Armenian Genocide: AAA indignant about 'ill-conceived letter by former Secretaries of State'

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Assembly of America sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the ill-conceived address by eight former Secretaries of State in opposition to H. Res. 106, calling it "inconsistent with the fundamentally tenets of American values," and asked how many more excuses they could conjure up to avoid the truth. The Assembly letter also pointed out key facts that the former Secretaries failed to discuss, including Turkey's refusal to allow the U.S. access to northern front at a critical stage in Operation Iraqi Freedom, a refusal which cost American lives. The letter concluded as follows: "Enough is enough. No more lies. No more deceit. No more denial. By preventing a vote, you not only impede the democratic process and do a great disservice to the 226 cosponsors and the millions of Americans that support this resolution, but also unwittingly encourage a campaign of denial. Is this the message we want to teach future generations - it is permissible to deny genocide."



"The Armenian Assembly will continue to push for a concluding affirmative vote on H. Res. 106 and urges the community to call upon their Member of Congress to support the resolution today," said Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "We must not allow Turkish deniers and whomever they line up to endorse their deceptions to succeed in their attempt to derail affirmation of the Armenian Genocide," said Ardouny.



In their September 25th jointly-signed letter, former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, Laurence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Jr., Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and George Schultz, urged Speaker Pelosi to, "prevent the resolution from reaching the House Floor," thereby denying House Members an opportunity to vote their conscience on the Armenian Genocide. The former State Department officials expressed concern that passage of the resolution "could endanger our national security interests in the region, including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and damage efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey."