Congressman: Armenian Genocide will be commemorated every year

PanARMENIAN.Net - Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff has said that the Armenian Genocide will be recognized every year with an annual commemoration after the House of Representative voted overwhelmingly to recognize the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide.

"I cannot tell you how thrilled I was," Schiff said when asked by Pasadena Weekly how important the move was for him.

"I know how much it means to my constituents. After 19 years it passed with overwhelming bipartisanship. I always hoped it would, but there were times when we all wondered.

"Now it will be recognized every year with an annual commemoration, and that’s the way it should be.

"There is no dispute over the facts."

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the landmark resolution on October 29.

Adopted by 405 votes to 11, the resolution calls on the U.S. government to “commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance” and to “reject” Turkish efforts to deny it. It says the government should also “encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide” and their “relevance to modern-day crimes against humanity.”