LEADING ARMENIAN AMERICAN GROUPS URGE PRESIDENT SARGSYAN TO PRESS FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION DURING HIS U.S. VISIT

armradio.am
12.04.2010 10:51

On the eve of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Washington,
DC for the Nuclear Summit, leading Armenian civic, religious and
social service organizations have called on the Armenian leader to
urge President Barack Obama to honor his pledge to recognize the
Armenian Genocide and reject Turkish government efforts to use the
Turkey-Armenia Protocols to delay international affirmation of this
crime against humanity, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

The April 9th letter cited the Armenian American community’s ongoing
efforts to secure U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, including
the recent House Foreign Affairs Committee favorable consideration of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252). This measure passed the
panel with a vote of 23-22, despite strong opposition from the Turkish
Government and a last minute attack from the Obama Administration. The
letter noted broad-based community outrage over the use of the
Turkey-Armenia Protocols by opponents of this legislation serving
on the Committee, and, more broadly, by those seeking to block U.S.
support for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

The letter goes on to urge President Sargsyan to stand by his own
words against the misuse of a so-called "historical commission" to
call into question the Armenian Genocide, and also to directly call
upon President Obama and other international leaders to recognize the
Armenian Genocide. The signatories pressed the Armenian President to
announce that the Turkey-Armenia Protocol discussions cannot continue
"given Turkey’s unconstructive and antagonistic posture" throughout
the process.

During his April 12-13th visit to Washington, DC, President Sargsyan
will join with Armenian Genocide survivors and Armenian Americans
at the tomb of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, sending a powerful
message about both America’s legacy of support for the Armenian Cause,
as well as the enduring commitment of all Armenians to a truthful
and just resolution of Turkey’s still unpunished crime against the
Armenian nation.

A wreath-laying ceremony, scheduled for Monday, April 12th at ,
will include blessings by Armenian American clergy including: His
Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of Eastern U.S.; His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Eastern
U.S., and His Eminence Bishop Manuel Batakian, Third Exarch of the
Armenian Catholic Church of America.

The ceremony will be followed by the presentation of a letter from
Genocide survivors to the President and remarks by the President.