Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANCA Welcomes Sen. Kerry's Choice for VP Nominee

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ANCA Welcomes Sen. Kerry's Choice for VP Nominee

    Armenian National Committee of America
    888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
    Washington, DC 20006
    Tel: (202) 775-1918
    Fax: (202) 775-5648
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Internet: www.anca.org

    PRESS RELEASE
    July 6, 2004
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
    Tel: (202) 775-1918


    ANCA WELCOMES SEN. KERRY'S CHOICE FOR
    DEMOCRATIC VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

    -- Sen. Edwards Outspoken in Favor of U.S. Recognition of
    Armenian Genocide; Lifting of Turkish Blockade of Armenia

    WASHINGTON, DC - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
    today welcomed the presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee John
    Kerry's announcement of Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) as his Vice-
    Presidential running mate.

    "The ANCA welcomes John Kerry's choice of John Edwards - a friend
    of Armenian Americans in North Carolina and around the nation - as
    his running-mate," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
    "The contrast between Senator Edwards and sitting Vice President
    Dick Cheney could not be more stark. John Edwards has consistently
    taken a stand for Armenian issues, while Dick Cheney - as Chairman
    of Halliburton and later as Vice President - has consistently,
    often stridently, opposed issues of concern to Armenian American
    voters."

    Sen. Edwards, currently finishing his first term in the Senate, has
    been a staunch supporter of Armenian American concerns. In 2002,
    he cosponsored the S.Res.307, marking the 15th anniversary of the
    U.S. implementation of the Genocide Convention. He was an original
    cosponsor of a similar bill currently in Congress, S.Res.164,
    spearheaded by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ),
    which currently has 39 cosponsors.

    During his run for the Democratic Presidential nomination, Sen.
    Edwards met with ANCA activists in May of 2003, at a private
    reception held in Los Angeles in his honor. There ANCA-WR Chairman
    Raffi Hamparian and Board Member Steven J. Dadaian discussed issues
    of concern to the Armenian American community with the Senator.
    Hamparian spoke to Senator Edwards about Turkey's illegal blockade
    of Armenia, to which Edwards responded that the "wrongful blockade"
    must end, stressing that America has to stand behind Armenia and
    let its neighbors know that "We [America] stand fully behind
    Armenia." In a statement before reception attendees, Edwards
    explained that it is in America's interest to recognize the
    Armenian Genocide and added that "It is the just thing to do. It is
    about time we [Americans] recognized it."

    Sen. Edwards' positions on Armenian American concerns contrasts
    sharply to Republican Vice-presidential nominee Dick Cheney's
    record. During his years serving in the U.S. Congress, Cheney
    voted against resolutions commemorating the Armenian Genocide both
    in 1985 and 1987. In 1995, he joined the Halliburton Company, an
    oil and energy services corporation, and after his appointment as
    Chairman of the Board in 1996, worked extensively with the
    government of Azerbaijan in oil exploration ventures. He was a
    vocal advocate of efforts to repeal restrictions on U.S. aid to
    Azerbaijan despite that country's ongoing blockades of Armenia and
    Nagorno Karabagh. In a keynote speech at a U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber
    of Commerce (USACC) conference on February 18, 1997, Cheney stated:

    "I must also say that I believe that our current policy prohibiting
    U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan is seriously misguided. In my
    experience, this kind of unilateral sanction, based primarily on
    U.S. domestic political considerations, is unwise. Such a policy
    limits U.S. influence in any given situation, and in this case, it
    reduces rather than enhances the prospects for ultimately resolving
    a very complex and important set of regional issues."

    In 1997, Cheney, who was a member of the USACC "Honorary Council of
    Advisors," was awarded its "Freedom Support" award, for his
    "outstanding services to this organization [USACC] as well as
    contribution toward promoting peace, democracy, freedom and
    economic development in Azerbaijan and a closer cooperation between
    the United States and Azerbaijan."

    For more information about the Kerry-Edwards ticket, visit:
    http://ArmeniansforKerry.com
Working...
X