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ANCA: Sen. Burns Agrees to Cosponsor Genocide Resolution

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  • ANCA: Sen. Burns Agrees to Cosponsor Genocide Resolution

    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 3, 2004
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
    Tel: (202) 775-1918

    SENATOR BURNS AGREES TO COSPONSOR GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

    -- Montana Republican Becomes 40th Senate
    Supporter of Human Rights Measure

    WASHINGTON, DC - Montana Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) agreed this
    week to cosponsor the Genocide Resolution, S.Res.164, bringing the
    number of U.S. Senators supporting this human rights measure to
    forty, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

    "I am proud to join with 39 of my Senate colleagues in support of
    S.Res.164," said Senator Burns in a statement to the ANCA. "This
    legislation stresses the importance of remembering and learning the
    lessons of past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian
    Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides,
    in an effort to stop future atrocities. Silence in the face of
    genocide only encourages those who would commit such atrocities in
    the future - a legacy which we cannot afford to pass on to our
    children."

    "Armenian Americans, in Montana and across the United States, join
    in thanking Senator Burns for his principled stand in defense of
    the fundamental right of all people to live free from the terrors
    of genocide," said ANCA-Western Region Executive Director Ardashes
    Kassakhian, who traveled to Montana in late July to meet with
    members of the state's Congressional delegation, along with local
    community activist Yedvart Tchakerian. "We have been very
    encouraged, in recent months, by the increasing effectiveness of
    our grassroots outreach in the Northern Plain states, with Senators
    from Montana and both North and South Dakota supporting the
    Genocide Resolution, and the governors of Idaho, Nebraska, and
    Montana issuing proclamations commemorating the Armenian Genocide."

    The Genocide Resolution marks the 15th anniversary of the U.S.
    implementation of the Genocide Convention and reaffirms the
    commitment of the American people to this landmark treaty. It
    specifically cites the importance of applying the lessons of past
    genocides in order to make the world safe from future genocides.
    Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced this
    measure in June of last year. Its companion measure in the U.S.
    House, H.Res.193, led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA),
    Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs
    Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted
    unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee last May and currently
    has 111 cosponsors. On July 15th, the U.S. House passed an
    amendment, authored by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), which
    prohibited the government of Turkey from using U.S. foreign aid
    dollars to lobby against the Genocide Resolution.

    Support for the Genocide Resolution has been widespread outside of
    Congress as well, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic,
    religious, civil and human rights organizations calling for its
    passage, including American Values, National Organization of Women,
    Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the National
    Council of La Raza.

    For information about Senator Burns, who serves on the powerful
    Senate Appropriations Committee, visit:
    http://burns.senate.gov/
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