Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Tel: 818-500-1918
Fax: 818-246-7353
Email: ancawr@anca.org
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ANC-PAC Confers With U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden
June 25, 2007
Los Angeles, CA – Supporters of the Armenian National Committee –
Political Action Committee met with Senator Joseph Biden on Sunday, June 24th
in Los Angeles, California to discuss foreign policy issues important to the
large Armenian American community in the Golden State. Senator Biden, who is
the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced in January
of this year on "Meet the Press" that he would seek the Democratic Party’s
nomination for President.
"Senator Biden has a long and distinguished career on issues important to
our community," remarked ANC-PAC supporter Zanku Armenian. "From introducing
an Armenian Genocide resolution in the U.S. Senate with Bob Dole over a
decade ago, to today, Senator Biden continues to understand Armenia’s
strategic value and the need to honestly address the facts of the genocide
and its ongoing denial. As part of his longstanding commitment to important
human rights issues, we are looking for Senator Biden to promptly hold a
markup of the Armenian Genocide resolution which has been referred for action
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he chairs," Armenian added.
In an a conversation with the Los Angeles Times editorial board earlier
this year, Senator Biden explained his support for legislation pending in the
U.S. Senate (S.Res.106) on the Armenian Genocide. " it’s [genocide
resolution] been reintroduced again by [Senator] Durbin, and I support it,"
Senator Biden explained. "And the reason is simple. I have found in my
experience that you cannot have a solid relationship with a country based on
fiction. It occurred. It occurred." Also in this editorial meeting, Biden
addressed the ongoing campaign of denial by the Turkish Government. "And to
continue with this fiction that it [the Armenian Genocide] never occurred —
let’s shove it down their [Armenians] throats, that it never occurred —
means that you never get to the place where you have a relationship [with
Turkey] based on a factual set of norms. And they’ve [Republic of Turkey] got
to get over it," the Senator emphasized.
In the 2nd session of the 101st session of Congress in 1989, Senator Biden
joined Senator Bob Dole of Kansas in fighting to pass S.J.Res.212. That
measure sought to designate April 24, 1990 as a National Day of Remembrance
of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.
Despite a coordinated effort by Senators Dole and Biden, S.J.Res.212 was
defeated on a procedural vote after pressure from the White House and the
Turkish Government led some Senators to withdraw their support for the human
rights measure.
The ANC-PAC is a non-partisan federally registered political action
committee established to support campaign committees for Members of Congress
who share the values of the Armenian American community. The ANC-PAC is at
the forefront of efforts to ensure that the voice of the Armenian American
community is clearly heard in our nation’s capital. The ANC-PAC continues a
century old tradition of Armenian Americans engagement on the public policy
issues facing national political leaders, both in the U.S. Congress and the
White House.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress