BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL CALLS UPON CONGRESS TO ADVANCE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

BERKELEY, CA – The Berkeley City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on the United States House of Representatives to advance H.Res.106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, reported the San Francisco Bay Area Armenian National Committee (Bay Area ANC).

“Your action tonight will help send the message that Berkeley does not want our country to bow to foreign intimidation on a matter as fundamental as genocide,” said Bay Area ANC Chairwoman Roxanne Makasdjian in thanking the Council for adopting the resolution.

The measure was introduced by Councilman Kriss Worthington, who worked with the Bay Area ANC in drafting the language for the resolution. A number of Armenian Americans were on hand and spoke during the public comment portion of the Council meeting, including members of the Armenian Youth Federation and the University of California Berkeley Armenian Student Association.

“I’m glad to see Berkeley once again stand up for human rights,” said Shant Hagopian, a UC Berkeley student and Bay Area ANC activist. “This resolution is one more step forward on the path to justice.”

Over the few weeks following the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ passage of H.Res.106 on October 10, 2007, the Armenian Genocide captured the attention of US leaders and policymakers in an unprecedented fashion. Despite tremendous pressure put on Representatives by the Turkish government to withdraw their co-sponsorship of the resolution, an overwhelming number of members of Congress continue to support H.Res.106.

H.Res.106 “call[s] upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide.” The resolution is necessary now due to the Turkish government’s increasingly aggressive campaign of genocide denial, including demands that the US government join Turkey in denying the Armenian Genocide.

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Armenian National Committee

San Francisco - Bay Area

51 Commonwealth Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94118

Tel: (415) 387-3433

Fax: (415) 751-0617

mail@ancsf.org

www.ancsf.org