PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
September 10, 2004
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WORLD BEGINS TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE IN SUDAN
Yesterday (9/9), America’s secretary of state, Colin Powell, labeled as
“genocide” the ongoing violence and murder in the Darfur region of
Sudan. Powell’s remarks are the first time any international official
has directly accused another nation of perpetrating a current “genocide”
under the definition found in the United Nations Genocide Convention of
1948.
Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Powell said the
United States had been investigating the current state of terror in
Sudan, where the Arab Islamist government in Khartoum, through the
Janjaweed, an Arab militia it controls, has terrorized three African
tribes in the nation’s western Darfur province. The American team found
a pattern of planned violence and organized, horrific atrocities.
“[T]he evidence leads us to the conclusion that genocide has occurred
and may still be occurring in Darfur. We believe the evidence
corroborates the specific intent of the perpetrators to destroy ‘a group
in whole or in part’. This intent may be inferred from their deliberate
conduct.”
While applying unilateral economic sanctions against Sudan, America is
calling for the United Nations to get involved, and is calling for a
vote in the Security Council on a resolution supporting international
sanctions and the involvement of troops from the African Union, among
other measures.
While calling for sanctions against Sudan’s national government, the
American government and non-governmental organizations are providing
most of the humanitarian aid which is keeping Darfur’s 1.5 million
refugees alive.
(Source: National Review Online, 9/10/04)
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ARMENIAN CHURCH SENDS AID TO REFUGEES
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), has asked parishes to hold a special
collection this Sunday (9/12) that will be used to send aid to the
victims and refuges of the genocide in Sudan.
The donations will provide aid through Church World Service, the
international aid arm of the National Council of Churches (NCC), to
which the Armenian Church belongs. Working to draw attention to the
ongoing suffering in the Darfur region, Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan
legate, has spoken to NCC leaders about the lasting effects genocide can
have on a people.
Many of you have already donated to the relief effort online. We thank
you for standing up to help those in desperate need. If you haven’t
yet, please give either through your parish this Sunday or on-line,
through our safe and secure Internet server.
To read the Primate’s directive on the Sudanese genocide and for
information on how to give online, visit our website today:
;selmonth=8&sel
year=2004
(Source: Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/10/04)
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