Washington, U.S.A.  – A new poll commissioned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum finds that 67 years after the Holocaust, Americans believe genocide is still very possible, yet preventable, and they would like to see the US government play a major role in stopping it from happening around the world.

Americans expressed support for a range of strategies for preventing genocide, especially education about the Holocaust and other past atrocities. They are supportive of military action in cases like Syria and Sudan but they want the US to work in concert with other nations, according to the new telephone survey of 1000 people, conducted by Penn Schoen Berland between June 30 and July 10, 2012.

The poll was released in conjunction with the symposium “Imagine the Unimaginable: Ending Genocide in the 21st Century” held at the Museum, which featured a keynote address by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Presented in cooperation with the Council on Foreign Relations and CNN, the symposium examined the challenges of preventing genocide in years to come, and the opportunities and risks posed by new technologies, demographic changes and other trends.  Results of the poll helped guide the discussion during two panels that featured leading foreign policy experts, authors, academics and business leaders including Chairman of the US National Intelligence Council Christopher Kojm, Peter Schwartz,Timothy Snyder, Sarah Sewall, Arwa Damon, Richard Williamson and Strive Masiyiwa. The panels were moderated by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer and Washington Post investigative reporter Dana Priest.

“Sixty seven years after the Holocaust, after which the world vowed ‘Never Again,’ it is unacceptable that genocide persists,” said Museum Chairman Tom Bernstein. “We are heartened by the results of this poll which show that the American people understand the danger that genocide still poses today, and that they believe that the US should be a leader in helping to prevent it, working together with other countries and international organizations.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hopes this poll, today’s symposium and our ongoing efforts will make a substantial contribution to understanding and preventing genocide and other mass atrocities in the future.”

“The results are striking in that they show a deep American concern for genocide and a strong desire for global action to face this threat,” said Mark Penn, former presidential pollster and CEO of Burson-Marsteller and Penn Schoen Berland.  “Americans believe they have a moral responsibility to prevent or stop genocide around the world, even if it means putting boots on the ground. But they view multilateral action as the most effective military strategy for prevention. They are well educated on the correct definition of genocide, especially young Americans, and believe education plays an important role in preventing this threat.”

The results of the poll are based on telephone interviews of 1,000 American respondents.  It has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.   The symposium and poll were made possible in part by a generous pro-bono contribution from Burson-Marsteller and Penn Schoen Berland.

Americans believe genocide is very possible but also preventable.

• 94% of Americans believe that genocide is still very much a concern and could occur today.
• 66% of Americans believe that it is preventable.

Americans believe the US government has a major role to play in stopping genocide.

• 69% think the US should prevent or stop genocide or mass atrocities from occurring in another part of the world.
• 78% support the US taking military action to stop genocide or mass atrocities.

Americans support a range of strategies for preventing genocide and are supportive of military action, but want the US to work in concert with other nations.

• 53% say multilateral action is the most effective military strategy, while only 10% say unilateral action by the U.S. is most effective.
• 76% believe that education about the history of genocide can help prevent future atrocities.
• Fewer than 1 in 10 Americans say the US is most responsible for preventing genocide; most believe international bodies or the countries involved in a conflict are more responsible.

Americans believe the international community is not effective at genocide prevention.

• 55% believe the international community is not effective at preventing civilians from genocide or mass atrocities.
• One in two Americans believes that the International Criminal Court is not effective at preventing genocide.

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For the 27th year, thousands of Armenian Americans and their supporters will gather in Times Square (Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets) to commemorate the first genocide of the 20th Century: the Armenian Genocide (1915-23). To be held on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 2-4 PM, this historic event will pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire.

The Commemoration will also celebrate the survival and spirit of the Armenian people, their rich heritage and global contributions. Major political figures will speak as well as civic, humanitarian and educational leaders. This event is free and open to the public.

The theme of the Commemoration is “Turkey Is Guilty of Genocide; Denying the Undeniable Is a Crime.” Most recently, France has strongly reinforced its position on denying the Armenian Genocide. On Monday, January 23, 2012, the French Senate passed a bill in a 127 to 86 vote to criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

The bill is scheduled to be signed within the next few weeks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose UMP party championed the measure to become law. The new bill will punish anyone who denies the Armenian Genocide with a year in jail and fine of 45,000 euros (around $57,000).

Armenian Genocide experts Dennis R. Papazian, PhD, National Grand Commander of Knights of Vartan, and Dr. Arthur Kubikian, former Chairman of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration in Times Square (1999 and 2006), are available for media interviews. Armenian Genocide survivors (ages 99+) are also available to discuss their eyewitness accounts as refugees from the Armenian Genocide.

Their painful accounts of the horrendous horrors and mass destruction they witnessed and lived through are critical contributions to world history. Dr. Papazian comments, “There is no question that when genocide goes unpunished, it makes other perpetrators discount the possibility of being punished for their transgressions.

The Turkish government to this day continues to deny the reality of the first genocide of the 20th Century, the Armenian Genocide, which opened the door to all the genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries, including the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. In fact, when Hitler sent his Death Heads troops into Poland at the beginning of World War II, he said, ‘Go. Kill without mercy. Who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians?’”

