ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
Contact: Danielle Saroyan Ashbahian
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Web: www.aaainc.org
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF
AMERICA WELCOMES REP. ESHOO’S LETTER TO HER COLLEAGUES IN SUPPORT OF THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
Thanks
Reps. Bilirakis and Schiff’s Call for Immediate Passage of Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly) welcomed Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo’s (D-CA) “Dear Colleague”
letter calling for support of H.Res.296, the Armenian Genocide resolution.
“Members of my own family were among
those murdered. My mother escaped with my grandmother from Armenia, and my
father, an Assyrian Christian, was driven from the Middle East. Both carried
the terror of the atrocities of the Ottoman Turks for a lifetime,” Rep. Eshoo stated.
“As the only Armenian-Assyrian Member of Congress, I urge you to honor the
countless individuals who were taken and join 112 of your colleagues in
cosponsoring H.Res. 296, a bipartisan resolution formally recognizing the
Armenian Genocide.”
Rep. Anna Eshoo is the only
Armenian-Assyrian Member of Congress. Throughout her tenure in Congress, she
has been a tireless supporter of the proper recognition of Armenian Genocide
and a strong advocate of religious freedom around the world.
Rep. Eshoo pointed out that 49 U.S.
states and 14 NATO Allies have already formally recognized the murder of 1.5
million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Official records and
proclamations are documented on the Armenian National Institute’s website – www.armenian-genocide.org.
“Thank you to the Armenian American community
and the Armenian Assembly of America for your active support every year to
reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. Your
efforts make our relatives who survived the genocide proud, and together we can
ensure that their hardships and their families who were slaughtered in plain
view will not be forgotten. I am proud to join my fellow Armenians at the
annual Armenian Genocide commemorations on Capitol Hill, and look forward to
passage of this bill,” Rep. Eshoo told the Assembly.
“Armenian Americans appreciate
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo for being a role model and a strong leader to bring
justice to what so many of our ancestors overcame – the Armenian Genocide. We
encourage all Members to join in reaffirming America’s proud chapter of humanitarian
intervention in helping to save thousands of survivors of the Armenian
Genocide. The Armenian Assembly of America applauds the Congresswoman’s
efforts, and we will continue to push for passage of this legislation,” Assembly
Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan said.
Rep. Eshoo’s letter follows that of
Armenian Caucus leaders Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) who last
Friday urged the immediate passage of H.Res. 296. They stated: “As we confront atrocities that
are being committed in the present day, it weakens our standing and our moral
clarity that the Congress has for too long been silent in declaring the events
of 1915 as a genocide. As Turkish bombs fall on Kurdish cities, extremist
groups backed by Turkey commit war crimes, and hundreds of thousands of civilians
flee for their lives, it is surely not lost on Turkish leaders that for decades
their campaign of lobbying and bullying has silenced the Congress from the
simple act of speaking the truth about the events of 1915.”
“We fully support passage of H.Res. 296
as Congressmen Bilirakis and Schiff have urged,” Khaloyan added.
H.Res. 296 was introduced this April by
Reps. Schiff and Bilirakis along with Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Peter
King (R-NY), and Jackie Speier (D-CA), and currently has 112 co-sponsors to
date. During the Assembly’s 2019 National Advocacy Conference last month, Armenian
Americans from across the U.S. met with Member of Congress urging its adoption.
Established in 1972, the Armenian
Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization
promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly
is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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NR# 2019-062
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