Armenian National Committee of America
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Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA ADVOCATES FOR ARMENIAN AMERICANS
IN ETHNIC ROUNDTABLE WITH AMB. HOLBROOKE
— Leading Advisor to Kerry-Edwards Campaign
Welcomes Dialogue with Ethnic Leadership
WASHINGTON, DC – ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian participated this past
week, along with fifty of America’s ethnic community leaders, in a
policy roundtable featuring Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, a senior
advisor to the Kerry-Edwards campaign and a leading candidate for
Secretary of State in the event of a Democratic victory this
November.
The private policy discussion was held on Thursday, October 7th in
Cleveland, Ohio. Topics ranged from a general review of ethnic
priorities to specific issues of concern to individual communities.
A consistent theme raised by each of the groups was that the Bush
Administration has failed to meaningfully engage America’s ethnic
leadership or to seek out their special insights during the
formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy.
Speaking to concerns raised by the ANCA delegation, Amb. Holbrooke
stressed that Senator Kerry’s “friendship for Armenia goes back a
long way. It’s well established. He understands the issues. He’s
taken a very strong stance on Nagorno-Karabakh, on aid, on
recognition of the Genocide, ending the blockades of Armenia.
There is a very clear cut difference between the two candidates.”
More broadly, the Ambassador noted that ethnic Americans “should
make a determination as to which candidate cares more about the
issues of Central Europe, including Macedonia, Armenia, and the
other issues that we discussed today. Without exception, the
Democrats are going to do more. All of you in this room know that
. . . It’s just not a close contest here.” He added that, “You
can’t represent the United States overseas if you don’t listen to
the people of the United States. . . John Kerry and anybody he
appoints to senior jobs I don’t know who he will appoint – but he
will listen to you all.”
“We welcomed this opportunity to represent the concerns of the
Armenian American community in this roundtable meeting of the
leaders of our nation’s ethnic communities,” said ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian. “Speaking to this group, Ambassador Holbrooke – a
veteran foreign policy expert who has served at the highest levels
of the State Department – highlighted Senator Kerry’s strong
support for Armenian issues – including the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. We were, of course, gratified by these remarks,
as well as by his clearly articulated expectation that a Kerry-
Edwards Administration would pro-actively seek the unique input and
special insights of ethnic Americans on the often complex foreign
policy issues facing our nation.”
Richard Holbrooke served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
in the Clinton Administration. He was also an Assistant Secretary
of State and a special envoy to Bosnia and Kosovo. In this latter
capacity he helped negotiate the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. He
was introduced at the roundtable by his wife, Kati Marton, who
serves as the Chairwoman of the International Women’s Health
Coalition.
In addition to the Armenian American delegation, which included
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian and two leaders of the Ohio
Armenian community, were leaders from organizations representing
Albanian Americans, Arab Americans, Byelorussian Americans,
Croatian Americans, Czech Americans, Greek Americans, Hungarian
Americans, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Lithuanian
Americans, Muslim Americans, Polish Americans, Portuguese
Americans, Romanian Americans, Serbian Americans, Slovak Americans,
Slovene Americans, Ukrainian Americans, and Vietnamese Americans.
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