Armenian National Committee of Washington State
c/o Armen Abrahamian, Chair
Bellevue, WA 98008
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 5, 2007
Contact: Armen Abrahamian
Email: (818) 500-1918
ANC of Washington State Reaches Out to Congressman Reichert
MERCER ISLAND, WA – The Armenian National Committee of Washington State
(ANC WA) organized a district office meeting with Gwen Fraser, a staff
member of Representative Dave Reichert, on Friday, March 16 in
Reichert’s Mercer Island office. In attendance were constituents Aida
Kouyoumjian, Charlotte Avedian, Armen Abrahamian and ANC of WA Chairman,
Vacheh Haghnazarian.
Congressman Reichert serves as Representative from the Eighth
Congressional District of Washington. As a Representative, he serves on
three committees: Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure
and Science and Technology. Reichert has a leadership role in the
Committee on Homeland Security, and serves as the Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk
Assessment.
The meeting began with introductions and backgrounds on the Puget Sound
area Armenian community and the work and goals of the Armenian National
Committee of America as a whole. The constituents then discussed
previous Armenian Genocide resolutions and reviewed the status of the
current resolution, H.Res.106, with Fraser.
Haghnazarian and the meeting participants noted that several countries
have appropriately affirmed the Armenian Genocide despite threats by the
Turkish Government. They also noted military, economic, and political
ties with France were not irrevocably damaged following France’s
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and that bilateral economic
relations between the two have increased since then.
Abrahamian noted that Rafael Lemkin, the author of the UN Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, coined the term "genocide" to
describe what happened to the Armenians. He also referred Fraser to a
letter written earlier this month by the International Association of
Genocide Scholars in which the association urges members of Congress to
co-sponsor H.Res.106 as a means of confronting Armenian Genocide denial.
"It was important to meet with Representative Reichert’s office because
we wanted to ensure that our representatives are aware of the strong and
vibrant Armenian-American community in the Seattle area," stated
Abrahamian. "Hopefully through this kind of outreach, we will engage
more Armenian Americans in the political process and especially gain
support for H. Res. 106," he added.
The following week ANCA-Western Region Executive Director, Andrew
Kzirian met with Kim Trinh, Congressman Reichert’s foreign affairs aide
during the ANCA’s "End the Cycle of Genocide" advocacy campaign in
Washington, D.C which was hosted in collaboration with the Genocide
Intervention Network. Kzirian updated Trinh regarding the resolution
co-sponsorship and thanked the Congressman’s office for meeting with his
constituents in Washington State. "These meetings emphasize the
grassroots effort by the Armenian American community to inform elected
officials about issues of key concern to us," noted Kzirian.
The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working
in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the
world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
community on a broad range of issues.
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