Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts
47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472
Contact: Ara Nazarian
Phone: 617.650.1224
Email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
MASSACHUSETTS HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION LAUNCHES ONLINE CAMPAIGN FOR
U.S. RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
congress_to_recognize_the_armenian_genocide
— Armenian and Jewish Community Leaders Team up with Anti-Genocide
Groups to Urge President Obama and Congress to End U.S. Complicity in
Turkey’s Genocide Denial
— Coalition Describes "Historical Commission" as a Turkish "Ploy" to
Advance Ankara’s Denial
BOSTON, MA – A broad coalition of Boston-area Jewish and Armenian
groups and community members launched a campaign this week urging
U.S. officials to
stand up to Turkey’s multi-million dollar campaign of genocide denial,
specifically calling on Congress and President Obama to officially
recognize the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National
Committee of Massachusetts (ANC-MA).
The Coalition to Recognize the Armenian Genocide’s online petition
declares, "We believe universal human rights and historical truth must
guide American foreign policy."
"This initiative is important because it demonstrates how on a
grassroots level, in both the Jewish and Armenian communities, there
is a demand for justice for the Armenian Genocide," said ANC member
and coalition co-chair Laura Boghosian. "It is vital that the powerful
in Washington, whether they are in the State Department or in lobbying
organizations, realize that they
will be called to task when they sacrifice principle and historical
truth for political expediency."
The online petition, hosted on change.org<; – a
prominent activism portal created following the election of President
Obama – provides a simple form to take action, as well as a link to
resources and background on the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s denial of
that crime against humanity, and why denial of the Armenian Genocide
endangers everyone.
The petition’s letter to members of Congress and President Obama
states, "As we confront the specter of genocide and its denial in the
21st century, our government has a duty to ensure that the lessons of
the past are not forgotten. The time is long overdue for the United
States to stand up to Turkish pressure and join the 43 individual
U.S. states and numerous countries
and international bodies that have affirmed the Armenian Genocide."
The campaign calls special attention to international condemnation of
Turkey’s calls for a "historical commission" regarding the Armenian
Genocide – most recently incorporated in the Turkey-Armenia Protocols.
Genocide scholars have long expressed skepticism about any initiative
calling for a "historical commission."
"Because Turkey has denied the Armenian Genocide for the past nine
decades, and currently under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code,
public affirmation of the genocide is a crime, it would seem
impossible for Turkey to be part of a process that would assess
whether or not Turkey committed a genocide against the Armenians in
1915. Outside of your government, there is no
doubt about the facts of the Armenian Genocide, therefore our concern
is that your demand for a historical commission is a political sleight
of hand designed to deny those facts," noted a November 2009 letter
signed by seven
former presidents of the International Association of Genocide
Scholars (Helen Fein, Roger W. Smith, Frank Chalk, Joyce Apsel, Robert
Melson, Israel W. Charny, and Gregory Stanton).
The coalition is an outgrowth of a dialogue between members of the
Boston-area Jewish and Armenian communities that was initiated by
Rabbi Howard L. Jaffe of Temple Isaiah, Lexington, Massachusetts, in
reaction to the Anti-Defamation League’s lobbying for the Turkish
government against affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. Rabbi Jaffe
first advocated recognition of the Armenian Genocide in October 2007,
when he told the New York Times that he must do what is "right and
righteous." In 2008, he co-authored an article with Boghosian that
condemned the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) lobbying and called upon
the Jewish community to join in efforts to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. He also invited the local Armenian community to participate
in a joint Genocide-Holocaust commemoration at the temple, inviting
Dr. Richard Hovannisian to speak on the parallels between the Armenian
Genocide and the Holocaust.
Joining Rabbi Jaffe and Ms. Boghosian on the steering committee of the
dialogue group were Rabbis Ronne Friedman and Elaine Zecher of Temple
Israel in Boston, ANC member Dikran Kaligian, and Temple Isaiah
members Howard Cohen and Alan Millner.
Individuals and activists representing a impressive collection of
Boston-area anti-genocide and community organizations signed on and
participated in
dialogue meetings over the past year.
The effort was supported by the Armenian National Committee of
Massachusetts (ANC-MA), the Armenian American Action Committee of
Massachusetts (ARAMAC-MA) and Investors Against Genocide, a
broad-based coalition formed as a result of the grassroots "No Place
for Denial" campaign spotlighting the ADL’s denial of the Armenian
Genocide. Although the ADL has stated that the death of 1.5 million
Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government was "tantamount to
genocide," it continues to aggressively lobby against U.S. affirmation
of that crime against humanity. Complete details of the campaign can
be viewed a ;http://www.noplaceford enial.org/>
To sign the petition, visit:
gress_to_recognize_the_armenian_genocide
To learn more about the initiative and the Armenian Genocide, visit:
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