LA County Democratic Party passes Armenian Genocide resolution

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Los Angeles County Democratic Party voted and passed a resolution on the Armenian Genocide authored by the Southern California Armenian Democrats – an LACDP Chartered club, Asbarez reports.

The resolution received widespread support from various organizations and clubs on its way to final consideration by the LA County Democratic Party executive committee and a copy of it will be sent to the White House, Representatives Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman, Howard Barman, Henry Waxman, and the California Democratic Party.

The vote came on the eve of the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide – the World War 1 massacre and deportation of over 1.5 million Armenians from their ancestral homelands in present day Eastern Turkey. Despite numerous official reports, eye witness testimony and scholarly research, the Turkish government renounces culpability regarding the genocide and engages in an active worldwide campaign of denial.

The Resolution passed by the LACDP primarily calls for members of the Democratic Party State Central Committee to be educated and made aware of the Armenian Genocide and its subsequent denial by Turkish authorities. The resolution was authored by the Southern California Armenian Democrats – the first ever LA County chartered Armenian Democratic organization. Earlier in the year, members of SCAD had traveled to San Diego to participate in and attend the California State Democratic Party’s annual convention. At the convention, they organized and carried out a peaceful protest at an event organized by the California Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus who had invited commentator and host of the Young Turks program, Cenk Uygur. Mr. Uygur is founder and host of the ill-named program and has made denialist statements about the Genocide on his program website.

Many democrats in attendance were not aware of Mr. Uygur’s comments. The Chair of the Caucus reaffirmed the Caucus’s support of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide but allowed Mr. Uygur to take the stage despite protests.

“We have to educate members of the Democratic Party about the Armenian Genocide and not assume that everyone knows about this issue as well as we do,” said SCAD Chair Armond Aghakhanian. “We will work on this issue and see it through. We owe it to all Armenians regardless of party affiliation. It’s an issue of basic human rights and the Democratic Party will reaffirm its moral stance.”

The Resolution will next be considered at the Party’s quarterly Executive Board meeting in July.