Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANCA: Iowa Winners have both Recognized Armenian Genocide

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

  • ANCA: Iowa Winners have both Recognized Armenian Genocide

    Armenian National Committee of America
    1711 N Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20036
    Tel. (202) 775-1918
    Fax. (202) 775-5648
    [email protected]
    Internet www.anca.org

    PRESS RELEASE

    For Immediate Release
    January 4, 2008
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
    Tel: (202) 775-1918

    IOWA CAUCUS WINNERS HAVE BOTH
    RECOGNIZED THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    WASHINGTON, DC - The winners of yesterday's Iowa caucuses, U.S.
    Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and former Arkansas governor Mike
    Huckabee (R), are both on record as having recognized the Armenian
    Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
    (ANCA).

    Senator Barack Obama

    Senator Obama has spoken forcefully about the moral imperative of
    U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, specifically calling
    upon the Bush Administration, in letters and public statements, to
    end its "wrong and untenable" policy on this issue. During his
    three years in the Senate, however, he has yet to join with his
    legislative colleagues in cosponsoring the Armenian Genocide
    Resolution. Senator Obama also voted in the Foreign Relations
    Committee to approve the highly controversial and ultimately
    unsuccessful nomination of Dick Hoagland to serve as U.S.
    Ambassador to Armenia, despite bipartisan Congressional opposition
    and widespread outrage among Armenian Americans over the nominee's
    denial of the Armenian Genocide.

    Selected statements by Senator Obama are provided below:

    Letter to secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (July 28, 2006):

    "The occurrence of the Armenian genocide in 1915 is not an
    'allegation,' a 'personal opinion,' or a 'point of view."
    Supported by an overwhelming amount of historical evidence, it is a
    widely documented fact."

    Press statement on the Hoagland nomination (September 7, 2006):

    "The Bush Administration's policy concerning the Armenian genocide
    is wrong and is untenable. That the invocation of a historical
    fact by a State Department employee could constitute an act of
    insubordination is deeply troubling and is a clear sign that it is
    time to revisit the Administration's guidance on this issue. I
    have written to Secretary Rice urging that such a review occur so
    our diplomats will not be placed in a similar position in the
    future."

    Discussion with Illinois constituents (April 12, 2007):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apR_0df-p54

    ". . . for those of you that aren't aware - there was a genocide
    that did take place against the Armenian people. It is one of
    these situations where we have seen a constant denial on the part
    of the Turkish government and others that this occurred. It has
    become a sore spot diplomatically."

    Letter to constituents regarding the Armenian Genocide (June 2,
    2007):

    "I share your view that the United States must recognize the events
    of 1915 to 1923, carried out by the Ottoman Empire, as genocide. As
    you know, this resulted in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000
    Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed.
    We must recognize this tragic reality. The Bush Administration's
    refusal to do so is inexcusable, and I will continue to speak out
    in an effort to move the Administration to change its position."

    Governor Mike Huckabee

    As Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee issued a proclamation
    recognizing April 24, 2001 as a Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
    Genocide. The declaration memorialized the "the death of at least
    1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks and the forced
    deportation of countless others." The official statement also noted
    that, "the Armenian people have not received reparations for their
    losses" and that the present Turkish government engages in a
    campaign of "denial of the Armenian Genocide."

    The Arkansas chief executive subsequently issued a proclamation
    also marking April 24 as a "Day of Remembrance of the Turkish and
    Armenian Tragedy." The local Armenian community's objections to
    the Governor's use of this euphemistic phrasing to obscure the
    genocidal intent of Ottoman Turkey toward its Armenian subjects was
    covered by the Arkansas News Bureau, which quoted ANC-Arkansas
    spokesperson Leo Stepanian as saying: "It was not a tragedy. It
    was a genocide." For the full text of this article, visit:
    http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/10 /14/WashingtonDCBureau/3
    43662.html

    State of Arkansas, Executive Department - Proclamation (March 27,
    2001):

    WHEREAS, the death of at least 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman
    Turks and the forced deportation of countless others, is remembered
    on April 24th as Armenian Martyrs Day; and

    WHEREAS, eighty-six years ago, Armenians were forced to witness the
    slaughter of their relatives and the loss of their ancestral
    homeland; and

    WHEREAS, the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the present-day
    Turkish Government continues to antagonize the Armenian people
    concerning their own rightful place in history; and

    WHEREAS, the Armenian people have not received reparations for
    their losses; and

    WHEREAS, Armenians have valiantly pursued the improvement and self-
    determination of their homelands; and

    WHEREAS, notwithstanding such atrocities in the past people of
    Armenian descent have been strong, productive, contributing
    citizens in the many communities in which they reside in the State
    of Arkansas; and

    WHEREAS, on April 24, 2001, Armenian families from across Arkansas
    will gather to honor the 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred
    under the Ottoman Turkish Government between 1915 and 1923;

    NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Huckabee, acting under the authority vested
    in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim
    April 24, 2001, as

    A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    in the State of Arkansas.

    IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
    Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 27th day of
    March, in the year of our Lord 2001.

    [signed]
    Mike Huckabee, Governor

    [signed]
    Sharon Priest, Secretary of State
Working...
X