HOUSE SPEAKER PELOSI DISCUSSES GENOCIDE RECOGNITION AT UCLA
_4/29/2009_1
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
LOS ANGELES, CA–Representatives from the Armenian National
Committee–Western Region (ANC-WR) Board, staff, supporters and
former interns attended an event at the UCLA School of Law featuring
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The event, hosted by the Williams Institute, the Department of Women
Studies and the Center for the Study of Women, took place on Thursday,
April 16th. On campus to discuss her recent book, "Know Your Power:
A Message to America’s Daughters."
Pelosi also touched on several current event issues including the
economy and Afghanistan as well as the genocide in Darfur, the Rwandan
Genocide, and the Armenian Genocide.
During the question and answer session, ANC-WR Board Member Aida
Dimejian asked the Speaker if she thought President Obama would
unequivocally reaffirm the Armenian Genocide in his upcoming remarks
commemorating April 24th. Responding to the question, Pelosi noted
that "the President is a values-based person" and reiterated that
the issue of the Armenian Genocide has always been a top priority of
hers. Touching on the human face of the issue, she recalled of seeing
the aged genocide survivors that attended the October 2007 vote on
H.Res.106 in the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Pelosi also took the opportunity to introduce Hassan Bubacar Jallow,
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, who
joined the community in the packed auditorium for the event. In
concluding her remarks regarding genocide, she emphasized that
it was important that "we act upon the issue in a way which makes
a difference."
Raffi Kassabian, a member of the ANC-WR’s State and Regional Affairs
Committee as well as a recent alumnus of the UCLA School of Law
(’08) and the ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship (’02) was impressed by
the visible impact that the issue of genocide made during the event.
"Having the Speaker both address this important issue and introduce
Prosecutor Jallow during the discussion really drew the attention
of the audience. There was a palpable appreciation for the cycle
of genocide of which we, as Armenian Americans, are all too aware,"
said Kassabian.
"Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughter’s", written to
address the public’s interest in Pelosi’s groundbreaking rise from
local public servant to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives,
touches on several recurring themes including the message of never
losing faith and the importance of addressing human rights issues
with a foundational commitment to truth.
This was readily apparent to Tamar Tavlian, a second year student at
Pasadena City College and an alumna of the ANC-WR Internship-Externship
Program (Summer ’08) who also attended the event. She along with
Dimejian, Kassabian, and long-time ANC supporter Elizabeth Boyajian
briefly met with Pelosi following the event.
"We let her know that the Armenian American community appreciates her
past support and requests her continued, strong leadership as we work
to ensure that the Armenian Genocide is unambiguously acknowledged
by both the Obama Administration and the US Congress," said Tavlian.
The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization
in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network
of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United
States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR
promotes awareness of the Armenian American community on a broad
range of issues.