Armenian NFL Lineman Tackles Genocide Denial

July 14, 2008 Rep. Steve Cohen H.Res.106 Opponent Nikki Tinker Congressional Hopeful Armenian Genocide Resolution Opponent Steve Cohen Battles for Congressional Seat in Memphis ANCA Joins Armenian NFL Player Rien Long in Endorsing Nikki Tinker ANCA Action: Key Senate and House Panels Set to Markup Foreign Aid Bills | Send a free ANCA WebFax U.S. Ambassador to Armenia - Update: Yovanovitch Attempts to Differentiate U.S. Policy from Turkey's Genocide Denial Yovanovitch Responds to Obama Inquiries on Armenian Genocide Policy Darfur Action: ANCA Welcomes Charges Against Sudan's Genocidal Leader | Urge UN Security Council to Act Leo Sarkisian Internship Program - 2008: The Next Generation has Arrived Former NFL Tennessee Titan Endorses Nikki Tinker in House Race Rien Long Playing for the TN Titans Long in Armenia Visiting Saghmosavank MEMPHIS, TN -- The ANCA has learned that former NFL Tennessee Titans Defensive Lineman, Armenian American Rien Long, has endorsed Democratic candidate Nikki Tinker in her bid to oust Armenian Genocide Resolution opponent Steve Cohen from Congress. In a statement released by Long, the NFL star states "I am proud to be endorsing Nikki and hope she wins her August 7th primary race. I believe Nikki will bring the energy, intellect and integrity the people of Tennessee's Ninth Congressional District need and deserve. I also believe that people like Steve Cohen, who are playing an active role in blocking legislation in Congress that would mark the first genocide of the 20th century (Armenian Genocide), have no place in Congress." Nikki Tinker, like Barack Obama, supports the legislation. "Sadly, Cohen is an apologist for the Turkish government, which has never admitted to genocide," Long added. Long won college football's Outland Trophy in 2003, which is awarded to the best interior lineman. He was then picked in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans and has made Tennessee his home ever since. Long was involved in a car accident in January, from which he is on the road to recovery and hopes to rejoin the NFL as early as this season. Congressional Foreign Aid Panels Set to Consider Armenian Aid Priorities WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees will meet separately this week to draft their respective versions of the Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) foreign aid bill, a measure which will include a number of appropriations and policy provisions of special concern to Armenian Americans, reported the reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The House Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to meet this Wednesday, July 16th, and the Senate full Appropriations Committee is set to gather the following day, Thursday, July 17th. Read complete release | Read ANCA Briefing Memo on Foreign Aid Yovanovitch Attempts to Differentiate U.S. Policy from Turkey's Genocide Denial WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Ambassador Designate to Armenia, Marie Yovanovitch, in the last of her eights sets of written responses to questions from members of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, attempted to distance U.S. policy from Turkey’s outright denial of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). In response to a series of questions posed by panel member Russell Feingold (D-WI) regarding the difference between the U.S. and Turkish government’s policies on recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the nominee stated that: “In contrast to the Turkish government's policy, the U.S. Government acknowledges and mourns as historical fact the mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportations that devastated over one and a half million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire.” The full text of the questions and responses are provided below. "We remain disappointed that Ambassador Designate Yovanovitch provided evasive answers and non-responses in reply to Senator Feingold's clearly articulated questions. We are troubled by her assertion that it is somehow an appropriate ‘prerogative’ of the President – in complete disregard of the facts and counter to our nation’s common morality - to allow a foreign country to impose a gag rule on America’s defense of human rights,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We do, at the same time, note that the nominee makes at least a token effort to distance U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide -- as profoundly flawed as it is -- from the Turkish government’s position of outright denial.” Read More. . . Yovanovitch Responds to Obama Inquiries on Genocide Policy WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Barack Obama has received written responses to the four written questions he submitted to U.S. Ambassador Designate Marie Yovanovitch as part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s ongoing review of her nomination to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). “We remain troubled by Ambassador Yovanovitch’s evasive answers, her outright non-responses, and her refusal, in her replies to Senator Obama and other Senators, to offer anything approaching a reasonable or factually supportable explanation of the reasons behind Administration’s misguided policy on the Armenian Genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “This being said, it appears as though Ambassador Yovanovitch and her colleagues have learned from the disastrous Hoagland experience and are coming to understand that the U.S. Senate will not accept – and the Armenian American community will never allow - an Ambassador to Armenia who denies the Armenian Genocide.” Read more. . . ANCA Welcomes Charges Against Sudan's Genocidal Leader WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today welcomed news of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide against the people of Darfur. “Armenian Americans welcome these charges as a meaningful step forward in the international movement to end the cycle of genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We are hopeful that this legal milestone will mark a turning point toward decisive action on the part of the United States, the U.N. Security Council, and the international community to end Khartoum’s brutal and systematic drive to destroy the population of Darfur through massacre, disease and malnutrition.” The Save Darfur Coalition, of which the ANCA is a member, has initiated a grassroots email campaign to the U.N. Security Council, urging them to take decisive action on a comprehensive strategy for Sudan. Save Darfur President Jerry Fowler noted, “The world at-large, primarily the Security Council, has allowed al-Bashir to continue his reign of destruction, recalcitrance and violence with utter impunity. Moreno-Ocampo has acted. Now the Security Council must as well.” Read more. . . | Take Action ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship '08: The Next Generation has Arrived Washington, DC - The 24th annual Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Leo Sarkisian internship kicked off with a fast pace and remarkable start last week, as interns from all over the Western hemisphere gathered in Washington, DC, to embrace this eight-week, intensive program. “This internship is really meant to serve as a training mechanism for the next generation of activists in the Armenian community throughout the Americas,” said Leo Sarkisian Internship Director Serouj Aprahamian. “We are pleased to welcome this group of highly-motivated interns to DC and have them hit the ground running as they gain the first-hand experience needed to effectively advance Armenian American issues.” Each of the interns participated in an intensive application process in their respective ANC regions and look forward to this life changing experience, dreaming of coming out from their local communities and making a difference on a nation-wide scale. The year’s intern class consists of university students from coast-to-coast, including: Rita Astoor, Nieri Avanessian, Zori Eurdekian, Razmig Nalpatian, Razmik Tchakmakian, and Arbi Vartan. Read more. . .