WASHINGTON, DC – Legislative aides from over fifty Congressional offices attended a Capitol Hill showing of the recently released British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary on the Turkish government lobbying campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)

The March 14th lunchtime viewing of “Armenia: The Betrayed,” attracted staff members representing a broad range of Congressional offices from across the country. Among those in attendance were Hill veterans with years of experience on Armenian issues as well as new staffers learning for the first time about the full extent of Turkey’s campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide. The event was hosted by Representatives James Saxton (R-NJ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) and sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America.

“We want to thank Congressmen Schiff and Saxton for sharing this powerful documentary with more than fifty Congressional offices,” said ANCA Government Affairs Director Abraham Niziblian. “We look forward to other opportunities in the coming weeks – in particular the April 9th Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide – to underscore the dangers of Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, and to help ensure that the lessons of past genocides are used to prevent future genocides.”

Elise Kenderian, Legislative Director for Rep. Saxton, and Niziblian welcomed the participants to the function and later invited BBC producer Phillip Wearne, who spent several months working on the documentary, to offer his insights and answer questions.

The documentary details efforts to pass the Armenian Genocide resolution in October of 2000. Despite garnering wide bipartisan support, the resolution was pulled at the last minute from floor consideration by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who cited a letter from President Clinton expressing opposition to even the consideration of the legislation. The documentary features interviews with Congressmen George Radanovich (R-CA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), as well as with Armenian Genocide survivors, senior Turkish officials and a range of others.

The 40-minute documentary was originally aired in Great Britain on January 26th as part of the BBC “Correspondent” series. It is slated to be aired on cable television on the BBC America channel.

For additional information about this documentary, visit:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/correspondent/2562999.stm