Armenian National Committee of America
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Tel: (202) 775-1918
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 3, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
SENATOR BURNS AGREES TO COSPONSOR GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
— Montana Republican Becomes 40th Senate
Supporter of Human Rights Measure
WASHINGTON, DC – Montana Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) agreed this
week to cosponsor the Genocide Resolution, S.Res.164, bringing the
number of U.S. Senators supporting this human rights measure to
forty, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“I am proud to join with 39 of my Senate colleagues in support of
S.Res.164,” said Senator Burns in a statement to the ANCA. “This
legislation stresses the importance of remembering and learning the
lessons of past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian
Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides,
in an effort to stop future atrocities. Silence in the face of
genocide only encourages those who would commit such atrocities in
the future – a legacy which we cannot afford to pass on to our
children.”
“Armenian Americans, in Montana and across the United States, join
in thanking Senator Burns for his principled stand in defense of
the fundamental right of all people to live free from the terrors
of genocide,” said ANCA-Western Region Executive Director Ardashes
Kassakhian, who traveled to Montana in late July to meet with
members of the state’s Congressional delegation, along with local
community activist Yedvart Tchakerian. “We have been very
encouraged, in recent months, by the increasing effectiveness of
our grassroots outreach in the Northern Plain states, with Senators
from Montana and both North and South Dakota supporting the
Genocide Resolution, and the governors of Idaho, Nebraska, and
Montana issuing proclamations commemorating the Armenian Genocide.”
The Genocide Resolution marks the 15th anniversary of the U.S.
implementation of the Genocide Convention and reaffirms the
commitment of the American people to this landmark treaty. It
specifically cites the importance of applying the lessons of past
genocides in order to make the world safe from future genocides.
Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced this
measure in June of last year. Its companion measure in the U.S.
House, H.Res.193, led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA),
Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted
unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee last May and currently
has 111 cosponsors. On July 15th, the U.S. House passed an
amendment, authored by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), which
prohibited the government of Turkey from using U.S. foreign aid
dollars to lobby against the Genocide Resolution.
Support for the Genocide Resolution has been widespread outside of
Congress as well, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic,
religious, civil and human rights organizations calling for its
passage, including American Values, National Organization of Women,
Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the National
Council of La Raza.
For information about Senator Burns, who serves on the powerful
Senate Appropriations Committee, visit: