Johannes Posted December 9, 2006 Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC - Citing the opposition of the Armenian American community and the growing controversy within Congress surrounding the nomination of Dick Hoagland to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today called on President George W. Bush to withdraw this nomination and propose a new candidate to serve in this important diplomatic post, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Senators Menendez and Reid, citing the growing Hoagland controversy, recommended, in a December 1, 2006 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, that the best way to move this process forward would be for "the President to withdraw his nomination of Richard Hoagland as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia and to propose a new candidate to serve in this important position." Noting the broad-based opposition within Congress, the extensive media coverage this issue has received, and the strong stand of the Armenian American community against this nomination, the two Senators noted that, "It would serve neither our national interests nor the U.S.-Armenia relationship to expect Ambassador-designate Hoagland to carry out his duties under these highly contentious and profoundly troubling circumstances.” "Armenian Americans welcome the principled stand taken today by Senators Menendez and Reid in defense of our nation's fundamental commitment to recognizing, preventing and punishing genocide," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "We deeply appreciate their leadership and value their understanding of the simple truth that a denier of the Armenian Genocide cannot effectively promote U.S. interests or American values in Armenia - a country that rose from the ashes of Turkey's brutal campaign of extermination and exile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted December 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC - Armenian Americans from all fifty states are calling on Deutsche Bank, the Germany-based financial giant, to stop obstructing the return of stolen Armenian Genocide-era assets, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The grassroots campaign is fueled by citizens throughout the country troubled that Deutsche Bank continues to block the rightful return of assets belonging to heirs of Armenians killed in the Armenian Genocide, despite the good faith efforts toward a settlement by lawyers for a group of Armenian Americans who have filed a class action lawsuit against the firm. Taking advantage of the free ANCA WebFax feature on the ANCA website - www.anca.org - community activists are sending letters directly to Dr. Josef Ackermann, the Chairman of Deutsche Bank. The WebFax letter allows concerned individuals to call on Dr. Ackermann to "personally ensure that Deutsche Bank fully lives up to its legal, financial, and moral obligations by returning all assets your firm unlawfully holds from the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 to 1923." The letter goes on to criticize the firm's current conduct, noting that, "compounding your firm's guilt in this matter has been its illegal and immoral conduct in the years following the Armenian Genocide. Rather than taking steps to return stolen property, Deutsche Bank actively avoided meeting its responsibilities through acts of evasion and concealment, as well as other measures intended to prevent these funds from being recovered by survivors and the heirs of victims. Now, having profited from the use of these funds over the course of the last nine decades, your firm is today actively obstructing efforts to secure their rightful return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted December 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives, as part of its efforts to resolve outstanding legislation during an end-of-year "lame duck" session, today adopted legislation that includes a provision protecting U.S. taxpayers from funding an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). "Armenian Americans welcome today's action by the U.S. House of Representatives and look forward to the Senate's final approval of the measure and, of course, its signature into law by the President," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We appreciate this principled stand by Congress against Turkey and Azerbaijan's efforts to institutionalize their illegal blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh." On March 8th of this year, responding to a question on the railroad bypass from Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) during a hearing of the International Relations Committee, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried asserted that, "The proposed railway would bypass Armenia and thus not be beneficial to regional integration. We have no plans to support such a railway financially. The Administration has not allocated or expended any federal agency funds or otherwise provided financial support for the intended project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted February 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has welcomed TIME Magazine's newly announced policy of properly characterizing the Armenian Genocide as clear instance of genocide, as well as a series of other moves taken by this leading international newsweekly to atone for its mistaken distribution, in June of 2005, of a DVD denying this crime against humanity. TIME's actions come in the wake of an amicable agreement reached between the publication and the ANCA's Brussels-based European affiliate - the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), along with the Armenian National Committee of France (CDCA), the California Courier, and a range of leading community and human rights organizations. "We welcome TIME Magazine's judgment that - in the interest of its readers' right to accurate reporting - the Armenian Genocide should be reported as a fact, without qualification," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "This announcement by TIME, along with similar policy statements by the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and many other leading publications, only increases the