Los Angeles, CA – On the occasion of the 92nd Anniversary Commemorating the Armenian Genocide, The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) welcomed a letter from Dr. Samuel M. Edelman, Ph. D., Co-Director of the State of California Center of Excellence for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance, urging key Members of the United States House of Representatives to ensure passage of H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

Dr. Edelman addressed the letter to three Members in the House of Representatives. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA-29), who authored H. Res. 106, Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA-12), who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs where H. Res. 106 currently sits, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-08).

The first letter, addressed to Speaker Pelosi asks that “[Speaker Pelosi] support this resolution and, as Speaker of the House, ensure its speedy passage by the U.S. House.” The second letter, addressed to Representative Schiff, thanks the Congressman for authoring H. Res. 106, which is entitled “Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.” The second letter, addressed to Chairman Lantos, asks that “[Chairman Lantos] support this resolution and, as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ensure its passage by your committee and its speedy referral to the House.”

In each letter, Dr. Edelman notes the United States’ international humanitarian relief effort in response to the Armenian Genocide and that comparatively, this effort was one of the greatest relief efforts of all time. Additionally, he discusses the gravity of the crime of genocide and the United States’ historical record documenting the Armenian Genocide which is “all the more poignant given the current genocide in Darfur.”

“These letters demonstrate that the California Center of Excellence for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide stands in solidarity with people of good conscience all over the world in calling the Armenian Genocide what it is – the first genocide of the 20th Century,” remarked Andrew Kzirian, Executive Director of the ANCA-WR. “As this country’s First Secretary of State and Third President Thomas Jefferson stated, ‘in matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock,’” he added.

The Armenian National Committee of America 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.

Photo caption #1: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-08).

Photo caption #2: Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA-12).

Photo caption #3: Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA-29).