Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 25, 2007
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
ANCA-WR Welcomes Armenian Genocide Proclamation from Mayor of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America-Western
Region (ANCA-WR) welcomed a proclamation by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. This came just
days after the Mayor and the City Council of Los Angeles presented the
Armenian American community of Los Angeles with a resolution recognizing
the Armenian Genocide.
"The Mayor’s proclamation again signifies the deep commitment of the
City of Los Angeles to the protection of human rights and to end the
cycle of genocide," stated Andrew Kzirian, Executive Director of the
ANCA-WR. "The Mayor and the City of Los Angeles have served as a beacon
of moral leadership to the rest of the country – all Angelenos should be
proud of Mayor Villaraigosa and the City of Los Angeles," he added.
The full text of the Proclamation is below.
The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working
in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the
world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
community on a broad range of issues.
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Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
City of Los Angeles
Statement of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day
Today – on the 92nd Anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
Genocide – the people of Los Angeles stand in solidarity with Armenians
around the world in remembering the 1.5 million Armenian men, women and
children barbarically killed by the Ottoman Empire.
Almost a century of history has removed the horrors of the genocide from
our immediate collective consciousness. And yet as the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink reminded us in January, the
pernicious threat of genocide denial still openly thrives around the
world.
As Mayor of America’s preeminent Armenian community, I urge all
Angelenos to reflect not only on the vast scale and ruthlessness of
genocide, but on the horror of the global silence under which it took
place. Today I urge Angelenos simply to never forget.
April 24, 2007