The Armenian Relief Society (ARS) on Friday issued an open letter to the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the Armenian Assembly calling for clarification over reports that the two organizations had sought the exclusion of the ARS from a scheduled meeting about the Armenia-Turkey Protocols with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a select group of Armenian American organizations.

“Two weeks ago, it was announced that the U.S. State Department had invited a select group of Armenian-American organizations to a meeting to discuss the Turkish-Armenian Protocols and related topics, leaving out several other organizations. On many occasions, the Armenian Relief Society, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its humanitarian work this year, has participated in discussions with the U.S. administration on matters of central importance to Armenians. Therefore, the ARS wrote an official letter to the State Department requesting, as the largest [Armenian] women’s organization in the U.S. and the Armenian Diaspora, to participate in the meeting,” reads the letter.

The ARS also says that “in the past few days, ARS was surprised to learn from the press that the AGBU leadership in the U.S. had expressed its opposition to the participation of the ARS in that meeting. The news was followed by a press release circulated by the Armenian Assembly — and bearing the signature of the AGBU as well — regarding the meeting with the State Department and Armenian-American representation with convoluted language.”

“In our letter addressed to the U.S. State Department, we did not ask to replace any organization and we did not make any allegations about any organization. It is our sincere hope that the reports about the position of the AGBU, the positions expressed on its behalf, and the attributions made to the AGBU regarding the steps it has taken, are untrue. We hope that it will become clear that this episode is nothing more than an effort by non-Armenian circles to impose the ratification of the protocols on the Armenians and Armenia, and to sow divisions among Armenian-Americans on the eve of the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. We also hope that the necessary corrections will ensue,” conclude the authors.

Hillary Clinton was to meet with Armenian-American lobby groups on February 9; however, the meeting has been postponed with no fixed date. The State Department cited the snow storm that hit Washington, D.C., as the primary reason.