U.S. CAN BECOME A STATE DENYING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ALONG WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2007 18:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The problem is in Turkey, which is afraid of its
own history. But the failure to recognize and condemn the Armenian
Genocide was followed by the Holocaust, massacres in Cambodia and
Darfur…" AAA Country Director for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh,
Arpi Vartanian said in an interview with PanARMENIAN. Net.

"Some say ‘leave it to the historians’. Well, first of all, history
has documented what took place. Rafael Lemkin used the events of 1915
as a basis for coining the term ‘genocide’. Numerous historians and
scholars, including genocide scholars have called this ‘genocide’
If the Armenian Genocide is not recognized, then must we go back
to the 1940s and deny Lemkin’s words, no longer recognize the word
genocide (because it was a word created, based on an event that did
not exist?)" she said

"The AAA, in fact, the entire Armenian-American community, is being
mobilized to aggressively combat this attack by Turkey. We are urging
all of our supporters to work even harder to counter Turkey’s campaign
of denial. No vote is being taken for granted and all supporters of
H.Res.106 are urged to once again contact their representatives, write
letters to various media to express their hope that the U.S. will not
succumb to Turkish blackmail and threats, to make sure that Members
understand this is about affirming the U.S. record, affirming and
recognizing the genocide, and that there is no ‘right time.’ If
the U.S. House of Representatives votes down the Armenian Genocide
resolution, it will mean that it joins Turkey’s denial campaign."

She said, "One of my favorite quotes follows:

"First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because
I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t
a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I
was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to
speak up for me."

Martin Niemoller, German pastor and a Nazi regime dissident, 1946."