CONGRESSMAN JIM COSTA TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2010 22:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the eve of 95th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide Congressman from Fresno (Calif.) Jim Costa called on the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of U.S. House of Representatives to
recognize the historical fact of the first Genocide of the XX century.

"There are a lot of Armenians in my city, Fresno, they are descendants
of genocide survivors. I heard their stories about mass massacres and
deportations of Armenian families," the congressman addressed the
hearings at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs.

Congressmen Jim Costa reminded that the Armenian Genocide has become
a precedent for other genocides in the world and the United States
should not succumb to Turkey’ pressure.

"I urge the allies of Turkey to accept history and recognize it. Many
people here say that it is not the most convenient moment now for
the recognition of that fact, but I ask, when does the right time come?

How long can we deny the Armenian Genocide? I vote for the adoption
of the resolution in memory of those families, whose stories I heard
in Fresno, " Jim Costa said.

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic
destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during
and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to
lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths
reaching 1.5 million.

The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be
April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250
Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople.

Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes
and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of
food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria.

To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially recognized
the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars
and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also
recognized by influential media including The New York Times, BBC,
The Washington Post and The Associated Press.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress