Author: Encourage Congress to pass Armenian Genocide resolution
April 20, 2007
Cincinnati.com
By David Krikorian
America has a choice to make. On the one hand we can side with a "fair-weather" ally in Turkey who would not let us use its assets to assist in the invasion of Iraq...which we know cost American lives or side with Armenian Americans who serve in the U.S. military and Armenia which is a member of the Coalition of the Willing with forces in Iraq today and free use of Armenian airspace and bases.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has declared Tuesday, April 24, an Ohio Day of Remembrance on the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.
The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Turks during World War I and resulted in the murder of 1.5 million Christian Armenians in a brutal form of mass murder that served as Hitler's model for the Holocaust.
The Turkish government to this day absurdly denies the Armenian Genocide occurred, despite the overwhelming body of evidence, international recognition and independent scholarly research to the contrary.
This continued denial of the truth by modern Turkey is deeply insulting and is the foundation for the cycle of genocide that leads to the current genocide in Darfur.
Armenian-Americans have a rich history in Ohio, first settling in the Cleveland area during the early 1900s.
Today, vibrant communities exist in Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Ohio becomes the 40th state to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
We salute Gov. Strickland for his courage in giving voice to this awful truth.
I went to Washington in late March along with activists from around the country to lobby support for Armenian Genocide resolutions in both the House and Senate.
I visited the offices of all 16 Ohio representatives over a two-day span meeting with foreign affairs staffers and several lawmakers including Congresswoman Jeanne Schmidt; Steve Chabot met with our group last week in his local office.
The House resolution has 190 bipartisan Co-sponsors. That is an incredibly high number given that a resolution only needs 218 votes to pass.
Co-sponsors in effect are voting yes in advance, before the vote.
The Turkish government is brazenly threatening the U.S. to not let these resolutions come up for vote.
Previous resolutions failed despite broad bi-partisan support because the leadership lacked the courage to call for a vote.
This time things are different as both Speaker Pelosi and Senate leader Reid are co-sponsors.
America has a choice to make. On the one hand we can side with a "fair-weather" ally in Turkey who would not let us use its assets to assist in the invasion of Iraq...which we know cost American lives or side with Armenian Americans who serve in the U.S. military and Armenia which is a member of the Coalition of the Willing with forces in Iraq today and free use of Armenian airspace and bases.
Currently six Ohio lawmakers from both sides have the courage to co-sponsor this legislation along with our governor setting an example of moral leadership.
Unfortunately, Congressman Chabot and Congresswoman Schmidt are not yet on board.
Please give them a call and urge them to co-sponsor these long overdue resolutions.
David Krikorian lives on Camargo Woods Court in Madeira.
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.
Cincinnati.com
By David Krikorian
America has a choice to make. On the one hand we can side with a "fair-weather" ally in Turkey who would not let us use its assets to assist in the invasion of Iraq...which we know cost American lives or side with Armenian Americans who serve in the U.S. military and Armenia which is a member of the Coalition of the Willing with forces in Iraq today and free use of Armenian airspace and bases.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has declared Tuesday, April 24, an Ohio Day of Remembrance on the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Turks during World War I and resulted in the murder of 1.5 million Christian Armenians in a brutal form of mass murder that served as Hitler's model for the Holocaust.
The Turkish government to this day absurdly denies the Armenian Genocide occurred, despite the overwhelming body of evidence, international recognition and independent scholarly research to the contrary.
This continued denial of the truth by modern Turkey is deeply insulting and is the foundation for the cycle of genocide that leads to the current genocide in Darfur.
Armenian-Americans have a rich history in Ohio, first settling in the Cleveland area during the early 1900s.
Today, vibrant communities exist in Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Ohio becomes the 40th state to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
We salute Gov. Strickland for his courage in giving voice to this awful truth.
I went to Washington in late March along with activists from around the country to lobby support for Armenian Genocide resolutions in both the House and Senate.
I visited the offices of all 16 Ohio representatives over a two-day span meeting with foreign affairs staffers and several lawmakers including Congresswoman Jeanne Schmidt; Steve Chabot met with our group last week in his local office.
The House resolution has 190 bipartisan Co-sponsors. That is an incredibly high number given that a resolution only needs 218 votes to pass.
Co-sponsors in effect are voting yes in advance, before the vote.
The Turkish government is brazenly threatening the U.S. to not let these resolutions come up for vote.
Previous resolutions failed despite broad bi-partisan support because the leadership lacked the courage to call for a vote.
This time things are different as both Speaker Pelosi and Senate leader Reid are co-sponsors.
America has a choice to make. On the one hand we can side with a "fair-weather" ally in Turkey who would not let us use its assets to assist in the invasion of Iraq...which we know cost American lives or side with Armenian Americans who serve in the U.S. military and Armenia which is a member of the Coalition of the Willing with forces in Iraq today and free use of Armenian airspace and bases.
Currently six Ohio lawmakers from both sides have the courage to co-sponsor this legislation along with our governor setting an example of moral leadership.
Unfortunately, Congressman Chabot and Congresswoman Schmidt are not yet on board.
Please give them a call and urge them to co-sponsor these long overdue resolutions.
David Krikorian lives on Camargo Woods Court in Madeira.
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 7:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home