HILLARY CLINTON: WE WILL BE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT CHALLENGING ISSUES

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2009 16:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As the world collectively embraces the irreversible
trend of Armenian Genocide affirmation, the confirmation hearing of
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is testament to the fact that there
is no turning back.

"President-elect Obama and Senator Clinton have forcefully advocated
for genocide prevention and affirmation and are poised to bring about
a new direction in this key policy area, including the repudiation of
President Bushâ~@~Ys anti-Evans doctrine," said Executive Director
of the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), Mr. Bryan Ardouny,
the Assembly told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The Assembly congratulated Senator John Kerry (D-MA) for his ascension
to the Chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator
Kerry presided over the confirmation hearing of Secretary of State
nominee Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Senator Clinton fielded a broad range
of questions and is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate after
the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

During the question and answer session, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
a long-time supporter of Armenian issues, noted the importance of
Armenian Genocide affirmation and the need to move forward, stating,
"If we are to say â~@~Xnever again,â~@~Y part of that is ultimately
the recognition of what has happened so that we can move forward. And
I hope that you will be an advocate of having us get off of where we
have been and move forward to a recognition of that part of history
so that it is universally recognized so that we can move forward in
that respect."

Secretary Designate Clinton responded, "We will be looking very closely
at those and other challenging issues with the eye of moving forward
and being effective in responding to these very legitimate concerns."

"The Armenian Assembly whole-heartedly concurs with Senator
Menendez. Senator Clinton has consistently supported affirmation
of the Armenian Genocide and the Assembly looks forward to working
with the new Administration to reverse the Bush Administrationâ~@~Ys
Anti-Evans Doctrine," stated Assembly Board Member Annie Totah.

During her historic presidential campaign Secretary Designate Clinton
stated, "I believe the horrible events perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of genocide. Our
common morality and our nationâ~@~Ys credibility as a voice for human
rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized
and remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States."

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