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AAA: Rep. Kennedy Calls On Administration To Confront Turkey's Denia

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  • AAA: Rep. Kennedy Calls On Administration To Confront Turkey's Denia

    Armenian Assembly of America
    122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
    Washington, DC 20001
    Phone: 202-393-3434
    Fax: 202-638-4904
    Email: [email protected]
    Web: www.armenianassembly.org
     
    PRESS RELEASE
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    March 21, 2005
    CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
    Email: [email protected]

    REP. KENNEDY CALLS ON ADMINISTRATION TO CONFRONT TURKEY'S DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    Washington, DC - The Armenian Assembly today praised Rep. Patrick
    Kennedy (D-RI), a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
    Issues, for calling on the Bush Administration to openly deal with
    Turkey's continued policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide and to
    support a congressional resolution reaffirming this crime against
    humanity.

    Kennedy, in a statement issued last week before Congress, said the
    Administration's reluctance to address the issue stems from its
    refusal to alienate Turkey at a time when Washington is seeking to
    repair relations with Ankara.

    "This approach sends absolutely the wrong signal to Turkey and to
    the rest of the world," Kennedy stated. "As we promote relations
    based upon shared values, the United States must never forget the
    essential value of facing history directly."

    Kennedy also added that the present day Turkish government must stop
    its shameful policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide.

    "The Turkish government spends millions of dollars annually to lobby
    other governments to advance its revisionist cause, claiming that
    the subject is sensitive and that acknowledgement would undermine
    relations with Turkey," Kennedy said.

    Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed calls
    for further study of the Armenian Genocide, telling Reuters "If there
    is a need for a political settling of accounts with history after
    such a study, we, the government and the opposition, are ready to do
    just that."

    Assembly leaders, for their part, joined Armenia's Foreign Minister
    Vartan Oskanian in calling the study pointless given the scholarly
    community's publicly stated conclusions confirming the events as
    Genocide.

    "Periodic calls by various Turkish administrations for historical
    debate simply delay the process of reconciling the truth," Oskanian
    recently said in a speech before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
    "The facts are clear. The historical record is clear. We know well
    what happened to our forebears."

    The Assembly in recent weeks has pointed to such public affirmations,
    as well as those of leading U.S. public officials such as Ambassador
    to Armenia John Evans, as part of its campaign to urge President Bush
    to recognize the Armenian Genocide in his statement of remembrance
    next month.

    For information on joining the Assembly campaign to reaffirm the
    U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide, log on to the Assembly Web site
    at www.aaainc.org or send an email to the Assembly's grassroots branch
    ARAMAC at [email protected].

    The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
    nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
    of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
    organization.

    ### NR#2005-029

    Editor's Note: Attached is the full text of Congressman Kennedy's
    statement for the record as submitted to the House of Representatives.

    SPEECH OF
    HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY
    OF RHODE ISLAND
    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
    THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2005

    Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the
    continued reluctance by the Bush Administration to openly deal with
    the government of Turkey's continued policy of denial of the Armenian
    Genocide. In the words of scholars and writers, genocide denial is the
    last stage of genocide, what Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel has called a
    "double killing.'' The perpetrators first plan and commit the crime,
    then refuse to acknowledge responsibility. Finally, their political
    successors deny this crime against humanity. The present-day Turkish
    government must stop this shameful policy of denial.

    The award-winning writer and Harvard Professor Samantha Power in
    her recent book on genocide recounted how the United States and the
    world's other powers have too often been bystanders to Genocide,
    most recently in Rwanda and as you hear these words, once again in
    Sudan. Power argued that "The Armenian Genocide of 1915 set the stage
    for a gruesome 20th century.'' The international community's failure
    to properly condemn the attempted annihilation of the Armenians
    led Hitler to famously declare "Who, after all, speaks today of the
    annihilation of the Armenians?''

    The Turkish government spends millions of dollars annually to lobby
    other governments to advance its revisionist cause, claiming that
    the subject is "sensitive'' and that acknowledgment would undermine
    relations with Turkey. To compound this assault on the truth, Turkish
    leaders and media accuse U.S. and Israel of genocide, respectively
    in Iraq and Palestine. These policies are abhorrent and must be
    confronted.

    Mr. Speaker, while President Bush has issued annual statements on
    April 24, the day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, he has
    refrained from using the proper word. Moreover, as the leadership of
    the House confirmed last year, the Administration remains opposed to
    a congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide due to Turkish
    objections. This approach sends absolutely the wrong signal to Turkey
    and to the rest of the world. As we promote relations based upon
    shared values, the United States must never forget the essential
    value of facing history directly.

    -30-

    --Boundary_(ID_thovdAY6BU4cQNRvH9DERg)--
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