pressure on the Administration to abandon its morally bankrupt complicity in the Turkish government's denial of its crime against the Armenian nation." The Feb. 12, 2007 issue of the European edition of TIME magazine - available in newsstands throughout Europe as of Feb. 2nd - carries a full-page factual announcement on the Armenian Genocide, along with a complimentary DVD, in English and French, which contains a compelling 52-minute documentary on the Armenian Genocide by French director Laurence Jourdan. The DVD also includes a 46-minute interview with Dr. Yves Ternon, a leading expert on the Armenian Genocide. Both the DVD and the full-page ad were provided free of charge by TIME Europe (circulation 550,000) after realizing that its staff, without proper review, had inserted in the June 6, 2005 issue of TIME Europe a Turkish DVD as a paid advertisement under the guise of promoting tourism to Turkey. The Turkish DVD, paid for by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce, was a deceitful attempt to spread malicious lies and denialist propaganda on the Armenian Genocide. To correct this error, TIME (Europe) published, in its October 17, 2005 issue, a critical page-long letter to the editor jointly signed by the following five French organizations: Memoire 2000, the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), Comité de Defense de la Cause Armenienne (CDCA) -- ANC France, J'Accuse, and the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples (MRAP). In an Editor's note appended to the letter, TIME apologized for disseminating the Turkish DVD. In December 2005, these five organizations along with the Switzerland-Armenia Association (SAA), the French Association of Armenian Lawyers and Jurists (AFAJA), the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), and The California Courier newspaper reached an amicable agreement with TIME executives ensuring that the facts of the Armenian Genocide are not distorted again in the pages of the magazine. Subsequently, Michael Elliott, the Editor of TIME International, issued the following public statement, in a letter addressed to California Courier publisher Harut Sassounian: "Please be advised that, in common with other leading news organizations, it is TIME's policy and practice to refer to the Armenian genocide as a historical fact. Accordingly, I will be informing our correspondents and editors that the term 'Armenian genocide' should be used without qualification." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted March 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 March 2, 2007 1) IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED: HONOR HRANT DINK: Support Senate Passage of S.Res.65 Call Senate Foreign Relations Committee Members TODAY! 2) End the Cycle of Genocide: Grassroots Capitol Campaign March 22-23, 2007 | Washington, DC | COME TO DC!! 3) Action: Urge Support for Armenian Genocide Resolution The number of H.Res.106 cosponsors has increased to 179! Send a free ANCA WebFax thanking cosponsors and urging prospective supporters to register their support for the measure.HONOR HRANT DINK: Support Senate Passage of S.Res.65 CALL Senate Foreign Relations Committee Members TODAY! http://www.anca.org/assets/graphics/2007/hrant_dink.jpgThe Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to consider legislation, authored by the panel's chairman Joe Biden (D-DE), condemning the murder of Hrant Dink. This resolution, S.Res.65, specifically cites that Hrant Dink "was prosecuted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for speaking about the Armenian Genocide," and urges the Turkish government to repeal this anti-free speech law. The legislation will be "marked up" by the Committee on Tuesday, March 6th at 2:15 pm. Action: Call members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ASAP and urge them to vote for S.Res.65. A sample phone script is provided below as well as the complete list of Senate Foreign Relations Committee members along with their Washington, DC Office phone numbers. The most effective phone calls are from activists residing in states represented by Senate Foreign Relations Committee members. Sample Phone Script [The phone will be answered by a receptionist. Ask to be transferred to the staff member handling Foreign Relations. In speaking to this aide or in leaving a recorded voice mail message, please make the following points.] * I am calling to urge the Senator to vote for S.Res.65 when this resolution is considered by the Foreign Relations Committee on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 6th. * This legislation honors the memory of Hrant Dink, a journalist who was prosecuted by the Turkish government and then murdered on the streets of Istanbul for speaking truthfully about the Armenian Genocide. * This brutal murder is a wake up call for the U.S. Senate to pass legislation formally recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Members Alaska Lisa Murkowski ® -- (202) 224-6665 California Barbara Boxer (D) -- (202) 224-3553 Connecticut Christopher Dodd (D) -- (202) 224-2823 Delaware Joe Biden, Chairman (D) -- (202) 224-5042 Florida Bill Nelson (D) -- (202) 224-5274 Georgia Johnny Isakson ® -- (202) 224-3643 Illinois Barack Obama (D) -- (202) 224-2854 Indiana Dick Lugar ®, Ranking Member -- (202) 224-4814 Louisiana David Vitter ® -- (202) 224-4623 Maryland Ben Cardin (D) -- (202) 224-4524 Massachusetts John Kerry (D) -- (202) 224-2742 Minnesota Norm Coleman ® -- (202) 224-5641 Nebraska Chuck Hagel ® -- (202) 224-4224 New Hampshire John Sununu ® -- (202) 224-2841 New Jersey Bob Menendez (D) -- (202) 224-4744 Ohio George Voinovich ® -- (202) 224-3353 Pennsylvania Bob Casey, Jr. (D) -- (202) 224-6324 South Carolina Jim DeMint ® -- (202) 224-6121 Tennessee Bob Corker ® -- (202) 224-3344 Virginia Jim Webb (D) -- (202) 224-4024 Wisconsin Russ Feingold (D) -- (202) 224-5323 http://www.anca.org/assets/graphics/2007/grassrootscapitol2_large.gif Grassroots Capitol Campaign March 22-23, 2007 | Washington, DC Hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America and the Genocide Intervention Network Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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