Rep. Sherman Joins With Community Activists To Rally Support For
Genocide Resolution
an-joins-with-community-activists-to-rally-support -for-genocide-resolution/
By Asbarez Staff on Feb 19th, 2010
VAN NUYS-San Fernando Valley Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) pledged
to stand strong against escalating Turkish Government lobby efforts to
defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252), as the House
Foreign Affairs Committee prepares to mark-up the measure on March
4th, reported the Armenian National Committee Western Region.
Representatives of the Armenian National Committee – West San Fernando
Valley (ANC West SFV) and Armenian National Committee – Western Region
(ANC-WR) discussed Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide
and a broad range of community concerns during a meeting Rep. Sherman
(D-CA) at his Van Nuys district office earlier this week. The meeting
was led by ANC-WR Government Relations Director Lerna Shirinian and
Chairman of the ANC West SFV, Nareg Kitsinian.
Serving as senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Rep. Sherman noted his commitment to working with his colleagues in
Congress to continue building support for H. Res. 252 and ensuring a
victory in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
`Rep. Sherman’s active support for the Armenian Genocide Resolution is
exactly the strong moral leadership we need to bring America back to
the right side on this important human rights issue,’ stated ANC-WR
Government Relations Director Lerna Shirinian. `We look forward to
working with the Congressman on this and other initiatives to help end
the cycle of genocide,’ she added.
Since his election to office in 1997, Rep. Sherman has been outspoken
in his calls on the Turkish Government to deal honestly with its
genocidal past and end the international campaign of denial. . During
remarks at the ANCA’s `End the Cycle of Genocide’ commemorative event
in Washington, DC, Rep. Sherman argued, `Where would America be if we
said, `slavery – it didn’t really happen.’ Where would America be if
we said `there was no effort to destroy particular Native American
tribes during the 1700 and 1800s.’ Where would America be if we failed
to acknowledge our own history? Where would Germany be if it failed to
acknowledge its history? Why does Turkey think it can reach the modern
world if it still anchors itself to an Ottoman mentality? It cannot do
that. The future of Turkey is in acknowledging the history of its own
people.’
He has been a vocal advocate of expanded U.S. assistance to Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh, challenging former Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice over the Bush Administration’s call for a significant
reduction in aid to Armenia in its FY09 budget during her appearance
before the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2008.
`Congressman Sherman has been a powerful and eloquent advocate for a
strong U.S.-Armenia relationship and just resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict,’ said Nareg Kitsinian, Chairman of the ANC
West SFV. `We are proud to have him representing our community in
Congress.’
H.Res.252, introduced in March of 2009 by lead sponsors Adam Schiff
and George Radanovich (R-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), currently has
over 137 cosponsors. A parallel Senate measure, spearheaded by
Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and John Ensign (R-NV), has 13
cosponsors. Efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide have been
welcomed by a broad range of coalition partners from the Greek,
Jewish, Christian and genocide-prevention constituencies. Congressman
Howard Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
recently announced that a vote on H.Res.252 will be take place on
March 4th of this year, following a year-long mobilization of the ANCA
and Armenian American grassroots activists across the country.
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 advances
the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.