use the wordgenocide on Armenian Remembrance Day (April 24): nowhere. As longas Washington feels it has foreign policy needs that only Turkey cansupply, the orphan rug is likely to remain orphaned.http://reason.com/archives/2014/02/28/the-orphaned-rug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 16:44 01/05/2014 » SOCIETYArmenian Assembly of America welcomes White House decision to display Orphan RugWith Members of Congress and the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) weighing in, the White House has agreed to release the Armenian Orphan Rug for public display as early as this fall, reported the Assembly. The Assembly welcomes this development as a previous one-day exhibition of the carpet planned at the Smithsonian Institution last December was cancelled. According to a letter from National Security Advisor Antony Blinken to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) last year, "Loans from the White House collection are made for fully developed exhibits, not for one-day private events." The Assembly expects the Armenian Orphan Rug to be prominently displayed to the American public this year.News reports surfaced about Turkish pressure on the White House last year and the cancellation of the event, which led to an outcry by Members of Congress, including Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), along with Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and David Valadao (R-CA), who spearheaded a letter to President Obama signed by over 30 Members of Congress calling on him to release the rug. With the Coolidge rug unavailable, the Assembly launched a campaign to display the Armenian Orphan "Sister Rug." Since then, the sister rug has been displayed in Boston, Massachusetts and Boca Raton, Florida, and was planned to be displayed at an event on Capitol Hill with Congressman Schiff in March, but was postponed due to a snowstorm."I am extremely touched," Dr. Martin Deranian told the Assembly upon learning the news of the decision to display the Armenian Orphan Rug. "I have faith in the American government, that it will do the right thing in the end," he said. Dr. Deranian authored the book "President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug." "I appreciate the work of our elected officials in Washington as well as the Armenian Assembly for helping to secure this commitment," he said.In 1925, Dr. John H. Finley, editor-in-chief of the New York Times and vice-chairman of the congressionally chartered Near East Relief organization presented a rug made by orphans of the Armenian Genocide to then President Calvin Coolidge. The rug was made in appreciation of America's generosity in aiding the survivors of the first genocide of the 20th Century. As previously reported, the carpet was displayed at the White House in 1984 and 1995, but not since, an issue which the Assembly has raised with successive Administrations."The display of this tangible expression of gratitude for America's humanitarian intervention to save the survivors of the Armenian Genocide is a positive development," stated Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. Source: Panorama.am 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Grate !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 White House vows to release Armenian Orphan Rug for displayWhite House vows to release Armenian Orphan Rug for displayMay 1, 2014 - 11:50 AMTPanARMENIAN.Net - The Obama Administration has advised Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) that the White House will be making the Armenian Orphan Rug - woven by young survivors of the Armenian Genocide and presented as a gift to President Calvin Coolidge in appreciation of U.S. relief efforts for the survivors of this crime - available for public display at an event to be held as early as Fall, 2014, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).The announcement was welcomed by both Congressman Schiff and Senator Markey, who had joined with Congressional colleagues in petitioning for the release of the iconic symbol of U.S. humanitarian assistance following reports that the White House had refused to allow its display at an event that was to be held at the Smithsonian Institute in December, 2013."Since first raising this issue with the Administration, I have worked diligently with the White House to find a way for the Ghazir rug to be sensitively and appropriately displayed,” said Rep. Schiff. “Today, I’m pleased to be able to say that planning is underway for the Armenian Orphan Rug to be displayed as early as this fall. I have worked out with the White House that the display will take place in a venue that is open to the general public, and I appreciate their willingness to place this significant artifact on display for all to see.”Sen. Markey concurred, noting that “the Armenian Orphan Rug is an important symbol of the longstanding friendship between America and Armenia. Displaying this significant piece of history will serve as reminder that we will never forget the Armenian Genocide and highlight the continued need to work towards its proper recognition. I commend President Obama and the White House for working with me and my Congressional colleagues to ensure that this rug is given the historic exhibition is truly deserves.”The news was also hailed by Congressman David Valadao (R-CA), who, along with Congressman Schiff, is lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.227) and led a bipartisan Congressional effort to secure the release Armenian Orphan Rug. “For over a decade, Armenian – American organizations have been asking the White House and the State Department to display the Ghazir Rug publically," said Rep. Valadao. "Today’s announcement by the White House is an important first step towards ensuring the Armenian Genocide is recognized by our current Administration. My Congressional District, CA-21, is home to a large population of Armenian-Americans, who have a strong presence in our community. As their Representative, I am pleased the Administration has decided to fulfill our request to publicly display the rug. The Armenian Orphan Rug is a shared piece of American and Armenian history that belongs to the American people."ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian warmly welcomed the longstanding efforts of Rep. Schiff, Senator Markey, and Rep. Valadao to seek the public, prominent display of the rug, but noted that vigilance remains the key to ensuring that the rug presentation does, in fact, take place."It's a testament to the Turkish government's continuing grip over the Obama Administration's policy on the Armenian Genocide that it has taken years of Congressional and community effort to secure the public display of a rug woven by the child survivors of this crime - a unique artifact that, it must be stressed, is a piece of U.S. property and a meaningful part of American history," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We applaud the efforts of Congressman Schiff, Senator Markey, Rep. Valadao and others to secure the public display of this rug and will continue to track this matter closely in the coming weeks and months." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted June 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)June 13, 2014 FridayThe Armenian rug of hopeby Harry N. Mazadoorian,Sometimes a meaningful symbol can bring about results not achievableby millions of articulate and well-reasoned words. We have all seenexamples where large populations have been moved from lethargy intoaction by a symbol such as a flag, a gesture or a picture.One such symbol is a rug woven by orphan survivors of the ArmenianGenocide of 1915, many years ago.This year marks the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Morethan 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children perished fromdeportations, death marches, starvation and outright murder at thehands of the Ottoman Empire.So great was the sympathy and outrage that a relief effort ofunparalleled proportions was undertaken in the United States. TheAmericans providing humanitarian relief and support for the victimswere a virtual who's who of American politics, arts, academia andphilanthropy, as well as ordinary citizens, all outraged by theatrocities.The Near East Foundation raised millions of dollars, the equivalent ofseveral billion today, for humanitarian relief. At the same time,Danish relief workers, Swiss missionaries and people of goodwill fromall over the world rushed to create orphanages in Syria, Lebanon,Greece, and elsewhere, providing lifesaving support to the youngorphans who survived, such as my mother and father.Regrettably, the American outrage which followed the horrific genocidewaned in ensuing decades. Passage of time, shifting policies in theMiddle East and a growing reliance on the perceived strategic role ofthe government of Turkey, successor to the Ottoman Empire, causedindignation to melt into indifference.Even efforts to have the United States Congress pass a symbolicresolution recognizing and denouncing the genocide encounteredinsurmountable resistance. Turkish opposition to congressional actionwas strong.Presidents, including President Obama, who pledged to recognize theatrocities as genocide while on the campaign trail, abandoned thepledge once elected for fear of offending a key ally in the MiddleEast. Euphemisms and cleverly selected words replaced a forthrightrecognition. The genocide was deftly sidestepped.Some asked, did recognition of this genocide of so long ago, so faraway, of a people so little known, really make a difference? Meanwhilegenocide, brutality and killing continue throughout the world.The "orphan rug" was painstakingly woven by Armenian orphans of theGhazir Orphanage in what is now Lebanon in gratitude for thelifesaving humanitarian efforts of the United States during thebleakest hours of the genocide.The rug was presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925 and residesin the White House today. Interestingly, the rug resided inNorthampton, Massachusetts for some time after the Coolidges leftWashington. Awareness of the rug heightened after the publication of amarvelous book about the rug by Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian, whopractices in Worcester.When the rug was requested for commemorative programs by Armenianadvocacy groups and by the Smithsonian Institution itself, the WhiteHouse declined the request, citing what appeared to be hollowlogistical and procedural reasons. Speculation was that sensitivity toTurkish denial of the genocide was the real reason.Organizations such as the Armenian Assembly, a Washington-based entitypromoting awareness of Armenian issues, and supportive members ofCongress, including Sen. Edward Markey, persisted in seeking releaseof the rug.Finally, at the end of April, the White House agreed to release therug for public display at some time in the future. This is encouragingnews and further details about when and where it will be displayed areeagerly awaited.Why has this single rug, this 90-year-old inanimate object, generatedsuch a passionate interest? What difference could its production ornon-production possibly make?Clearly, the rug is only a symbol, but an extremely visible andpowerful one. It represents the spirit of those fragile orphans whoseresilience, faith and gratitude kept them going and which brought manyof them to this country -- many to the Worcester area -- to become proudand productive Americans.It serves as a precious and powerful emblem of respect and gratitudeto this country. Something which hapless survivors and waifs createdwith their own hands -- more than four million knots of appreciation.It also symbolizes the potential for a long-overdue and much-neededtransformative healing following one of history's darkest and mosttragic chapters.The rug is part of American history representing this country'spivotal role, throughout its history, in supporting the persecuted andoppressed all over the world. It belongs to all Americans.Perhaps, after nearly 100 years, the display of this modest symbolwill play a role in curbing the brutality and killing which continuesthroughout the world.Harry N. Mazadoorian of Kensington, Connecticut is the son ofsurvivors of the Armenian Genocide, both of whom were relocated toorphanages in the Near East, before coming to America where theyinitially lived in Whitinsville. He is an attorney and a mediator andis the Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Quinnipiac University LawSchool Center on Dispute Resolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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