Tweet
Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email [email protected]
Internet www.anca.org
PRESS RELEASE
September 26, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
TURKEY'S LOBBYISTS ENLIST FORMER U.S. SECRETARIES OF
STATE TO KILL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
-- ANCA Warns Against "Outsourcing" of America's Moral Conscience
to Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC - Fearing an imminent vote on the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.106), Turkey's multi-million dollar lobbyists
have solicited the assistance of eight former U.S. Secretaries of
State in seeking to derail this human rights legislation, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)
"Facing a growing bipartisan Congressional majority demanding
passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey's lobbyists -
out of desperation and a never ending desire to squeeze more
billing dollars out of Ankara - have turned to the very architects
of our government's failed policy of appeasing Turkey," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "Sadly, successive U.S.
administrations have found themselves lacking the moral courage to
end the cycle of genocide - from Cambodia, to Rwanda and, today in
Darfur - precisely because of their legacy of caving in to, rather
than confronting genocidal regimes."
"We are, as Americans, especially troubled that, in warning
Congress not to make a simple anti-genocide statement for fear of
upsetting Turkey, these officials would outsource our nation's
moral conscience to a foreign government," added Hamparian.
In their September 25th jointly-signed letter, former Secretaries
of State Madeleine Albright, James Baker III, Warren Christopher,
Laurence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Jr., Henry Kissinger, Colin
Powell, and George Schultz, urged Speaker Pelosi to, "prevent the
resolution from reaching the House Floor," thereby denying House
Members an opportunity to vote their conscience on the Armenian
Genocide. The former State Department officials expressed concern
that passage of the resolution "could endanger our national
security interests in the region, including our troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and damage efforts to promote reconciliation between
Armenia and Turkey." The complete text of the letter is provided
below.
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. The resolution is cosponsored by 226 Members of Congress
>From 39 states. 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).
Over the past nine months, Armenian Americans and human rights
advocates have joined with Members of Congress in educating their
colleagues about the Armenian Genocide and the importance of proper
recognition of this crime against humanity. The ANCA has mounted
several national grassroots initiatives including the highly
successful "Click for Justice" and "Call for Justice" campaigns as
well as the "End the Cycle of Genocide" Advocacy Days, cosponsored
with the Genocide Intervention Network.
Activists are encouraged to voice their support for the Armenian
Genocide resolution by participating in the ongoing ANCA
Congressional Call-In Campaign by visiting:
http://capwiz.com/anca/callalert/index.t t?alertid=10340906&type=TA
The Armenian Genocide resolution is supported by a broad-based
coalition of over 50 human rights, religious, civic, and ethnic
organizations, including the (in alphabetical order): American
Federation of Jews from Central Europe (New York, NY), Americans
for Peace Now (Washington, DC), 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), and the Zionist Organization of America (New
York, NY).
#####
September 25, 2007
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0508
Dear Madam Speaker:
We are writing to express concern that H. Res. 106 could soon be
put to a vote. Passage of the resolution would harm our foreign
policy objectives to promote reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia. It would also strain our relations with Turkey, and would
endanger our national security interests in the region, including
the safety of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We do not minimize or deny the enormous significance of the
horrible tragedy suffered by ethnic Armenian from 1915 to 1923.
During our tenures as Secretaries of the State, we each supported
Presidential statements recognizing the mass killings and forced
exile of Armenians. It has been longstanding U.S. policy to
encourage reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia and to urge the
government of Turkey to acknowledge the tragedy. We understand the
Administration continues to urge the Turkish government to
reexamine its history and to encourage both Turkey and Armenia to
work towards reconciliation, including normalizing relations and
opening the border. There are some hopeful signs already that both
parties are engaging each other. We believe that a public statement
by the U.S. Congress at this juncture is likely to undermine what
has been painstakingly achieved to date.
We must also recognize the important contributions Turkey is making
to U.S. national security, including security and stability in the
Middle East and Europe. The United States continues to rely on
Turkey for its geo-strategic importance. Turkey is an indispensable
partner to our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, helping U.S
military with access to Turkish airspace, military bases, and the
border crossing with Iraq, Turkey is a linchpin in the
transshipment of vital cargo and fuel resources to U.S. troops,
coalition partners and Iraqi civilians. Turkish troops serve
shoulder-to-shoulder with distinction with U.S. and other NATO
allies in the Balkans. Turkey is also a transit hub for non-OPEC
oil and gas and remains key to our effort s to help the Euro-
Atlantic community bolster its energy security by providing
alternative supply sources and routes around Russia and Iran.
It is our view that passage of this resolution could quickly extend
beyond symbolic significance. The popularly elected Turkish Grand
National Assembly might react strongly to a House resolution, as it
did to a French National Assembly resolution a year ago. The result
could endanger our national security interests in the region,
including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and damage efforts to
promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey. We strongly urge
you to prevent the resolution from reaching the house floor.
