Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email.anca@anca.org
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PRESS RELEASE
October 24, 2007

Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER CHALLENGES RICE’S
OPPOSITION TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

— Rohrabacher: "This vote was a human rights vote
and a recognition of a violation of human rights"

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) today
challenged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the
Administration’s efforts to press legislators to oppose the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

Speaking today during the Secretary’s appearance before the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, Rohrabacher, a senior Republican with a
long track-record championing human rights, explained his support
for the resolution, H.Res.106, noting that, "I think I speak for my
colleagues here, that this vote was a human rights vote and a
recognition of a violation human rights." The panel, with the
support of Rohrabacher and the Committee’s Chairman, Tom Lantos (D-
CA), approved this measure on October 10th by a vote of 27 to 21.

The Secretary responded to the Congressman’s concerns, noting that:
"I recognize that it was a difficult vote for some who supported
the Administration’s position on this. There was a reason that we
felt very strongly that this resolution should not go forward.
This is a very delicate time with Turkey. It is a time when it is
going through a major transformation internally." She added, "We
have extremely important strategic interests with the Turks," and
closed by saying "I continue to believe that the passage of such a
resolution as the Armenian Genocide Resolution would severely harm
our relationships."

"We can’t advance our interests by compromising our values," said
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Agreeing to a Turkish
government gag-rule on the Armenian Genocide only emboldens other
nations to use similar threats to silence America’s voice on a
whole range of human rights issues."

"The real threat here is to our international moral standing. Any
damage to U.S. interests won’t come from passing a piece of human
rights legislation, but rather from caving in to foreign
intimidation, at the cost of our credibility and – in more
practical terms – our ability as a nation to shape international
public opinion in support of our foreign policy priorities."

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress