Armenian National Committee of Wisconsin
4100 N. Newman Road
Racine, WI 53406
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
August 4, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: A. Zohrab Khaligian
[email protected]
ANC OF WISCONSIN ENDORSES SENATOR RUSS FEINGOLD
RACINE, WI–The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Wisconsin is proud to
announce their endorsement of Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) for
reelection to the United States Senate.
“In his two terms in office, Senator Feingold has demonstrated to be a
strong advocate of Armenian-American issues,” stated ANC of Wisconsin
representative Zohrab Khaligian, “which is evident by his support of many
Armenian-related initiatives before the local Armenian community even
contacts him.”
“Additionally, Senator Feingold’s offices in Washington, DC and Wisconsin
maintain regular contact with the Armenian National Committee to ensure the
Senators’ continued support of Armenian-American initiatives,” continued
Khaligian.
The following is a brief look at Senator Feingold’s recent record on
Armenian issues:
* On June 12, 2003, he co-sponsored S.Res.164, which marks the 15th
anniversary of the US implementation of UN Genocide Convention, and calls on
the United States to learn from the lessons of past genocides–including the
Holocaust and the Armenian, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides–to prevent
future atrocities.
* On January 27, 2004, Senator Feingold joined Senators Barbara Boxer
(D-CA), George Allen (R-VA), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), John Kerry (D-MA), and Paul
Sarbanes (D-MD) in co-signing a letter encouraging President Bush to renew
his call for Turkey to immediately lift its decade-long blockade of Armenia.
This letter was sent in anticipation of a meeting at the White House between
President George W. Bush and visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
* On April 20, 2004, Senator Feingold sent a statement to be read at the
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at the Wisconsin State Capitol. This
year’s statement read:
“Today, we remember the Armenian men, women and children who lost their
lives during the Armenian genocide. 89 years ago between 1915 and 1923, the
Ottoman Empire undertook a policy to isolate, exile and eliminate the
Armenian population. One and a half million Armenians were systematically
murdered in this campaign. Hundreds of thousands more were forced to flee
their homes.
The Armenian genocide must not be denied or forgotten. We have an
obligation to remember and remind others of the horror that occurred. As
seen by the killings in Bosnia, Kosovo and Rwanda over the past decade,
targeting people for their ethnicity is still a frequent occurrence. Its
repetition demands that we speak out and inform others in order to prevent
future atrocities . . .”
* On April 23, 2004, Senator Feingold joined 21 of his Senate colleagues in
cosigning a letter to the President Bush, which urged him to characterize
the Armenian Genocide as “genocide” in his annual commemorative statement.
* On April 27, 2004, Senator Feingold submitted a statement to the United
States Senate in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. This year’s
statement read:
“People around the world are joining together to solemnly remember and honor
the men, women and children who perished in the Armenian genocide. 89 years
ago, one and a half million Armenians were systematically massacred at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire . . .
Throughout the 20th century, the international community failed to acts as
governments in Germany, Yugoslavia and Rwanda attempted to methodically
eliminate people because of their religion and ethnicity. Minority groups
were abandoned by the international community in each instance to be
overwhelmed by violence and despair. In Armenia, as in Rwanda and the
Holocaust, the perpetrating governments scapegoated their minority groups
for the difficulties they faced as societies. They justified their
campaigns of hatred with political and economic reasons in an attempt to
rationalize their depravity.
This is why we must remember the Armenian genocide. To forget it is to
enable more genocides and ethnic cleansing to occur . . .
In the shadow of the Holocaust, in 1948, the United Nations adopted the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide . . .
The Convention required its parties to create domestic legislation to hold
perpetrators of genocide accountable for their actions and to place these
perpetrators before domestic courts or international tribunals.
The international community has a long way to go in punishing and
especially, preventing genocide. But we have made the first steps. As we
move forward, we must learn the lessons of Armenia’s genocide. Can we
recognize the rhetorical veils of murderous leaders, thrown up to disguise
the agenda at hand? Have we, the international community, learned that we
must not stand by, paralyzed, as horrors occur, but to work collectively to
prevent and stop genocides from occurring? We owe the victims of the
Armenian genocide this commitment.”
“We are truly fortunate to be represented by Senator Feingold and we
encourage every Wisconsin Armenian American to support the Senator so he may
continue to be our advocate in Washington,” concluded Khaligian.
Russ Feingold began his political career in 1982, when at the age of 29 he
was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate representing the 27th District.
In 1992, after two successful reelection campaigns for State Senate,
Feingold defeated two-term incumbent Senator Robert Kasten to represent
Wisconsin in the United States Senate. Currently he is vying for his third
term in the US Senate.
The Armenian National Committee is the largest Armenian American grassroots
political organization in Wisconsin and nationwide. The ANC actively
advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian American
community.