ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY MOURNS LOSS OF ILLINOIS CONGRESSMAN HENRY HYDE
armradio.am
30.11.2007 10:43
The Armenian Assembly of America mourns the loss of former Congressman
Henry J. Hyde (R-IL), an advocate for U.S. reaffirmation of the
Armenian Genocide, who believed that recognition of the truth was in
the best interest of the United States, Turkey and Armenia.
In September 2005, the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 316)
was overwhelmingly approved by the influential House International
Relations Committee thanks in part to strong support from Committee
Chairman Hyde. The resolution called upon the President "to accurately
characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000
Armenians as genocide."
"The argument has been made that these resolutions, if adopted, will
be harmful to [the] interests [of the United States] by undermining
our relationship with Turkey, which all acknowledge to be one of
our allies….But I do not believe that these resolutions will harm
that relationship," Hyde said. "They merely recognize the fact that
the authorities of the Ottoman Empire deliberately slaughtered the
majority of the Armenian community in that empire. Denial of that fact
cannot be justified on the basis of expediency or fear that speaking
the truth will do us harm."
"I believe it is in the interest of the United States and of Turkey
and Armenia both that we take the lead in dealing with this paralyzing
legacy.
And we must start with the truth," he added. "For there is no
possibility that this problem can ever be overcome if we seek to
ground any solution on silence and forgetting."
"Congressman Hyde clearly recognized that Turkey’s ongoing denial
campaign in this day and age is both inexplicable and unacceptable,"
said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly. "He
understood that remembrance and recognition of this fact of
world history would go a long way in preventing the recurrence of
genocide. Congressman Hyde’s passing is a great loss. We extend our
sympathies to his family and friends."
In 2003, when the International Relations Committee considered
President Bush’s Millennium Challenge Account, Chairman Hyde championed
the new foreign assistance program saying, "we should embrace the idea
of increasing U.S. economic assistance but only to those countries
that demonstrate a commitment to human rights, democratic ideals and
practices, and investment in people." That same year, he spearheaded
legislation establishing the government-to-government assistance
program. Armenia became one of the first of 16 countries to qualify
and later receive a five-year, $235 million grant from the Millennium
Challenge Corporation.
In response to the acute shortage of food, medical supplies and fuel in
Armenia in the early 1990s, Congressman Hyde joined his congressional
colleagues in urging Secretary of State Warren Christopher to take
the necessary steps to address the grave situation. The congressional
appeal urged the Administration to increase U.S. assistance, press
the government of Turkey to provide reliable transit route for
humanitarian supplies to Armenia and increase U.S. efforts to end
the Azeri blockade so that vital humanitarian assistance and energy
can flow unimpeded to the Armenian people.