Majority of US House members cosponsor Armenian Genocide Resolution
armradio.am
30.06.2007 11:22
The Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106) reached an important
milestone today with the number of cosponsors for the human rights
measure growing to 218 ` a majority of the US House of Representatives,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
`We welcome the growth of Armenian Genocide Resolution cosponsors to
the 218 threshold ` and want to extend our appreciation to Congressman
Schiff and his colleagues who helped us reach this mark, as well as to
each and everyone of the two hundred and eighteen cosponsors of this
measure,’ said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. `We look
forward in the coming days and weeks to working with our chapters and
activists across the country in maintaining and expanding the
bipartisan majority in favor of the timely adoption of this human
rights legislation.’
"In gaining 218 cosponsors, we have demonstrated that a majority of the
House strongly supports recognizing the facts of the Armenian
Genocide," said lead sponsor, Congressman Adam Schiff. "While there are
still survivors left, we feel a great sense of urgency in calling
attention to the attempted murder of an entire people. Our failure to
acknowledge these dark chapters of history prevents us from taking more
effective action against ongoing genocides, like Darfur."
Introduced on January 30th by Rep. Adam Schiff along with
Representative George Radanovich (R-CA), Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Rep. Anna
Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter
(R-MI), the Armenian Genocide resolution calls 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. A similar resolution
in the Senate (S.Res.106), introduced by Assistant Majority Leader Dick
Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) currently has 31 cosponsors,
including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton (D-NY).
The Armenian Genocide resolution is supported by a broad-based
coalition of over 47 human rights, religious, civic, and ethnic
organizations, including the (in alphabetical order): American
Federation of Jews from Central Europe (New York, NY), American
Hellenic Council of CA (Los Angeles, CA), American Hellenic Institute
(Washington, DC), American Hungarian Federation (Washington, DC),
American Jewish World Service (New York, NY), American Latvian
Association in the U.S. (Rockville, MD), American Values (Washington,
DC), Arab American Institute (Washington, DC), Belarusan-American
Association (Jamaica, NY), Bulgarian Institute for Research and
Analysis (Bethesda, MD), Center for Russian Jewry with Student Struggle
for Soviet Jewry (New York, NY), Center for World Indigenous Studies
(Olympia, WA), Christian Solidarity International (Washington, DC),
Congress of Romanian Americans (McLean, VA), Council for the
Development of French in Louisiana (Lafayette, LA), Estonian American
National Council (Rockville, MD), Genocide Intervention Network
(Washington, DC), Global Rights (Washington, DC), Hmong National
Development, Inc., Hungarian American Coalition (Washington, DC),
Institute on Religion and Public Policy (Washington, DC), International
Association of Genocide Scholars (New York, NY), Jewish Social Policy
Action Network (Philadelphia, PA), Jewish War Veterans of the USA
(Washington, DC), Jewish World Watch (Encino, CA), Joint Baltic
American National Committee (Rockville, MD), Leadership Council for
Human Rights (Washington, DC), Lithuanian American Community
(Philadelphia, PA), Lithuanian American Council (Rockville, MD),
National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (New York, NY), National
Council of Churches USA (New York, NY), National Federation of American
Hungarians (Washington, DC), National Federation of Filipino American
Associations (Washington, DC), National Lawyer’s Guild (New York, NY),
Polish American Congress (Chicago, IL), Progressive Jewish Alliance
(Los Angeles, CA), Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (Wyncote, PA),
Slovak League of America (Passaic, New Jersey), The Georgian
Association in the USA (Washington, DC), The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter
Ring (New York, NY), U.S. Baltic Foundation (Washington, DC), Ukrainian
Congress Committee of America (New York, NY), Ukrainian National
Association (Parsippany, NJ), Unitarian Universalist Association of
Congregations (Washington, DC), United Hellenic American Congress
(Chicago, IL), Washington Chapter Czechoslovak National Council of
America (Washington, DC), and the Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom (Philadelphia, PA).