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Band urges Hastert to identify genocide

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  • Band urges Hastert to identify genocide

    Daily Herald
    September 28, 2005
    Kane County edition

    Band urges Hastert to identify genocide

    By Gala M. Pierce
    Daily Herald Staff Writer

    System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian kept a promise
    Tuesday he made to his 97-year-old grandfather, who as
    a child saw his infant brother thrown on an animal's
    horns during the Armenian Genocide - ask the Speaker
    of the House to help the world remember.
    The Beirut, Lebanon, native did so by leading a rally
    in front of U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert's Batavia office,
    urging the Plano Republican to hold a vote on pending
    legislation that would recognize Turkey's killing of
    1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as
    genocide.

    `This is not just a political event for us; it's a
    personal event,' Tankian said to the crowd of more
    than 125 people. `We're a small percentage of our
    original people, and that's a profound thing.'
    The band, which organized the rally along with several
    Armenian-American groups, is no stranger to mixing
    politics with its music. The Los Angeles quartet's
    songs regularly hit on topics like genocide and petty
    criminals doubling prison populations.
    The House International Relations Committee approved
    two resolutions Sept. 15 that would recognize the
    Armenian Genocide.

    According to historians, as the Ottoman Empire began
    to crumble in Turkey, the Armenians became more
    isolated as the only major Christian minority in an
    area dominated by Turks. Calls for Armenian
    independence were met with violence.

    `We're not just trying to recognize a crime that was
    committed 90 years ago but also trying to end the
    cycle of genocide that's taking place today,' said
    Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian
    National Committee of America.

    The groups contend that despite his previous public
    support for the measure in 2000, Hastert twice has
    prevented the Armenian Genocide legislation from
    coming to a full vote.

    `At that time there was a personal request from the
    White House to not call that resolution to a House
    vote because of the diplomatic concerns of what it
    would mean in the Middle East,' Hastert spokesman Brad
    Hahn said.

    Hahn said he appreciated how peaceful and civil the
    rally went. At this time, Hastert neither is
    preventing the resolutions to come to the full House
    nor is he leading the charge in an effort to do so.
    The Turkish government, which has not acknowledged the
    genocide itself, remains an ally to the United States,
    protesters said.

    Members of the crowd hoped Hastert was listening
    although he wasn't physically in the Batavia office.
    Nairee Hagopian, 33, of Hoffman Estates, said only
    four people in her family survived the horrific
    events. Her grandfather and great-grandmother were
    thrown at the bottom of a firepit with about 50 others
    in 1915 in Zeitoun, Turkey. Most perished when the
    blaze was lit. `Luckily, because they were at the
    bottom, they lived,' Hagopian said of her relatives.

    Riley MacDonald, a senior at Batavia High School,
    ditched class to show her support for the cause.
    `It shocks me that it would ever be a question,' she
    said of acknowledging the genocide.

    Drummer John Dolmayan, the other member of the
    multi-platinum quartet who appeared in the rally, also
    lost family members in the tragedy. His grandfather,
    who suffered from emphysema, was shot and killed in
    1915. He was discovered hiding in a tree by a Turk
    soldier after he coughed, which gave himself away.
    `We don't blame the Turkish people today for what
    happened at that time, but we think it's a shame they
    don't even know their own history,' Dolmayan said. He
    said it's the band's only rally on their tour, and
    they plan to stay in the Chicago area all week until
    their concert Friday at the Allstate Arena.
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