MORE SUPPORTERS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION IN U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 19, 2010
YEREVAN

The number of supporters of the Armenian Genocide recognition in the
U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate is increasing. Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) Communications Director Elizabeth
Chouldjian told Armenpress that more than 140 congressmen support the
252 resolution on the Armenian Genocide recognition, and that the
number of supporters of the Senate 316 resolution is 16. She said
that increasing of the number of the Armenian Genocide recognition
supporters is a continuous process. On April 24, the anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, the issue of the Armenian Genocide is usually kept
in focus of the congressmen and senators, so the number of supporters
is expected to increase in that period. As the bill on the Armenian
Genocide recognition was passed in U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Foreign Affairs, more congressmen and senators became
interested in the issue, Mrs. Chouldjian said. Elizabeth Chouldjian
also mentioned that the fact the resolution has more than 140
supporters in the House of Representatives proves that the resolution
is one of the most supported ones. ‘ANCA does its best to negotiate
with Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, over making
the issue an agenda item. The resolution must be brought to a vote
and passed, so that Turkey stops the policy of denying the truth,’
Mrs. Chouldjian said. As to the expectations from Obama’s April 24
address, ANCA Communications Director said that even after being
elected as the US President, Obama said that his position about the
issue remains the same. ‘But yet the address expresses not Obama’s,
but the country’s position. The President should undertake proper
measures and recognize the Armenian Genocide, otherwise the Armenian
community will be frustrated,’ she added. Commemorative ceremonies on
the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide have already started
in Washington, D.C. The first one is intended to be held April 21
in the US Capitol Hill. The Armenian youth is expected to take the
initiative of organizing one-day-long protest rally April 23 in front
of the White House ‘claiming that Obama is to honor his promises’. A
protest rally entitled ‘We will always remember’ will be organized
April 24 in front of the Turkish Embassy to the US.