Los Angeles, CA – The Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) recently met with U.S. Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota and urged him to back a resolution (Senate Resolution 164) marking the 15th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of the Genocide Convention. The Senate resolution specifically cites the Armenian Genocide as well as the Holocaust and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides as instances of past genocide. Currently, 34 U.S. Senators are backing S.164.

“I am eager for Senator Tom Daschle, the Senate Minority Leader, to add his name among those supporting the Genocide Resolution,” remarked ANCA-WR Chairman Raffi Hamparian. “His support would be entirely consistent with his longstanding support for human rights,” Hamparian added.

At the conclusion of their discussion, the ANCA- WR Chairman presented Senator Daschle with a copy of The New York Times Bestseller, “The Burning Tigris, The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response,” by award winning author Peter Balakian.

The ANCA-WR office has been spearheading a coordinated outreach campaign to Armenian- Americans living in South Dakota and urging them to contact Senator Daschle in support of the Genocide Resolution. ANCA-WR staffers have been using phone banks, mass mailings and the internet to reach out to a number of Armenian- Americans who call South Dakota home. The positive response to the ANCA-WR’s outreach campaign has been overwhelming.

Tom Daschle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 and quickly rose to become an influential force in the Democratic Party. In 1994, with the retirement of Senator George Mitchell of Maine, Daschle become the Democratic Leader in the U.S. Senate.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.