NEW DRIVE FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION LAUNCHED
ArmInfo
2009-02-13 15:37:00
ArmInfo. Adam Schiff joined by George Radanovich and Armenian Caucus
Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk in Seeking Bipartisan Support
for Human Rights Measure
As Armenian National Committee of America [ANCA] reported, a letter
seeking U.S. House cosponsors for a renewed drive to secure the
adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution was circulated today on
Capitol Hill by the legislation’s lead authors, Congressman Adam Schiff
(D-CA) and George Radanovich (R-CA), and Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen
Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R-IL), reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).
"We join today with millions of Armenians throughout the United States,
in Armenia, and around the world in welcoming the launch of this new
drive toward U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "It’s always the right time
to take a stand against genocide. Now – with long-standing advocates
of this noble and necessary cause in the White House, leading the
State Department, serving in the Cabinet, heading up both Houses of
Congress, and chairing key Congressional committees – we are set to
overcome the final barriers to full and formal U.S. recognition of
the Armenian Genocide."
In the letter, the four legislators invited their House colleagues
to join the resolution as original cosponsors, which will mean
that they will be listed as supporters starting from the day of
its introduction. During the recently concluded 110th Congress, an
identical measure secured the support of 212 cosponsors, was adopted
by the Foreign Affairs Committee, but was eventually blocked from a
vote on the House floor by sustained attacks by then-President George
W. Bush and his Administration.
In urging early support for this human rights measure, the four
lead sponsors noted that, "By properly acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide, we reaffirm the willingness of the U.S. to speak plainly
about genocide, and renew our commitment to prevent other occurrences
of man’s inhumanity to man."
The Armenian Genocide Resolution reaffirms the U.S. record on
the Armenian Genocide by ensuring that the foreign policy of the
United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and
genocide documented in the United States record relating to the
Armenian Genocide.