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VP Cheney Fails to Explain Letter Recognizing Armenian Genocide

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  • VP Cheney Fails to Explain Letter Recognizing Armenian Genocide

    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

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    August 29, 2005
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
    Tel: (202) 775-1918


    CHENEY FAILS TO EXPLAIN LETTER RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    -- Vice President Sidesteps Query from Twenty-two Members of
    Congress Regarding Reason for Letter to Genocide Survivor

    WASHINGTON, DC - Vice President Dick Cheney has sidestepped a
    Congressional request for clarification regarding the reasons behind
    his forthright - although apparently mistaken - characterization of
    the Armenian Genocide in letter sent this April to survivor Maritza
    Ohanessian, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

    In an April 22nd letter to Mrs. Ohanessian on the occasion of
    her 100th birthday, the Vice President had properly described the
    Armenian Genocide, a departure from the Administration's standard
    practice of using evasive or euphemistic terminology to downplay the
    true historical, legal, and contemporary geopolitical implications of
    this crime against humanity. In response to this letter, Congressman
    Steve Rothman (D-NJ) and twenty-one of his House colleagues asked
    the Vice President if this letter represented a formal shift in the
    Administration's policy. The Vice President's response, signed by
    his Principal Deputy for National Security Affairs John P. Hannah,
    simply notes that, "There has been no change in Administration policy
    on this issue," without any articulation of the nature of the policy.

    "The Vice President should explain to Mrs. Ohanesian and all Armenian
    Americans why he sent this letter recognizing the Armenian Genocide
    but cannot now stand behind his words or even offer an explanation
    for his reversal," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
    "We appreciate Congressman Rothman's leadership on this issue and
    want to thank all those who joined with him in this effort."

    Joining Congressman Rothman as signatories to the June 23rd
    Congressional letter were Representatives Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Lois
    Capps (D-CA), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Barney Frank
    (D-MA), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL), Sander
    Levin (D-MI), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI),
    James McGovern (D-MA), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Richard Neal (D-MA),
    Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff
    (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Mark Souder (R-IN), John Tierney (D-
    MA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and Peter Visclosky (D-IN).

    #####
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