Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: anca@anca.org
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PRESS RELEASE
September 15, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE OVERWHELMINGLY ADOPTS
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LEGISLATION

— International Relations Committee Chairman and Ranking Democrat
Lead Strong Bipartisan Majority in Approving H.Res.316 and
H.Con.Res.195

— Passage Comes Despite the Strident Opposition from Turkish
Embassy, The Livingston Group, and American Turkish Council

WASHINGTON, DC – Following almost three hours of remarks by a
bipartisan group of 24 Members of Congress, the House International
Relations Committee, today, voted in favor of two measures calling
for proper U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide and urging
Turkey to end its decades long denial of this crime against
humanity, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA). The votes clear yet another hurdle toward full House
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

“We are very gratified by the House International Relations
Committee’s broad bipartisan support for today’s action towards
U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” stated ANCA Chairman
Ken Hachikian. “The Armenian American community deeply appreciates
the leadership of Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam
Schiff (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and
the support of all our friends on the panel. As we work to build
on the Committee’s favorable action, we look to Speaker Hastert to
honor his pledge and to schedule a full floor vote on Armenian
Genocide legislation at the earliest opportunity.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, a lead cosponsor of H.Res.316 and author of
H.Con.Res.195 opened the Committee’s discourse on both resolutions.
Commenting on Turkey’s ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide,
Rep. Schiff stated, “Ankara’s behavior is as inexplicable as it is
shameful. Turkey bears responsibility for its decades of denial and
for compounding the suffering of the Armenian people by attempting
to blame the victims for the crime.” Rep. Schiff also recognized
three Armenian Genocide survivors — Mrs. Rose Baboyan, Yeretzgeen
Sirarpi Khoyan and Mrs. Lusazine Tatarian — whose presence at the
hearing was arranged by the ANC Washington DC chapter.

In his concluding remarks, Chairman Hyde responded to arguments
that passage of the Genocide resolutions could potentially harm
U.S. – Turkey relations. While noting that, “I very much believe
the [U.S.-Turkey] relationship is of great importance to us,” Rep.
Hyde stated, “I don’t believe that these resolutions will harm that
relationship. They merely recognize the fact that the authorities
of the Ottoman Empire deliberately slaughtered the majority of the
Armenian community in that Empire.” Rep. Hyde went on to note that
“denial of that fact cannot be justified on the basis of expediency
or fear that speaking the truth will do us harm.”

In all, twenty-four Members of the International Relations
Committee spoke on the measures, with twenty-one voicing support
for Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide and three
speaking against. The speakers represented a broad bi-partisan
spectrum of the Committee, with 15 democrats and 9 Republicans
voicing their positions on the issue. Both H.Res.316 and
H.Con.Res.195 were adopted by overwhelming margins of 40 to 7 and
35 to 11, respectively. The complete vote tallies will be provided
on the Armenian National Committee of America website —

Following passage of the measures, Representatives Radanovich,
Schiff, Pallone and Knollenberg hailed the Committee’s overwhelming
approval of the legislation. Rep. Radanovich noted, “The U.S.
National Archives is replete with thousands of pages documenting
the premeditated extermination of the Armenian people. As the
Armenian Genocide was being committed, the United States launched
an unprecedented diplomatic, political, and humanitarian struggle
to end the carnage and protect the survivors.” Rep. Radanovich
continued, noting that “I appreciate the bipartisan support for
this resolution [H.Res.316], which properly acknowledges the
Armenian Genocide, reaffirms the proud and groundbreaking chapter
in U.S. history to halt the Genocide, and renews our commitment to
preventing other occurrences of man’s inhumanity to man.”

“This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,”
stated Rep. Schiff. “We are working to ensure our country
recognizes this terrible tragedy while some of the victims are
still alive, including the three brave survivors here today.”

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone stated “Today
the House International Relations Committee moved this Congress one
step closer to finally recognizing the atrocious acts inflicted by
the Ottoman Turks on the Armenian people. It is now up to Speaker
Hastert to realize the importance of this legislation, and finally
allow a floor vote. I continue to believe that if the entire House
has an opportunity to vote on recognizing the Armenian Genocide,
the truth will win out and American recognition will finally
occur.”

