COMMISSION NOT TOLERANT OF ADL STANCE; COMMISSION CONSIDERS LEAVING OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VIEW
By Dan Atkinson, Staff Writer
The Daily News of Newburyport, MA
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Aug 29 2007
NEWBURYPORT – The city Commission for Diversity and Tolerance can
only tolerate so much.
The commission will send a letter to the Anti-Defamation League stating
that it is "seriously considering" withdrawing from the ADL-sponsored
No Place For Hate program unless the league unambiguously acknowledges
the Armenian genocide and lobbies Congress to do the same.
The approval to send the letter was made at yesterday’s meeting
after several speakers encouraged the commission to cut its ties with
the ADL.
Police Lt. Richard Siemasko originally proposed suspending ties with
No Place For Hate, but the commission decided to wait and see how
the ADL continues to handle the controversy.
Chairwoman Beth Horne said the commission’s next meeting on Sept. 11
is not an official deadline for the ADL, but the panel will take up
withdrawal again at that time.
"We want to put some pressure on (the ADL)," Horne said.
Newburyport joins several other area communities in withdrawing or
threatening to withdraw from No Place For Hate. Earlier in the month,
Watertown withdrew from the tolerance-promoting program after a letter
to the local paper pointed out that the ADL does not recognize the
Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1924, in which Ottoman Turks killed more
than 1.5 million Armenians.
The town’s Armenian community protested and the director of the
Boston ADL chapter was fired after agreeing that his organization
should recognize the genocide.
After more outcry, national ADL director Abraham Foxman released
a statement saying the consequences of the Turks’ actions were
"tantamount to genocide" and Boston director Andrew Tarsy was
reinstated.
But many Americans of Armenian descent and their supporters say
Foxman did not fully acknowledge the genocide. They demand that
the ADL stop opposing legislation in Congress that would formally
recognize the genocide.
Watertown resident David Boyajian, the man who wrote the original
letter complaining of the ADL’s policy, came to yesterday’s meeting to
urge the commission to withdraw and show dissatisfaction with the ADL.
"Your breaking ties with them would put pressure on them from the
bottom up," he said.
Newburyport resident Judy Mouradian supported disassociating from No
Place For Hate. She said the ADL only backtracked as far as it did
because of public pressure, so Newburyport should keep the pressure
on. And the denial of one genocide could only encourage further
denials, she said.
"As an Armenian, I find it offensive," Mouradian said. "As an
American citizen, I find it really horrifying and it could negate
other atrocities."
Former City Councilor John Pramberg agreed and asked if the ADL
would treat the Holocaust as it does the Armenian genocide. He said
the commission does not need No Place For Hate to continue its own
mission of promoting tolerance.
"We don’t need this distraction," Pramberg said. "Your work can be
done without association with this group."
The goals of the commission, formed by city ordinance in 2005, include
raising awareness of diversity, providing anti-bias education and
promoting a welcoming community.
Unlike other communities, Horne said, Newburyport is not entirely
dependent on No Place For Hate for its tolerance efforts, although
No Place For Hate does supply materials.
She and other commission members praised the program but were dismayed
by the ADL’s stance, a position Horne outlined in a letter to the
organization last week. And although the commission rarely gets
involved in politics, it would have to support the congressional
resolution if it were going to call for the ADL to acknowledge the
genocide, said member Sam Szabo.
"We can’t debate one without the other," Szabo said.
Superintendent Kevin Lyons, the commission’s incoming school liaison,
did not vote on sending the letter but approved of its contents.
"We don’t want to be associated with (the ADL) if they don’t get
their act together," Lyons said.
The commission’s next meeting is Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. at the police
station. The panel will hear comments from the public at the beginning
of the meeting.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
