Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
E-mail: [email protected]
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PRESS 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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