Armenian National Committee of America
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Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
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E-mail: anca@anca.org
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PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA REPRESENTS ARMENIAN AMERICANS AT
WHITE HOUSE RALLY AGAINST DARFUR GENOCIDE

— ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, Joins with Actor
Danny Glover, Congressman Donald Payne, and Africa Action
in Calling for U.S. Action to Stop the Genocide

WASHINGTON, DC – The voice of the Armenian Americans – and the
lessons of the Armenian Genocide – were heard this past week at a
White House rally organized by Africa Action against the genocide
in the Darfur region of Sudan, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian was joined in offering
remarks at the Lafayette Park rally by noted actor and activist
Danny Glover; Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), the author of the
Darfur Genocide Accountability Act; Salih Booker, the Executive
Director of Africa Action; John Prendergast of the International
Crisis Group; Yves Twagirayezu, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide
in 1994, and; Fatima Haroun, a Darfuri woman working with the Sudan
Peace Advocates Network.

In his remarks, Hamparian noted that “The Armenian people, victims
of the first genocide of the 20th century, are working – with the
American government and with our allies in Africa Action – to bring
an end to the first genocide of the 21st century.” He called on
those present to apply the lessons of the past – including the
indifference of the world to the Rwanda Genocide and the dangerous
precedent set by Turkey’s ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide –
to work for a U.S. foreign policy that actively prevents genocide
and punishes its perpetrators. “We must all organize – here in
Washington, DC and at the grassroots level around the nation – to
educate our elected officials that there can be no more vital U.S.
interest or important American value than preventing genocide.”

The rally, which was organized by Africa Action and attended by
several hundred activists, was held on the eve of the anniversary
of the Rwandan Genocide, in which 800,000 people were massacred in
less than 100 days. Each of the speakers called for decisive U.S.
and multilateral action to end the genocide. Among those
participating in the rally were members of the Darfurian community
in Washington D.C., students, members of religious communities, and
human rights activists.

Marie Clarke Brill, Director of Public Education & Mobilization at
Africa Action, said, “The White House has called the atrocities in
Darfur genocide and failed to take the action necessary to stop the
violence. Instead, the U.S. stands back with eyes wide shut and
answers the suffering with silence. That is unacceptable! We demand
that President Bush break his silence and do everything necessary
to move the UN Security Council to form a multinational
intervention force to protect the people of Darfur.”

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action added, “In a mere
100 days in 1994, 800,000 people were butchered in Rwanda and the
U.S. government did nothing. As we commemorate that sad event 11
years later, the same atrocities are taking place in Sudan, and the
President’s apathy again reveals a flagrant disregard for African
lives. This time we will not allow the White House to twiddle its
thumbs in the face of genocide.” Booker added, “Would the U.S.
government act in the same way if this were happening to white
people? Why should African lives be any less valuable?”

Up to 400,000 people have died in Darfur over the past two years,
and recent reports confirm that the security situation on the
ground is deteriorating, and the humanitarian crisis is reaching
desperate proportions. The ANCA supports Africa Action’s call on
the Bush Administration to do everything necessary to secure a U.N.
Security Council Resolution authorizing a multinational
intervention force to strengthen the efforts of the African Union
force on the ground and to stop the genocide in Darfur.

For more information:

To send a free ANCA WebFax protesting the Darfur Genocide:
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress