Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
September 28, 2007
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: [email protected]
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY CHALLENGES FORMER SECRETARIES OF STATE OPPOSITION TO
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
Washington DC – The Armenian Assembly of America responded to the
letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by eight former Secretaries
of State in opposition to H. Res. 106.
The Assembly’s response took issue with the ill-conceived letter,
calling it "inconsistent with the fundamentally tenets of American
values," and asked how many more excuses they could conjure up to
avoid the truth.
The Assembly letter also pointed out key facts that the former
Secretaries failed to discuss, including Turkey’s refusal to allow the
U.S. access to northern front at a critical stage in Operation Iraqi
Freedom, a refusal which cost American lives. The letter concluded as
follows: "Enough is enough. No more lies. No more deceit. No more
denial. By preventing a vote, you not only impede the democratic
process and do a great disservice to the 226 cosponsors and the
millions of Americans that support this resolution, but also
unwittingly encourage a campaign of denial. Is this the message we
want to teach future generations – it is permissible to deny
genocide."
In a related development, the Foreign Minister of Armenia also
responded and squarely addressed the false assertions in the
Secretaries’ letter, and reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment for
normalization of relations with Turkey. "Armenia has always been ready
for normal Turkey-Armenia relations. Yet, every initiative that would
lead toward normalization has been rejected by Turkey," Foreign
Minster Vartan Oskanian stated.
"The Armenian Assembly will continue to push for a concluding
affirmative vote on H. Res. 106 and urges the community to call upon
their Member of Congress to support the resolution today," said
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "We must not allow Turkish deniers
and whomever they line up to endorse their deceptions to succeed in
their attempt to derail affirmation of the Armenian Genocide,"
continued Ardouny.
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.
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NR#2007-112
Editors Note: Copies the Foreign Ministry Statement, the Secretaries
of State letter, and the text of the Armenian Assembly letter are
available on the Assembly’s website at the following links:
Foreign Ministry Statement:
/images/PRESS_RELEASES_2007/PDFs_for_releases/Fore ign_Ministry_Statement.pdf
Secretaries of State letter:
ages/PRESS_RELEASES_2007/PDFs_for_releases/Secreta ries_of_State_letter.pdf
Armenian Assembly letter:
ages/PRESS_RELEASES_2007/PDFs_for_releases/Assembl y_Challenges_Secretaries_of_State.pdf
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
