Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont
Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: April 25, 2007
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Calls on Speaker Pelosi and
Chairman Lantos to Ensure Passage of H. Res. 106
— Center Thanks Congressman Schiff for Coauthoring H. Res. 106
Los Angeles, CA – On the occasion of the 92nd Anniversary Commemorating
the Armenian Genocide, The Armenian National Committee of America –
Western Region (ANCA-WR) welcomed a letter from 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, 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.
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