Kamala Harris, Armenian Lobby’s Candidate? | Armenian Lobby in America

The U.S. Presidential election has concluded, and the winner is Donald Trump. But was one of the U.S. presidential candidates, Kamala Harris, the Armenian Lobby’s candidate?

What is this Armenian Lobby?

Unfortunately, one of the lobbies with the most significant influence on politics in the United States is the Armenian Lobby. The most well-known and perhaps the most active of these is the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), also known by its acronym.

ANCA can be seen as the American branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). Initially founded as the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA) in 1918, it was re-established as ANCA in 1941. Vahan Cardashian, a former Ottoman consul in Washington (1882, Kayseri), is recognized as ACIA’s founder.

The main goal of ACIA was to achieve an independent Wilsonian Armenia. Therefore, the organization aimed to declare regions now part of Turkey, such as Trabzon, Erzurum, and Van, as Armenia. ANCA pursues this goal through a policy summarized as the “4 T’s”: Publicity, Recognition, Reparation, and Territory.

In other words, the goal is to first publicize Armenian claims, have them recognized by Turkey, demand reparations based on these claims, and ultimately have the lands allegedly “occupied by Turkey,” i.e., “Western Armenia,” returned to Armenians.

Dashnaktsutyun, which has existed since the Ottoman period, continues its presence beyond its connection with ANCA and still has representation in the Armenian Parliament with 15 members and in the Lebanese Parliament with 3 representatives.

Who does ANCA support? Is Kamala Harris their candidate?

ANCA aims to influence American politicians, especially in areas densely populated by Armenians, through various methods like social media, websites, and in-person visits. Thus, U.S. presidential elections become a golden opportunity for organizations like ANCA.

As of 2021, there are over 450,000 Armenians in the U.S., with more than 150,000 residing in Los Angeles. Additionally, it’s known that nearly 15,000 Armenian-Americans live in places like Middlesex (Massachusetts), Fresno (California), Oakland, and Wayne (Michigan).

Considering these numbers represent only 0.134% of the American population, this population has a disproportionately large impact on American politics.

The disproportionate impact of ANCA’s influence on politicians is largely due to its organizational capacity. ANCA tracks and influences politicians according to main and sub-topics they identify, as they support other Armenian individuals in various fields.

Two core issues lie at the heart of ANCA’s and other Armenian lobby’s objectives: the Armenian Genocide Claims and the Nagorno-Karabakh Issue.

Armenian lobbying activities, which do not differentiate between Turkey and Azerbaijan on these issues, fundamentally influence politicians based on their stance on these topics, focusing on Turkey or Azerbaijan.

The most concrete example of this is the “rating system” on ANCA’s website.

In this system, Congress and Senate members are rated based on their stance and actions on issues related to Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, as well as their alignment with the “Congressional Armenian Caucus.” You can select your state, view your congressional member, and examine all their activities, social media accounts, and ratings over the years based on set criteria.

Some of the questions considered for this rating include:

• Did they sign the Armenian Protection Act (S.3000)?
• Did they sign the Armenian Genocide Education Act (S.1329)?
• Did they sign the congressional oversight decision (S.Res.540) on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan?
• Did they sign the Artsakh Blockade Resolution (S.Res.244)?
• Did they vote to block the sale of F-16s to Turkey? (S.J.Res.60)
• Did they sign the Whitehouse/Magaziner Letter demanding sanctions on Azerbaijan?
• Did they support sending security and refugee assistance to Armenia through the Bipartisan Padilla/Eshoo Letter?
• Did they sign the Bipartisan Markey/Pallone Letter calling for accountability from Azerbaijan ahead of COP29?
• Did they sign the Reed/Whitehouse Letter calling for substantial aid to Artsakh refugees?
• Did they issue a statement on April 24 commemorating the Armenian Genocide?

As seen, the issue involves not only historical events but also many current issues, such as Turkey’s F-16 acquisition, Azerbaijan’s military aid, and aid to Armenia. For members with an A or higher rating, the questions even go down to the micro-level of implementation.

Moreover, each congressional and senate member’s social media accounts are monitored to see if they post commemorative content, which is then noted at the bottom of the report card.

The Congressional Armenian Caucus, founded mainly by Democratic Party members in 1995 in the U.S. Congress, has over 100 members today.

The Caucus states that its main objectives are the independence of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, the acceptance of Armenian Genocide claims, and the development of U.S.-Armenia / U.S.-Nagorno-Karabakh relations.

Kamala Harris, who served as California Senator from 2017–2021, was born in Oakland and won over 60% of the votes in the November 2016 elections, winning in all but four districts.

Although she supported the genocide claims bill according to ANCA’s rating, her lack of involvement in blocking the sale of F-35s to Turkey, support for afforestation activities in Armenia and Haiti, and support for lifting the arms sale ban to Cyprus resulted in Harris receiving a B+ rating in 2018.

In 2020, Harris regularly made statements supporting genocide claims whenever related topics arose. She also supported efforts like recognizing Armenian Genocide claims and categorizing them correctly in the Library of Congress, which helped her achieve an A- rating with ANCA.

However, in the same report, ANCA criticized Harris for not supporting arms embargoes on Turkey and Azerbaijan and for not backing official condemnation letters, bringing these issues up during the presidential race.

Therefore, it would be inaccurate to call Kamala Harris the “candidate of the Armenian Lobby.” Compared to figures like Anna Eshoo from California, who has consistently received an A+ rating from 2018–2024, Harris, like some other Democrats, supports Armenian claims but ultimately acts in the interest of U.S. priorities.

You can read another article of mine for detailed information about April 24 in Turkish currently: https://fbasarkutlu.medium.com/ermeni-soyk%C4%B1r%C4%B1m-i%CC%87ddialar%C4%B1-adad7acf20b1