Rep. Knollenberg echoed these remarks, noting that, “this
legislation will show the world that America is not going to forget
this horrible crime. The victims of the Genocide and their
families deserve to have the crime recognized for the atrocity that
it was. The committee’s action today – and hopefully the approval
of the full House soon – will help make sure that this terrible
offense is never forgotten.”

H.Res.316, which was introduced 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),
calls upon the President to ensure U.S. foreign policy reflects
appropriate understanding of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution
includes thirty detailed findings from past U.S. hearings,
resolutions and Presidential statements, as well as references to
statements by international bodies and organizations. As of today,
a bipartisan group of over 140 Representatives have already pledged
their support for the measure.

H.Con.Res.195, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff and cosponsored by
over eighty Representatives, was offered following direct
negotiations with House International Relations Committee Chairman
Henry Hyde (R-IL). The Chairman agreed to Committee-level
consideration of Armenian Genocide legislation in return for Rep.
Schiff tabling a planned June 8th Armenian Genocide amendment to
the House Foreign Relations Authorization bill. The agreement
addressed serious concerns on the part of the Administration and
Congressional leaders that the Schiff Amendment – which had strong
prospects of passing – would overshadow the White House meeting,
held that same day, between President Bush and Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan. This measure calls on Turkey to abandon its
ongoing campaign of Armenian Genocide denial and to work with
Armenia to come to terms with its tragic history.

TURKISH GOVERNMENT/STATE DEPARTMENT OPPOSITION MOUNTS IN DAYS
LEADING UP TO COMMITTEE VOTE

The Turkish Ambassador Faruk Logoglu and his lobbyists – including
the Livingston Group – actively made the rounds to members of the
International Relations Committee, seeking to block any action on
U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. As part of this
effort, the Livingston Group distributed a four-page genocide-
denial document to Congressional offices. During the mark up,
former Congressmen Livingston and Stephen Solarz and their team of
lobbyists, were actively seeking to defeat these measures.

Earlier this week, American Turkish Council Chairman, former
National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft warned Speaker Dennis
Hastert that even the discussion of the Armenian Genocide on the
floor of the U.S. House would be “counter-productive to the
interests of the United States.” In his September 12th letter,
Scowcroft, speaking on behalf of the corporate members of the ATC,
accused Congressional supporters of Armenian Genocide legislation
(H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195) of trying to “pull Turkey away from
the West.” He stressed that: “The careless use of genocide language
provides and excuse to do so, delivering a direct blow to American
interests in the region.”

The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) also urged
Committee members to oppose the measures, arguing that, “disputes
over history, such as the Ottoman Armenian Tragedy, should be
resolved by open and rigorous historical and legal scholarship, not
political resolutions.” In an unusual development, the ATAA urged
their supporters to actually use the ANCA website and its powerful
WebFax capabilities to attempt the defeat of the measures. The
ANCA blocked all efforts along these lines.

Both the ATC and ATAA have come under scrutiny in recent weeks as
the result of a 10-page story in Vanity Fair detailing FBI
whistleblower Sibel Edmond’s reports that it’s officials were
involved in illegal efforts to defeat Armenian Genocide legislation
in the fall of 2000. According to the article by contributing
editor David Rose, Edmonds claimed FBI wiretaps – including those
of the Turkish Embassy and Turkish groups such as the American
Turkish Council (ATC) and the Assembly of Turkish American
Associations (ATAA) – reveal that the Turkish government and its
allies boasted of bribing members of Congress as part of an alleged
deal to stop consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

During the mark-up, lead opponent to the measure, Indiana
Republican Dan Burton, called attention to a September 15th letter
to Committee Chairman Hyde, expressing the State Department’s
opposition to the measures. The letter noted that, “House floor
debate on an Armenia resolution could damage U.S.-Turkish relations
and could undermine progress by Ankara and Yerevan as they begin
quiet talks to address the issue and look to the future.”

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