Armenian National Committee – San Francisco Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, California 94118
Phone: 415.387.3433 Fax: 415.751.0617
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
February 6, 2008
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Telephone: 415.948.7091
BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL CALLS UPON CONGRESS TO ADVANCE THE ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
BERKELEY, CA – On January 29, 2008, the Berkeley City Council
unanimously passed a resolution calling on the United States House of
Representatives to advance H.Res.106, the Armenian Genocide
Resolution, reported the San Francisco Bay Area Armenian National
Committee (Bay Area ANC).
"Your action tonight will help send the message that Berkeley does not
want our country to bow to foreign intimidation on a matter as
fundamental as genocide," said Bay Area ANC Chairwoman Roxanne
Makasdjian in thanking the Council for adopting the resolution.
The measure was introduced by Councilman Kriss Worthington, who worked
with the Bay Area ANC in drafting the language for the resolution. A
number of Armenian Americans were on hand and spoke during the public
comment portion of the Council meeting, including members of the
Armenian Youth Federation and the University of California Berkeley
Armenian Student Association.
"I’m glad to see Berkeley once again stand up for human rights," said
Shant Hagopian, a UC Berkeley student and Bay Area ANC activist. "This
resolution is one more step forward on the path to justice."
Over the few weeks following the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’
passage of H.Res.106 on October 10, 2007, the Armenian Genocide
captured the attention of US leaders and policymakers in an
unprecedented fashion. Despite tremendous pressure put on
Representatives by the Turkish government to withdraw their
co-sponsorship of the resolution, an overwhelming number of members of
Congress continue to support H.Res.106.
H.Res.106 "call[s] upon the President to ensure that the foreign
policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and
sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic
cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record
relating to the Armenian Genocide." The resolution is necessary now
due to the Turkish government’s increasingly aggressive campaign of
genocide denial, including demands that the US government join Turkey
in denying the Armenian Genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