ISSUES TO EXPLORE WITH EXPERTS:

• Why do the Armenians and supporters commemorate the Armenian Genocide?
• Why is the Turkish government denying the Armenian Genocide and what would be the outcomes if the Turkish government acknowledged the Genocide?
• What major world historical events have taken place in the 20th and 21st centuries because of the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and other nations?

The 97th Commemoration is organized by the Mid-Atlantic chapters of Knights & Daughters of Vartan, http://www.knightsofvartan.org, http://www.knightsofvartan.ca, an international Armenian fraternal organization, and co-sponsored by Armenian General Benevolent Union, http://www.agbu.org;

Armenian Assembly of America, http://www.aaainc.org; Armenian National Committee of America, http://www.anca.org; Armenian Council of America; and ADL-Ramgavars.

Participating Organizations: Diocese of the Armenian Church, Prelacy of the Armenian Church, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Presbyterian Church, Armenian Evangelical Church, Armenian Catholic Eparchy for US and Canada, Mid-Atlantic ACYOA, AYF, and Armenian Youth Organizations.

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An area most people would be unable to point out on a map, the narrow strip of land bordered by both the Black and Caspian seas has been a point of contention for centuries.

Strategically located and historically known as where Europe fades into Asia, this mountainous region is reminded of policies enacted by Communist leader Josef Stalin twenty-plus years after the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia (Stalin’s birthplace), declared independence from the Soviet yoke. But this region is not so easily divided.

There are more than three types of people here, with at least fifty different ethnic groups all trying to establish themselves.  With no Kremlin and powerful military to qualm nationalistic interests, tribal feuding emerges resulting in a multitude of regional conflict.

The Chechens, with their terrorist attacks in Moscow railways may be the most notorious of this lot, but are just one example of post Soviet problems presented in the 21^st century.

Societies that may be similar, but speak drastically different dialects crowd these narrow and ancient settlements, a region that harbors the most ancient forms of Christianity and churches. This small area has spent time being ruled by such superpowers as Persia, Turkey, Byzantium and Russia, but managed to keep their way of life alive against such odds.

Armenians have had a glorious history; only to have experienced such tragedy during their vast existence. A nation known to be passionate with the written language, their chronicles cover a range of history, and even translations of neighboring literature.

The holocaust of World War two even has ties to this enigmatic region. Hitler mentioned the forgotten Armenian genocide prior to his invasion of Poland in 1939. In the years between 1915-1918, 1.5 million Armenians would die from unnatural causes, and continue to suffer from the humiliation of denial.

By creating an ethnically Armenian exclave within the borders of Azerbaijan in 1923, Stalin caused conflict amongst both peoples claiming the area to be their own, creating internal strife that would in turn, weaken both nations of any potential cooperation against Moscow.  The plan worked and is still working nearly nine decades after it was initiated.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1988-1994 was a result of borders created by Stalin to create disunity between the peoples of this region. The effects are still relevant today as both Turkey and Azerbaijan have a closed border policy resulting from Armenia’s victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The war ended in bitter peace and severed trade routes with the West. This currently strains Armenia economically, falling further behind her neighbors while oil-rich Azerbaijan bypasses  Armenia and routes their new pipeline from the Caspian, to Georgia, and out through the Black Sea.

War between Georgia and the territory of South Ossetia has been declared three times in the past two decades. The Ossetians are an ancient Indo-Iranian ethnic group that presently has both a north territory within Russian borders, and an adjacent southern province that is a continuing point of conflict with Georgia claiming ownership.

The first war was in 1991-1992 and would break-out again in 2004.

With the Georgian-Russian war over South Ossetia contained since 2008, the conflict lasted ten days and resulted in a cease-fire.  Presently, Russia and Venezuela are the only countries that recognize South Ossetia as a separate government from Georgia, who was receiving and implementing weapons provided by the USA and NATO.

With Ossetia backed militarily by Russia, comparisons can be made to the ideological cold-war conflicts in Southeast Asia. Poor host countries serving as the battleground for empires to show off weaponry.

The notorious Chechens still have animosity toward Moscow and are not afraid to hide it. After Stalin deported the entire Chechen population to Siberia or Kazakhstan, some returned home to the mountains and developed national identity once Communism fell. The Islamic Chechnyns committed jihad acts against their northern neighbor, and former ruler, Russia in recent history.

Numerous suicide bombs in and around Moscow, and the immensely tragic hostage situation at a North Ossetian elementary school in 2004 are just more examples of a region in strife.

The Armenian Genocide is a hotly debated subject to this day, as Turkey and the United States do not declare this loss of life due directly toward the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Many Armenians will agree on the contrary, and place the systematic slaughter off their people and culture on Turkish sabers and rifles.

Obama had addressed this issue during his campaigning, assuring the world that the tragedy would finally be recognized appropriately. The promise is left unfulfilled to this day, as the USA has a vested interested in Turkey’s strategic location, operating several air-bases in the most ‘western’ of Middle Eastern countries.

What can explain an area so small and isolated, yet, so full of war and conflict? The easy explanation is to blame communism as a failed social experiment, with Transcaucasia as a result of it. Or is it that diversity and multiculturalism doesn’t work? That when you have dozens of different peoples all vying for domination in a confined area, that such aspirations will turn violent toward your neighbor?

Either way, it is a tragic circumstance for a place that is used to being controlled by someone else.

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