US Fed News
April 29, 2009 Wednesday 3:14 PM EST

REP. ARMENIAN CAUCUS WILL HOLD OBSERVANCE CEREMONY – CONTINUE TO
ADVOCATE FOR OFFICIAL RECOGNITION

WASHINGTON, April 21 — Rep. Frank G. Pallone, D-N.J. (6th CD), issued
the following news release:

The long-sought effort to gain official recognition of the Armenian
Genocide will continue this week when the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues holds a memorial observance on Wednesday, in advance
of the April 24 anniversary of the mass killing that took the lives of
an estimated 1.5 million Armenians, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. and
U.S. Rep. Mark Steven Kirk announced on Tuesday. Pallone and Kirk, who
serve as co-chairmen of the caucus, said the Armenian Genocide
Observance, marking the 94th anniversary of the attempted annihilation
of an entire people, is not just about history, it is another
opportunity to press the United States government to officially accept
the fact that the genocide occurred.

The observance ceremony will include congressional and community
speakers paying tribute to the 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and
children who were systematically annihilated by the Ottoman Empire in
1915. Genocide scholar Henry Theriault will be among the speakers
addressing the history of the Armenian Genocide, the threat of
genocide denial, and the future of genocide prevention and
intervention.

The Armenian Genocide Observance will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00
p.m., Wednesday, April 22, 2009, in The Cannon House Caucus Room in
Washington, D.C. April 24, 2009 is the 94th Anniversary of the start
of the Armenian Genocide. Pallone, along with former Congressman John
Porter, founded the Armenian caucus in 1995 to address Armenia’s
economic isolation and to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the
genocide.

The caucus has also been advocating for recognition of the genocide as
a means of honoring its victims, a way to require Turkey to come to
terms with its own history and to prevent a shroud of denial from
covering up one of the most horrific tragedies in world history.

President Barack Obama has expressed optimism that the two countries
will normalize relations, which would include lifting the blockade
against travel and trade imposed in 1993 by Turkey along the border
with Armenia. By coming to terms with the past and reconciling any
current conflicts, Turkey and Armenia will help bring more stability
to a volatile and strategic region of the world, Pallone and Kirk
said.

For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:-
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