DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 11 2007
FORMER U.S. HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER CLOSED A MAJOR DEAL TO SERVE AS A
FOREIGN AGENT FOR THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT
Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, who recently closed
a major deal to serve as a foreign agent for the Turkish government,
has already begun lobbying on behalf of his new client against the
very same Armenian Genocide Resolution that he once vigorously
supported while a Member of Congress, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
Gephardt’s sharp departure from his principled stand for Armenian
Genocide recognition was highlighted this week in a Dear Colleague
letter circulated to all Members of Congress by Representatives Frank
Pallone (D-NJ), the Co-Chairman of the Armenian Caucus, Adam
Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the only Armenian American serving in the U.S.
Congress. In their letter, they wrote: "Former Majority Leader Dick
Gephardt (D-MO) is now employed by the Turkish government to dissuade
Members of Congress from supporting H.Res.106, the Armenian Genocide
Resolution. But in 2000, as a Member of Congress, he wrote to Speaker
Hastert urging immediate floor consideration of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution, claiming ‘this issue requires little if any additional
deliberation by the House.’
"Armenian Americans appreciate Representatives Eshoo, Schiff and
Pallone alerting their colleagues that the same Dick Gephardt, who is
now on the Turkish government’s payroll, was – during his long tenure
as an elected official – a principled supporter of the Armenian
Genocide Resolution," said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director.
"We are all saddened by the spectacle of Dick Gephardt – for the
price of a lobbying contract – publicly compromising his
own integrity and, even worse, seeking to prevent a broad, bipartisan
Congressional majority from voting on this long overdue human rights
legislation in order to appease Turkish threats."
As noted in the Dear Colleague letter, in September of 2000, Gephardt
joined with Sam Gejdensen, the Ranking Democrat on the International
Relations Committee, and Frank Pallone in urging the Speaker at the
time, Dennis Hastert (R-IL), to schedule an "immediate" vote on the
Armenian Genocide Resolution. The three legislators stressed,
"Armenian Americans communities throughout the nation have waited
long enough for the Congress to recognize the horrible genocide
endured by many of their predecessors."
As a member of the House, Gephardt cosponsored legislation
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, as recently as H.Res.193 in 2003,
and dating all the way back to H.J.Res.192, more than 20 years ago,
during the 99th Congress. In 1998, he offered remarks at the ANCA
Armenian Genocide Observance on Capitol Hill.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
