CENTER FOR GENOCIDE STUDIES CALLS ON SPEAKER PELOSI AND CHAIRMAN LANTOS TO ENSURE PASSAGE OF H. RES. 106

ArmRadio.am
26.04.2007 11:03

On the occasion of the 92nd Anniversary Commemorating the Armenian
Genocide, Dr. Samuel M. Edelman, Ph. D., Co-Director of the State
of California Center of Excellence for the Study of the Holocaust,
Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance, sent a letter, urging key Members
of the United States House of Representatives to ensure passage of
H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

Dr. Edelman addressed the letter to three Members in the House of
Representatives. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA-29), who authored
H. Res. 106, Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA-12), who is the Chairman
of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs where H. Res. 106 currently
sits, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-08).

The first letter, addressed to Speaker Pelosi asks that "[Speaker
Pelosi] support this resolution and, as Speaker of the House,
ensure its speedy passage by the U.S. House." The second letter,
addressed to Representative Schiff, thanks the Congressman for
authoring H. Res. 106, which is entitled " Affirmation of the United
States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution." The second letter,
addressed to Chairman Lantos, asks that "[Chairman Lantos] support this
resolution and, as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
ensure its passage by your committee and its speedy referral to
the House."

In each letter, Dr. Edelman notes the United States’ international
humanitarian relief effort in response to the Armenian Genocide and
that comparatively, this effort was one of the greatest relief efforts
of all time. Additionally , he discusses the gravity of the crime
of genocide and the United States’ historical record documenting the
Armenian Genocide which is "all the more poignant given the current
genocide in Darfur."

"These letters demonstrate that the California Center of Excellence
for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide stands in solidarity with
people of good conscience all over the world in calling the Armenian
Genocide what it is – the first genocide of the 20th Century,"
remarked Andrew Kzirian, Executive Director of the ANCA-WR. "As
Jefferson stated, ‘in matters of style, swim with the current; in
matters of principle, stand like a rock,’" he added.

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.