Wilson’s Great-Great-Grandson Speaks in Glendale,
Calls for Restoration of Western Armenian Border 1

The day before President Obama met with Turkish President Gul, the Defense Council of Western Armenia hosted a meeting at the Glendale Central Library where speakers, including Woodrow Wilson’s great-great-grandson Donald Wilson Bush, called on President Barack Obama to reaffirm President Woodrow Wilson’s arbitration award, resulting from the Peace Treaty of Sevres, which gave the Armenian people 40,000 square miles of land in Western Armenia.

Michael Sosikian stated in his opening speech (from a printed translation):

We, as the Defense Council of Western Armenia, would like to remind all Armenians, including the administration of Armenia, not to consider the border between Turkish and Armenian lands to be the Akhurian river, but to be forceful about making it clear to everyone that the real border between the two countries is in accordance with Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920 arbitration award.

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Curator Jarod Kearney also spoke at Sunday’s event. Kearney said that Wilson’s articulation of the right to self-determination changed the framework of international relationships in the twentieth century. Wilson’s message spurred anti-colonial movements and calls for territorial integrity (which the Defense Council of Armenia is pursuing to this day).

Donald Wilson Bush, the last speaker, said that his ancestor was an idealistic Presbyterian schoolboy who grew up to become an educated man of faith. He admired Wilson’s dedication to peace, to sovereignty for Armenians and other oppressed populations, and to the creation of an international authority to which nations would have to answer.

“As the Armenian people know, not everyone studies world history anymore,” he said. Bush praised the persistence and commitment of Armenians who are continuing to pursue justice for their nation. “Like Woodrow Wilson, you face a complex world with reason, faith, and courage. Your story has become a living testimony to all peoples longing for perpetual peace.”

Bush said he would like to urge President Obama to call on the Turkish government for the return of territories rightfully belonging to the Republic of Armenia.