Obama for Armenia

History was made on November 4 when US Senator Barrack Obama, a Democrat, was elected the first African-American president of the United States. It seems like a miracle to most Americans--at least for me--but it is of course a welcomed one. He is what not only Americans but the entire world needs right now. The Democrats also managed to take the majority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, so the "change we can believe in" will hopefully be felt within the next couple of years. To expect immediate results is naive thinking, but something good is going to happen during his term as president, no doubt. US relations with nations around the world, especially with countries neighboring or close to Armenia, namely Russia, are going to improve. And I think that the US relations with Armenia which have been undermined to some extent during the last couple of years will indeed strenghthen. 

It comes as no surpise that Armenian-Americans who supported Obama--most likely the vast majority of them although there's probably no way to say for sure--are ecstatic about his being elected as president. He has made several promises to the Armenian-American community, most notably to recognize the Armenian Genocide. In a press release issued by his campaign Obama for America it clearly states his dedication to recognition.

Barack Obama shares with Armenian Americans a principled commitment to ending genocide... Obama wrote that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. 

Barack Obama strongly supports passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106) and will recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Even if he does not live up to this promise, it would not be his fault. He would not be the only president to refrain from doing so--in recent memory both President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush said similar things as campaign pledges. The US State Department policy has always been one favoring Turkey's interests, and Armenian Genocide recognition has never been one of them. 

Obama will nevertheless embrace and instill change internally in the US and also around the world. I can't wait to see him visit Armenia one day.