Armenian Genocide bill planned
03/07/2007
Daily News
BY LISA FRIEDMAN, Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - One day after a U.S. Senate committee failed to vote to condemn the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin confirmed his intention to introduce an Armenian Genocide resolution.
An aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she plans to co-sponsor the bill, which will mirror legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena.
"It's great news," Schiff said. Calling the measure a "wonderful development," he noted that as the assistant Democratic leader, Durbin's sponsorship of legislation underscores the commitment of Senate leaders to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Durbin spokeswoman Sandra Abrevaya said the senator will likely introduce the bill next week.
Armenian-American groups also cheered the news.
"Senator Durbin is very committed to human rights issues," said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America. "The resolution continues to build momentum."
Armenians contend the Ottoman Empire began an orchestrated slaughter in 1915 in which about 1.5 million Armenians were killed.
Turkey denies it was a genocide, saying about 300,000 were killed and noting that Armenians sided with invading Russian troops in the aftermath of World War I and took up arms against Turks.
The bill's introduction comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee moved to delay discussion of another measure condemning Dink's murder as well as the Turkish penal code under which the journalist was once tried for "insulting Turkishness."
In the meantime, the House measure sponsored by Schiff has garnered 179 supporters and is expected to come up for a vote in the House Foreign Relations Committee.
lisa.friedman@langnews.com
(202) 662-8731
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Daily News
BY LISA FRIEDMAN, Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - One day after a U.S. Senate committee failed to vote to condemn the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin confirmed his intention to introduce an Armenian Genocide resolution.
An aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she plans to co-sponsor the bill, which will mirror legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena.
"It's great news," Schiff said. Calling the measure a "wonderful development," he noted that as the assistant Democratic leader, Durbin's sponsorship of legislation underscores the commitment of Senate leaders to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Durbin spokeswoman Sandra Abrevaya said the senator will likely introduce the bill next week.
Armenian-American groups also cheered the news.
"Senator Durbin is very committed to human rights issues," said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America. "The resolution continues to build momentum."
Armenians contend the Ottoman Empire began an orchestrated slaughter in 1915 in which about 1.5 million Armenians were killed.
Turkey denies it was a genocide, saying about 300,000 were killed and noting that Armenians sided with invading Russian troops in the aftermath of World War I and took up arms against Turks.
The bill's introduction comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee moved to delay discussion of another measure condemning Dink's murder as well as the Turkish penal code under which the journalist was once tried for "insulting Turkishness."
In the meantime, the House measure sponsored by Schiff has garnered 179 supporters and is expected to come up for a vote in the House Foreign Relations Committee.
lisa.friedman@langnews.com
(202) 662-8731
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 9:03 AM
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