Armenian Student Association at UCLA
Kerckhoff Hall, room 146
Campus Mail Code 164006
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Armenian Graduate Student Association at UCLA
Kerckhoff Hall, room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
PRESS RELEASE
November 7, 2007
Contact: Raffi Kassabian – agsaucla=40ucla.edu
UCLA Community to protest Congresswoman Jane Harman during campus visit
Students outraged at Harman’s retreat on human rights legislation
Los Angeles, CA – The University of California, Los Angeles community
will protest Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA 36th district), during
her upcoming visit to the university on November 10, 2007. Protesters
will be gathering at the Bradley International Center at 5pm.
The UCLA community and constituents of the Congresswoman are outraged
at Harman’s actions regarding House Resolution 106, which seeks to
affirm the United States’ record on the Armenian Genocide. While
endorsing House Resolution 106, the Congresswoman secretly authored a
letter which was released publicly on October 3, 2007 in which she
urged the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to prevent
consideration of the legislation.
The government of Turkey has been engaged in an ongoing campaign of
genocide denial and has remained maliciously opposed to this and
similar resolutions in the past. In its efforts to defeat H.Res.106,
Turkey has spent millions of dollars on high-priced lobbyists and
public relations firms to convey threats against US personnel and
interests in Iraq.
=22The Congresswoman is asking the United States to remain silent on
H.Res.106 and in doing so she is caving into threats by a less than
reliable ally – in Turkey – giving the impression that the US lacks
conviction and commitment to truth and freedom of expression,=22 said
Iren Tadevosyan, the UCLA Armenian Student Association Director of
Public Relations. =22As responsible citizens, we need to let the
Congresswoman know that her concerns regarding the resolution are
wrong and that she needs to get on the right side of the issue.=22
Over a hundred students and constituents representing several groups
in the community will be protesting her appearance at UCLA. Speakers
will include representatives of the Armenian student groups at UCLA
and the community at-large, the Darfur Action Committee, the UCLA
student government and will be supported by an even broader spectrum
of campus student groups.
Harman will be visiting UCLA to receive the Jacoby International
Award. The award is given to individuals who have enhanced
international and intercultural understanding through volunteer or
professional endeavors.
Congresswoman Harman offered to meet with leaders of UCLA’s Armenian
student community an hour before the event. In response, the UCLA
Armenian Student Association and Armenian Graduate Student Association
released a statement outlining their concerns regarding the
Congresswoman’s offer.
=22We hope that the Congresswoman will come to realize that silence in
the face of a crime against humanity and its denial is not the
foundation on which international and intercultural understanding are
enhanced,=22 said Arek Santikian, a member of the UCLA ASA.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
