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Military Contractors And Chevron Lobby Against Armenian Genocide Bil

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  • Military Contractors And Chevron Lobby Against Armenian Genocide Bil

    MILITARY CONTRACTORS AND CHEVRON LOBBY AGAINST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

    AllGov
    http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Milita ry_Contractors_and_Chevron_Lobby_against_Armenian_ Genocide_Bill_90616
    June 17 2009
    USA

    Tuesday, June 16, 2009 (graphic: PeaceofArt.org) Billion-dollar
    business deals have trumped human rights concerns for some of the
    largest defense and energy corporations in the United States when it
    comes to the issue of recognizing the Armenian genocide. According
    to the Associated Press, six international companies--BAE Systems,
    Goodrich, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, United Technologies, and
    Chevron--have quietly lobbied Congress not to approve a resolution
    that labels the death of more than one million Armenians by Turkey
    in the early 20th century as "genocide."

    All of the companies have strong ties to Turkey, a key ally of the
    United States. The Turkish armed forces is getting fighter jets from
    Northrop for $3 billion, while U.K.-based BAE Systems is supplying
    armored vehicles, Raytheon is selling the Stinger missile launcher
    system, and United Technologies is providing Sikorsky helicopters to
    Turkey. Goodrich is being paid by a Turkish firm to provide maintenance
    and repair work on engine components, and Chevron holds a stake in
    a pipeline that crosses the country.

    Rouben Adalian, director of the Armenian National Institute, a
    Washington research organization, says the companies "don't want to
    be seen opposing a resolution that has a very evident human rights
    element. It would put them on the side of denying history and denying
    genocide."

    The House resolution regarding Armenian genocide is currently sitting
    in the foreign affairs committee, awaiting a hearing. Similar bills
    have been introduced in previous sessions of Congress, but have
    never been approved. The government of Turkey denies that the deaths,
    which occurred at the time of World War I, were genocide, saying the
    number of casualties is inflated and was the consequence of civil
    war and unrest.
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