AAA AGAIN URGES U. S. CONGRESSMEN NOT TO GIVE IN TO PRESSURE FROM TURKISH GOVERNMENT

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 18 2007

October 17 the Armenian Assembly of America called upon House Members
not to give in to pressure from the government of Turkey, which is
opposed to an important and bi-partisan resolution that affirms the
Armenian Genocide. The call from the Assembly came as Congress and
President Bush met with the Dali Lama October 17 – despite intense
political and diplomatic pressure from China, which opposes the
U.S. having any relationship with Tibet.

"I truly hope that no Member of Congress is persuaded to jump ship
on such a critical vote as this simply because of some threats by a
foreign government," said Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny. "The government of Turkey and its million-dollar lobbyists
are effectively blackmailing the Congress and the government of the
United States. We should stand up to the threats and demand that
Turkey immediately cease its campaign of misinformation and threats."

Ardouny noted that the Bush Administration had decided to meet with
the Dali Lama in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, despite threats
and intense diplomatic and political pressure from the government
of China. "If we can stand up to China why on earth we are afraid of
standing up to Turkey," Ardouny said.

"The community commends House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for standing
strong in the face of such threats and for her willingness to bring
this long-delayed resolution to a vote before the full House. As she
said over the weekend, this resolution is long overdue and it’s time
for Congress to stand up and speak out forcefully on a human rights
issue that will reverberate for generations," added Ardouny.

To remind, the resolution, H.R. 106, is non-binding and has been
introduced in several previous sessions of Congress. It was approved
27-21 last week by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.