ANCA ‘FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW’ CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTS OBAMA’S GENOCIDE PLEDGE

March 31, 2009

WASHINGTON-On March 30, the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) launched a nationwide online and print campaign urging
concrete action to end the Darfur genocide and to bring about full
U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Echoing Martin Luther King’s famous remarks at the Lincoln Memorial in
August, 1963, the "Fierce Urgency of Now" campaign urges anti-genocide
activists across the U.S. to visit to learn
more about the worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur and how
this atrocity fits into the cycle of genocide that started with the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. The website provide simple ways for
citizens to call on President Obama to show "unstinting resolve" in the
effort to stop the Darfur Genocide, by participating in Save Darfur
"add your voice" effort (). Activists can
also call on the Obama Administration and Congress to recognize the
Armenian Genocide, putting to an end to U.S. complicity in Turkey’s
international campaign of genocide denial.

On Monday, March 30, full page ads were placed in The Politico
and Roll Call newspapers, primarily targeting Administration and
Congressional decision makers in Washington, DC, with a powerful
graphic bringing together child survivors of the Armenian Genocide
and Darfur Genocide into a stark visualization of the ongoing cycle
of genocide. The photos are juxtaposed with President Obama’s January,
2008 campaign pledge to the American people stating:

"Genocide, sadly, persists to this day, and threatens our common
security and common humanity. Tragically, we are witnessing in Sudan
many of the same brutal tactics-displacement, starvation, and mass
slaughter-that were used by the Ottoman authorities against defenseless
Armenians back in 1915. I have visited Darfurian refugee camps,
pushed for the deployment of a robust multinational force for Darfur,
and urged divestment from companies doing business in Sudan. America
deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and
responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President."

To read the complete "Obama file" on Armenian Genocide recognition,
visit: ocide.pdf
Companion internet ads will be running on the key political news
websites , , and ,
which will coincide with President Obama’s upcoming two-day trip to
Turkey on April 6th and 7th.

This past weekend, over 100,000 postcards were distributed to
communities and campuses across the U.S. urging activists to visit
and take action. These will be accompanied
by a nationwide mailing program to activate the growing anti-genocide
constituency across the United States.

The ANCA’s campaign coincides with efforts to have the
White House designate April as Genocide Prevention month,
an initiative spearheaded by the Genocide Prevention Project
(). With successive genocides-from
the Armenian Genocide and Holocaust to the genocides in Cambodia,
Bosnia and Rwanda-commemorated in the month of April, GPP has
worked with a nationwide coalition of organizations, including
Save Darfur, the Genocide Intervention Network, Enough Project and
many others, in spotlighting a month-long campaign of activities
commemorating past genocides and urging action to stop the killing
in Darfur. Anti-Genocide activities are listed on a special website,

The official kick-off for Genocide Prevention Month will take place
on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue,
600 I Street NW, in Washington, DC. After a 20-minute preview of the
documentary, "The Last Survivor," former CNN anchor Andrea Koppel
will moderate a discussion among a group of survivors, anti-genocide
advocates, policy experts, and the filmmakers.

Among the Genocide Prevention Month activities is the "End the
Cycle of Genocide" Advocacy Days, organized by the ANCA and Genocide
Intervention Network-bringing activists to Capitol Hill from April
22-24 to urge recognition of the Armenian Genocide and concrete action
on the Darfur Genocide. To participate in ANCA/GI-Net Advocacy Days,
register at

Individuals can help expand the "Fierce Urgency of NOW" campaign by
asking friends, family and coworkers to visit
and take action. The effort can be publicized through a number of
online sharing tools reaching the vast array of social networking
sites including Facebook and LinkedIn, among others.

To promote the campaign on college campuses or local communities,
contact Garo Manjikian at garo@anca.org.

Organizations can join the ANCA campaign as "Fierce Partners" against
genocide and genocide denial by contacting elizabeth@anca.org.