Tweet
Menendez: There is no other word for Armenian Genocide
13:33 26/04/2013 » COMMENTS
The Chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House
Foreign Affairs Committee - the two powerful Congressional panels with
oversight over U.S. foreign policy - joined with their colleagues on
the evening of April 24th on Capitol Hill in rallying bipartisan
support for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide,
Asbarez reported, citing the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
In moving remarks, Chairman Menendez stressed that there should not be
any verbal equivocation when dealing with genocide: `So let's be
perfectly clear, there is no other word for it; there is no euphemism;
there is no avoiding it; there are no excuses. As part of this
commemoration we must fully commit ourselves to acknowledging the
fundamental truth that what happened from 1915-1923 was by definition
a blatant act of genocide - an acknowledgement that must come from
Turkey, and it must come from our own government.'
Chairman Royce reviewed how Ottoman Turkish authorities made no
effort, at the time of the Genocide, to hide their intent to destroy
the Armenian people: `The events that we remember today, that
commenced 98 years ago is not only still today - shocking - the
genocide, or as Hitler said the annihilation. [. . .] An attempt to
annihilate an entire race, in which the American Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau was present at the time - an observer - and said that these
deportations were an attempt to annihilate a race and that those who
gave the orders understood it. And that far from trying to conceal it,
they shared with him, what indeed would be the outcome.'
The Armenian Genocide remembrance, held before a standing-room-only
crowd in the Hart Senate Office Building, was hosted by the
Congressional Armenian Caucus, with prominent attorney and Capitol
Hill veteran Sarig Armenian serving as Master of Ceremonies. In
addition to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez
(D-NJ) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA),
others offering remarks and participating in the remembrance were:
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Joe Crowley (D-NY), the
Vice-Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus; Eliot Engel (D-NY), the
Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Congressional
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Michael Grimm (R-NY) and Frank Pallone
(D-NJ), and Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), David Cicilline
(D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Scott Garrett (R-NJ),
Janice Hahn (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John
Sarbanes (D-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie
Speier (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Niki
Tsongas (D-MA). Legislators, including Senators Jack Reid (D-RI) and
Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Linda Sanchez extended support for
the program and widely publicized the event using social media.
`Armenian Americans from across the nation came together today to
deliver a powerful message to Congress about our community's enduring
commitment to a truthful, just, and comprehensive resolution of the
Armenian Genocide,' said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. `We
thank all those from our community and among our coalition partners
who joined us on Capitol Hill. And, of course, we want to express our
appreciation to all the legislators, Republican and Democratic, who
are working to promote our nation's values and advance our regional
security interests by ending Turkey's denial of truth and obstruction
of justice for this crime against all humanity.'
In the weeks leading up to April 24th, the ANCA formally invited
scores of senior Administration officials, including Secretary of
State John Kerry, to attend the April 24th Capitol Hill Armenian
Genocide remembrance. On the morning of the observance, after weeks of
consideration, the State Department informed the ANCA that, as a
matter of policy, the Obama Administration had decided not to
participate in the event, or even to arrange for a single official to
be present at the Congressional program. The State Department remains
set, however, over ANCA's objections, to send U.S. Ambassador to
Turkey Francis Ricciardone to speak at an April 26th Washington, DC
conference of the ATAA, a group devoted, in large part, to the denial
of the Armenian Genocide.
As in years past, the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues -
co-chaired by Representatives Grimm and Pallone - was joined by
Armenian American organizations, the Embassy of the Republic of
Armenia, and the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in hosting
the event. In addition to remarks by legislators, powerful speeches of
solidarity with the global movement for a just resolution of the
Armenian Genocide were offered by Armenia's Ambassador to the U.S.,
Tatoul Markarian, and Republic of Nagorno Karabakh Representative
Robert Avetisyan.
The program's opening prayer was offered by Archbishop Vicken
Aykazian, the Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America, and the benediction was given by Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan,
Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern U.S., who,
once again this year, also opened the April 24th session of the U.S.
House with a prayer broadcast nationwide on C-SPAN. As has become a
tradition in recent years, the reach of the program was multiplied by
social media, with Senators and citizens alike posting photos,
tweeting impressions, and emailing updates throughout the event.
