NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION MAJORITY STANDS FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2009 17:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Majority of the U.S. 111th Congress members stand
for recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire in 1915, Armenian National Committee of America Communications
Director Elizabeth Chouljian told PanARMENIAN.Net.
"April 24, 1915, signified the beginning of a systematic attempt
by the Ottoman regime to deport and exterminate Armenians from the
Anatolian Peninsula. Over the next 8 years, 1 1/2 million Armenian
people were murdered by minions of the Ottoman Empire. Those who were
spared were driven from their homes. It is for those victims, and it
is for all oppressed peoples today, those who have died and those who
survived, that we take time to reflect on the Armenian genocide and
its implications for all of us today," said CIA Director-designate
Leon Panetta.
Interior Secretary-designate Ken Salazar, Labor Secretary-designate
Hilda Solis and Transportation Secretary-designate Ray LaHood are
among Cosponsors of Armenian Genocide Resolution H.Res.106.
In addition to Administration officials, the U.S. Congress is today
led by among the most energetic and vocal advocates of American
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
"A grave injustice was committed and the fact that our nation is not
officially recognizing these crimes as genocide is a disappointment,"
said Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
"It truly saddens me that after 93 years, the U.S. has failed to
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide for what it was," said Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid.
"Genocide is a very powerful word, and should be reserved for only the
most horrific examples of mass killing motivated by a desire to destroy
an entire people. Without a doubt, this term is appropriate to describe
the unimaginable atrocities suffered by the Armenian people from 1915
to 1918," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman.
"Acknowledging when genocide has occurred is not simply a theoretical
or legal exercise. It is key to preventing genocide from happening
again. That’s why, in my view, we must change U.S. policy to reflect
the true nature of the tragic events that were perpetrated against
the Armenians by calling them what they were: genocide," said Senate
Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry.