Armenian National Committee of Merrimack Valley
142 Liberty Street
Lowell, MA 01851
Tel: 978-772-9417
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
March 18, 2004
Contact: Joe Dagdigian
[email protected]
ANC OF MERRIMACK VALLEY STEPS UP OUTREACH
TO NEW HAMPSHIRE ARMENIAN AMERICANS
— Mailing to Armenian American Households Encourages Activists to Contact
Senators and Urge them to Cosponsor the Genocide Resolution
NASHUA, NH– The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Merrimack Valley
recently concluded a mailing to New Hampshire Armenian American households
encouraging them to contact Republican Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu
asking them to cosponsor S.Res.164, the Senate Genocide Resolution.
“While 37 US Senators have joined as cosponsors of Senate Resolution 164,
unfortunately, our two Senators–Judd Gregg and John Sununu–have yet to do
so,” stated ANC activist and New Hampshire resident Aram Jeknavorian. “We
are confident that with the increased involvement of the Armenian American
community in New Hampshire, the Senators will do what is right and support
this important human rights initiative.”
Senate Resolution 164 marks the 15th anniversary of the United States
implementation of the United Nations Genocide Convention, and calls on the
US to learn from the lessons of past genocides–including the Holocaust and
the Armenian, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides–to prevent future atrocities.
The Resolution specifically notes that despite the international community’s
consensus against genocide, “denial of past instances of genocide continues
and many thousands of innocent people continue to be victims of genocide.”
Its companion bill, H.Res.193, has 111 cosponsors and was unanimously
adopted by the House Judiciary Committee in May. The decision to bring
H.Res.193 to a vote on the House floor now rests with the senior House
leadership.
Support for these measures have been widespread, with a diverse coalition of
over 100 ethnic, religious, civil and human rights organizations calling for
its passage, including American Values, National Organization of Women, Sons
of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the National Council of La
Raza.
Currently all the US Senators from the New England region have signed on as
co-sponsors of S.Res.164, except the two senators from New Hampshire as well
as Lincoln Chafee, the Republican junior Senator from Rhode Island.
The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout
the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad
range of issues.
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