Source: Panorama.am
From: Baghdasarian
13:33 26/04/2013 » COMMENTS
The Chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House
Foreign Affairs Committee - the two powerful Congressional panels with
oversight over U.S. foreign policy - joined with their colleagues on
the evening of April 24th on Capitol Hill in rallying bipartisan
support for a truthful and just resolution of the Armenian Genocide,
Asbarez reported, citing the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
In moving remarks, Chairman Menendez stressed that there should not be
any verbal equivocation when dealing with genocide: `So let's be
perfectly clear, there is no other word for it; there is no euphemism;
there is no avoiding it; there are no excuses. As part of this
commemoration we must fully commit ourselves to acknowledging the
fundamental truth that what happened from 1915-1923 was by definition
a blatant act of genocide - an acknowledgement that must come from
Turkey, and it must come from our own government.'
Chairman Royce reviewed how Ottoman Turkish authorities made no
effort, at the time of the Genocide, to hide their intent to destroy
the Armenian people: `The events that we remember today, that
commenced 98 years ago is not only still today - shocking - the
genocide, or as Hitler said the annihilation. [. . .] An attempt to
annihilate an entire race, in which the American Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau was present at the time - an observer - and said that these
deportations were an attempt to annihilate a race and that those who
gave the orders understood it. And that far from trying to conceal it,
they shared with him, what indeed would be the outcome.'
The Armenian Genocide remembrance, held before a standing-room-only
crowd in the Hart Senate Office Building, was hosted by the
Congressional Armenian Caucus, with prominent attorney and Capitol
Hill veteran Sarig Armenian serving as Master of Ceremonies. In
addition to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez
(D-NJ) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA),
others offering remarks and participating in the remembrance were:
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Joe Crowley (D-NY), the
Vice-Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus; Eliot Engel (D-NY), the
Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Congressional
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Michael Grimm (R-NY) and Frank Pallone
(D-NJ), and Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), David Cicilline
(D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Scott Garrett (R-NJ),
Janice Hahn (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John
Sarbanes (D-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie
Speier (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Niki
Tsongas (D-MA). Legislators, including Senators Jack Reid (D-RI) and
Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Linda Sanchez extended support for
the program and widely publicized the event using social media.
`Armenian Americans from across the nation came together today to
deliver a powerful message to Congress about our community's enduring
commitment to a truthful, just, and comprehensive resolution of the
Armenian Genocide,' said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. `We
thank all those from our community and among our coalition partners
who joined us on Capitol Hill. And, of course, we want to express our
appreciation to all the legislators, Republican and Democratic, who
are working to promote our nation's values and advance our regional
security interests by ending Turkey's denial of truth and obstruction
of justice for this crime against all humanity.'
In the weeks leading up to April 24th, the ANCA formally invited
scores of senior Administration officials, including Secretary of
State John Kerry, to attend the April 24th Capitol Hill Armenian
Genocide remembrance. On the morning of the observance, after weeks of
consideration, the State Department informed the ANCA that, as a
matter of policy, the Obama Administration had decided not to
participate in the event, or even to arrange for a single official to
be present at the Congressional program. The State Department remains
set, however, over ANCA's objections, to send U.S. Ambassador to
Turkey Francis Ricciardone to speak at an April 26th Washington, DC
conference of the ATAA, a group devoted, in large part, to the denial
of the Armenian Genocide.
As in years past, the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues -
co-chaired by Representatives Grimm and Pallone - was joined by
Armenian American organizations, the Embassy of the Republic of
Armenia, and the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in hosting
the event. In addition to remarks by legislators, powerful speeches of
solidarity with the global movement for a just resolution of the
Armenian Genocide were offered by Armenia's Ambassador to the U.S.,
Tatoul Markarian, and Republic of Nagorno Karabakh Representative
Robert Avetisyan.
The program's opening prayer was offered by Archbishop Vicken
Aykazian, the Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America, and the benediction was given by Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan,
Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern U.S., who,
once again this year, also opened the April 24th session of the U.S.
House with a prayer broadcast nationwide on C-SPAN. As has become a
tradition in recent years, the reach of the program was multiplied by
social media, with Senators and citizens alike posting photos,
tweeting impressions, and emailing updates throughout the event.
Source: Panorama.am
From: Baghdasarian