ANCA MAY FACE INVESTIGATION

Hurriyet
Feb 23 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – The Washington based ethics monitor, Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, has filed complaints
with federal agencies against the Armenian National Committee of
America, or ANCA, for various lobbying and campaign violations.

CREW submitted voluminous materials to the U.S. Department of Justice,
Internal Revenue Service, Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the
House on Thursday that complained ANCA, the largest U.S. Armenian
group had engaged in prohibited activity as a charitable organization,
violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act and also skirted the
Lobbying Disclosure Act.

The letters of complaint said ANCA had violated restrictions on
charitable organizations "by participating or intervening in any
political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate
for public office." It said the organization illegally participated
in the endorsement of Barack Obama for U.S. President and Joseph
Biden for Vice-President, as well as some 15 U.S. Senate candidates
and 211 U.S. House candidates.

Moreover ANCA executives "have lobbied Congress and the executive
branch heavily with regard to perennial congressional Armenian
genocide resolutions and other legislation bearing on U.S.-Armenia,
U.S.-Turkey or U.S.-Azerbaijani relations without even registering
with the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House."

ANCA takes an active role in seeking formal recognition in the United
States for the Armenian claims of "genocide".