U.S. PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS DECIDING ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.01.2008 14:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The winners of Iowa caucuses, U.S. Senator Barack
Obama (D-IL) and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R), are both
on record as having recognized the Armenian Genocide, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Senator Obama has spoken forcefully about the moral imperative of
U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, specifically calling upon
the Bush Administration, in letters and public statements, to end its
"wrong and untenable" policy on this issue.
During his three years in the Senate, however, he has yet to join
with his legislative colleagues in cosponsoring the Armenian Genocide
Resolution. Senator Obama also voted in the Foreign Relations Committee
to approve the highly controversial and ultimately unsuccessful
nomination of Dick Hoagland to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
despite bipartisan Congressional opposition and widespread outrage
among Armenian Americans over the nominee’s denial of the Armenian
Genocide.
As Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee issued a proclamation
recognizing April 24, 2001 as a Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide. The declaration memorialized the "the death of at least 1.5
million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks and the forced deportation
of countless others." The official statement also noted that, "the
Armenian people have not received reparations for their losses"
and that the present Turkish government engages in a campaign of
"denial of the Armenian Genocide."