Senators Kerry, Clinton, Feingold, Johnson, Reid and Stabenow Back
Measure Marking Anniversary of Genocide Convention
WASHINGTON, DC—Seven new Senators have
cosponsored the Genocide Resolution, S.Res.164, bringing the total
number of Senators who are supporting the measure to twenty-five,
less than a week after its introduction, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
"We appreciate the support of all the Senators
who have cosponsored S.Res.164 and will continue working in the
coming days and weeks to encourage even greater bipartisan support
for the Genocide Resolution," said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. "Turkey's recent escalation of its shameful
international campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide only underscores
the need for this legislation. We must, as a nation, constantly
reinforce our commitment to ensuring that the lessons of past genocides
are used to prevent future genocides."
The resolution, introduced on June 10th by Senators
John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ), commemorates the 15th
anniversary of the US implementation of the Genocide Convention.
It is similar to a resolution introduced last year in the Senate
that garnered the support of over 30 Senators. It parallels legislation,
H.Res.193, introduced this April in the House of Representatives.
The resolution specifically cites the Armenian Genocide, along with
the Holocaust and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, as an example
of past genocide.
Joining Senators Ensign and Corzine as cosponsors
are: George Allen (R-VA), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Joe Biden (D-DE), Barbara
Boxer (D-CA), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Kent Conrad (D-ND),
Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Edwards (D-NC),
Russ Feingold (D-WI), James Jeffords (I-VT), Tim Johnson (D-SD),
Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Mary
Landrieu (D-LA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Jack
Reed (D-RI), Harry Reid (D-NV), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). A similar measure in the US
House, H.Res.193, was unanimously approved by the Judiciary Committee
on May 21st.
In recent weeks, the Turkish government has
escalated its campaign of Armenian Genocide denial. Recent examples
of this escalation include:
* The Turkish government sent Ecvet Tezcan,
a confirmed genocide denier from the Turkish Foreign Ministry's
Intelligence and Research Department, to the United States to help
derail recent Congressional progress toward the adoption of the
Genocide Resolution.
* In Turkey, the Education Minister Huseyin
Celik issued a decree requiring the teaching of Armenian Genocide
denial to the next generation of Turkey's school children.
* In Washington, DC, the Turkish Ambassador
is personally visiting Congressional offices to demand that any
mention of the Armenian Genocide be removed from legislation before
the Senate and House.
* The Turkish government has hired a new
public relations firm, the Harbour Group, to join their lobbyist,
former Congressman Robert Livingston, in his efforts to block the
adoption of the Congressional Genocide Resolution.
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