Sincerely,
Madeleine K. Albright
James A. Baker III
Warren Christopher
Lawrence S. Eagleburger
Alexander M. Haig, Jr
Henry A. Kissinger
Colin L. Powell
George P. Shultz
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email [email protected]
Internet www.anca.org
PRESS RELEASE
September 26, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
TURKEY'S LOBBYISTS ENLIST FORMER U.S. SECRETARIES OF
STATE TO KILL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
-- ANCA Warns Against "Outsourcing" of America's Moral Conscience
to Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC - Fearing an imminent vote on the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.106), Turkey's multi-million dollar lobbyists
have solicited the assistance of eight former U.S. Secretaries of
State in seeking to derail this human rights legislation, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)
"Facing a growing bipartisan Congressional majority demanding
passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey's lobbyists -
out of desperation and a never ending desire to squeeze more
billing dollars out of Ankara - have turned to the very architects
of our government's failed policy of appeasing Turkey," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "Sadly, successive U.S.
administrations have found themselves lacking the moral courage to
end the cycle of genocide - from Cambodia, to Rwanda and, today in
Darfur - precisely because of their legacy of caving in to, rather
than confronting genocidal regimes."
"We are, as Americans, especially troubled that, in warning
Congress not to make a simple anti-genocide statement for fear of
upsetting Turkey, these officials would outsource our nation's
moral conscience to a foreign government," added Hamparian.
In their September 25th jointly-signed letter, former Secretaries
of State Madeleine Albright, James Baker III, Warren Christopher,
Laurence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Jr., Henry Kissinger, Colin
Powell, and George Schultz, urged Speaker Pelosi to, "prevent the
resolution from reaching the House Floor," thereby denying House
Members an opportunity to vote their conscience on the Armenian
Genocide. The former State Department officials expressed concern
that passage of the resolution "could endanger our national
security interests in the region, including our troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and damage efforts to promote reconciliation between
Armenia and Turkey." The complete text of the letter is provided
below.
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. The resolution is cosponsored by 226 Members of Congress
>From 39 states. 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).
Over the past nine months, Armenian Americans and human rights
advocates have joined with Members of Congress in educating their
colleagues about the Armenian Genocide and the importance of proper
recognition of this crime against humanity. The ANCA has mounted
several national grassroots initiatives including the highly
successful "Click for Justice" and "Call for Justice" campaigns as
well as the "End the Cycle of Genocide" Advocacy Days, cosponsored
with the Genocide Intervention Network.
Activists are encouraged to voice their support for the Armenian
Genocide resolution by participating in the ongoing ANCA
Congressional Call-In Campaign by visiting:
http://capwiz.com/anca/callalert/index.t t?alertid=10340906&type=TA
The Armenian Genocide resolution is supported by a broad-based
coalition of over 50 human rights, religious, civic, and ethnic
organizations, including the (in alphabetical order): American
Federation of Jews from Central Europe (New York, NY), Americans
for Peace Now (Washington, DC), 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), and the Zionist Organization of America (New
York, NY).
#####
September 25, 2007
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-0508
Dear Madam Speaker:
We are writing to express concern that H. Res. 106 could soon be
put to a vote. Passage of the resolution would harm our foreign
policy objectives to promote reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia. It would also strain our relations with Turkey, and would
endanger our national security interests in the region, including
the safety of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We do not minimize or deny the enormous significance of the
horrible tragedy suffered by ethnic Armenian from 1915 to 1923.
During our tenures as Secretaries of the State, we each supported
Presidential statements recognizing the mass killings and forced
exile of Armenians. It has been longstanding U.S. policy to
encourage reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia and to urge the
government of Turkey to acknowledge the tragedy. We understand the
Administration continues to urge the Turkish government to
reexamine its history and to encourage both Turkey and Armenia to
work towards reconciliation, including normalizing relations and
opening the border. There are some hopeful signs already that both
parties are engaging each other. We believe that a public statement
by the U.S. Congress at this juncture is likely to undermine what
has been painstakingly achieved to date.
We must also recognize the important contributions Turkey is making
to U.S. national security, including security and stability in the
Middle East and Europe. The United States continues to rely on
Turkey for its geo-strategic importance. Turkey is an indispensable
partner to our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, helping U.S
military with access to Turkish airspace, military bases, and the
border crossing with Iraq, Turkey is a linchpin in the
transshipment of vital cargo and fuel resources to U.S. troops,
coalition partners and Iraqi civilians. Turkish troops serve
shoulder-to-shoulder with distinction with U.S. and other NATO
allies in the Balkans. Turkey is also a transit hub for non-OPEC
oil and gas and remains key to our effort s to help the Euro-
Atlantic community bolster its energy security by providing
alternative supply sources and routes around Russia and Iran.
It is our view that passage of this resolution could quickly extend
beyond symbolic significance. The popularly elected Turkish Grand
National Assembly might react strongly to a House resolution, as it
did to a French National Assembly resolution a year ago. The result
could endanger our national security interests in the region,
including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and damage efforts to
promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey. We strongly urge
you to prevent the resolution from reaching the house floor.
Sincerely,
Madeleine K. Albright
James A. Baker III
Warren Christopher
Lawrence S. Eagleburger
Alexander M. Haig, Jr
Henry A. Kissinger
Colin L. Powell
George P. Shultz