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ANC: Newburyport, Massachusetts Becomes No Place for Denial

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  • ANC: Newburyport, Massachusetts Becomes No Place for Denial

    Armenian National Committee
    47 Nichols Avenue
    Watertown MA 02472
    [email protected]

    For Immediate Release
    February 2, 2008

    Contact: 617-347-2833 or [email protected]


    Newburyport Becomes 11th Massachusetts Municipality to End Ties with
    the Anti Defamation League's No Place for Hate Committee
    -- Joins Towns from Watertown to Northampton in becoming No Place for Denial


    Watertown, Massachusetts--The City of Newburyport, Massachusetts last
    week formally withdrew from the Anti Defamation League's (ADL) No
    Place for Hate program, reported the Armenian National Committee.

    Newburyport has become Massachusetts' 11th municipality to end
    relations with the No Place for Hate program due to the ADL's failure
    to unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and its continued
    active opposition to legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide.

    `We are pleased that the north shore has joined so many other cities
    and towns in Massachusetts in standing firmly opposed to genocide
    denial in any of its form,' stated Pearl Teague, chairperson of the
    Armenian National Committee of Merrimack Valley. `We are grateful to
    the commitment of Lieutenant Richard Siemasko, Esq. and the members of
    the Human Rights Commission as well as Mayor Moak who carefully
    listened to Rev. Aram Marashlian and Judy Mouradian and other local
    residents and recognized the failure of the ADL to not only live up to
    its own mission statement but more importantly to live up to the
    standards of our community.'

    In late August, Newburyport's Commission on Diversity and Tolerance
    had written an open letter to the ADL and ADL national director
    Abraham Foxman stating that `The members of Newburyport's Commission
    for Diversity and Tolerance are distraught and dismayed by
    Mr. Foxman's and the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) stance on the
    Armenian Genocide. Not only has the ADL failed to support the Armenian
    people by advocating for congressional recognition with HR 106, but
    also, in fact, it has lobbied against the legislation'

    The letter continued to say that the Commission finds `that the ADL's
    logic that led to the statement that a `Congressional resolution on
    such matters is a counterproductive diversion =85 and may put at risk
    the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral
    relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States' fatally
    flawed, and contrary to the spirit of `Never Again.' `

    In a February 1 letter to the New England ADL, Newburyport mayor John
    Moak stated that `in wake of =85 the [ADL's] failure to acknowledge
    the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 as anything other than
    `tantamount to genocide,' =85 the Commission has decided to end its
    relationship with the No Place for Hate program.

    Newburyport joins Watertown, Belmont, Newton, Needham, Arlington,
    Medford, Lexington, Bedford, Westwood and Northampton in ending ties
    with the ADL's No Place for Hate program due to the ADL's failure to
    unambiguously acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and continued active
    opposition to Congressional legislation affirming the Armenian
    Genocide.

    The fight against the ADL's genocide denial spread to Western
    Massachusetts in the fall when the Human Rights Commission of the City
    of Northampton followed by Northampton's City Council ended their
    city's relationship with No Place for Hate.


    In a September 28 letter to the ADL's Foxman, Northhampton's Human
    Rights Commission made it clear that `while we may sympathize with the
    complexities of current international relations, we cannot in
    conscience continue a relationship with an organization that claims to
    stand for full accountability for genocide, yet stops short of
    endorsing a Congressional resolution acknowledging the Armenian
    genocide. We cannot endorse selective recognition of hate by an
    organization that claims leadership in creating a world where there is
    no place for hate.'

    The HRC further stated that `acknowledging the truth about the
    Armenian genocide not only has an impact on survivors and their
    families, it also has an impact on our ability to address other acts
    of hate.'

    Background

    The ADL has for many years refused to acknowledge that the systematic
    massacre of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 was
    genocide. To make matters worse, the ADL has actively engaged in
    efforts to oppose Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

    Only after intense pressure which started in Watertown, Massachusetts
    earlier this summer did the national ADL issue a `Statement on the
    Armenian Genocide' on August 21, 2007.

    Referring to the events of 1915-1918, the statement declared, `The
    consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide.'
    Aside from the fact that the Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and
    continued through 1923, the statement was not a full, unequivocal
    acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.

    Not only was the qualifier `tantamount' inappropriate, but the use of
    the word `consequences' was seen by many as an attempt to circumvent
    the international legal definition of genocide by avoiding any
    language that would imply intent, a crucial aspect of the 1948 UN
    Genocide Convention definition.

    The ADL convened its national meeting in New York City in early
    November at which time the issue of the Armenian Genocide was
    discussed.

    Upon conclusion, a one sentence press statement was issued that `The
    National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today, at its
    annual meeting, decided to take no further action on the issue of the
    Armenian genocide.' http://www.adl.org/PresRele/Mise_00/5162_00.htm

    F or complete information about the ADL controversy surrounding the
    Armenian Genocide visit www.noplacefordenial.com

    The Armenian National Committee 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 ANC actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
    community on a broad range of issues
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