WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmen James Saxton (R-NJ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) will host a showing of a recently released British Broadcasting Company (BBC) documentary on Congressional efforts to secure United States reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.) The event, sponsored by the ANCA, will take place on Friday, March 14th in Room 1334 of the Longworth House Office Building from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm.

The BBC documentary, titled “Armenia: The Betrayed,” details efforts to pass the Armenian Genocide resolution in October 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 the consideration of the legislation. The documentary also features interviews with Congressmen George Radanovich and Frank Pallone, as well as with Armenian Genocide survivors, senior Turkish officials and a range of others.

“We want to thank Congressmen Schiff and Saxton for sharing this important documentary with their colleagues and Congressional staff,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “This powerful documentary reveals the inside story behind how Turkey aggressively uses its geopolitical leverage to prevent the United States from reaffirming her own proud historical record as a nation that, during the time of the Genocide, protested Turkey’s atrocities against the Armenians and helped to bring relief to its survivors.”

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