WASHINGTON, DC – The lead authors of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.304, Robert Dold (R-IL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), are leading a bipartisan effort to secure Congressional signatures on a letter urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to renounce her recent public mischaracterization of the Armenian Genocide as a “historical debate,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

A “Dear Colleague letter” currently being circulated by Representatives Schiff and Dold calls upon their colleagues in the U.S. House to join with them in co-signing a letter “asking Secretary Clinton to “disavow” her “historical debate” remarks, which she made at a public Town Hall meeting, and properly recognize the Armenian Genocide. The two legislators stressed in this correspondence that the “historical debate” argument has long been a talking point pushed by the Government of Turkey and other genocide deniers, who seek to muddy the waters by claiming that we in Congress must stay our hand in order to avoid undermining history’s settling of the truth. This is an intellectually unsupportable argument. There is no historical debate about the nature of the slaughter of the Armenian people – in fact Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word “genocide,” was thinking of the Armenians when he created the term – and our own National Archives contain all the documentary evidence that Secretary Clinton could ever need.” They also noted that: “By embracing the idea of an historical debate, the Secretary has taken a position at odds with her past positions and the positions of President Obama and Vice-President Biden. It is a position much closer to that of the Turkish government than that of any other senior U.S. diplomat in recent memory and it undermines our efforts to focus attention on genocides and other mass human rights violations elsewhere.

The letter to Secretary Clinton notes that her, “historically inaccurate description of the Armenian Genocide as an open question, in addition to the offense it represents to Armenian Americans and other victims of genocide, provides American encouragement to the Republic of Turkey in its shameful campaign of denial.” It also reminds the Secretary that in 2006 she joined with President Obama – then a U.S. Senator – in writing a letter explaining to President Bush that the Armenian Genocide was a “systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. . . The victims of the Genocide deserve our remembrance and their rightful place in history. . . .It is in the best interests of our nation and the entire global community to remember the past and learn from these crimes against humanity to ensure that they are never repeated. The sign-on letter also quotes Senator Clinton’s public statement in 2008 when, as a Senator and candidate for the presidency, she affirmed that: “[T]he horrible events perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of genocide,” and that “[o]ur common morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for human rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized and remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States.”

CLICK HERE to send a free ANCA WebMail to encourage your U.S. Representative to sign the Schiff-Dold letter.

Dear Colleague:

At a recent department-wide Town Hall meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mischaracterized the Armenian Genocide as a “historical debate,” despite the fact that the murder of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children by the Ottoman Empire is one of history’s most thoroughly documented crimes – chronicled in detail by American diplomats stationed throughout the crumbling Ottoman Empire from 1915-23, and reported widely in the pages of the New York Times and other newspapers the world over.

In fact, the “historical debate” argument has long been a talking point pushed by the Government of Turkey and other genocide deniers, who seek to muddy the waters by claiming that we in Congress must stay our hand in order to avoid undermining history’s settling of the truth. This is an intellectually unsupportable argument. There is no historical debate about the nature of the slaughter of the Armenian people – in fact Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word “genocide,” was thinking of the Armenians when he created the term – and our own National Archives contain all the documentary evidence that Secretary Clinton could ever need.

By embracing the idea of an historical debate, the Secretary has taken a position at odds with her past positions and the positions of President Obama and Vice-President Biden. It is a position much closer to that of the Turkish government than that of any other senior U.S. diplomat in recent memory and it undermines our efforts to focus attention on genocides and other mass human rights violations elsewhere.

Please join us in asking Secretary Clinton to disavow her remarks and to stand with the ever-dwindling number of survivors of the genocide, as well as the children and grandchildren of those no longer with us. To sign the attached letter (text below), please contact Tim Bergreen in Rep. Schiff’s office or David Stern in Rep. Dold’s office.

Sincerely,

Adam B. Schiff
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Robert J. Dold
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

We are writing to share with you our deeply held concerns regarding your recent public statement on January 26, 2012, mischaracterizing the Armenian Genocide as a “historical debate,” despite the fact that this thoroughly documented crime is a matter of settled history that President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and you have previously condemned and commemorated on numerous occasions, and rightly so.

The historically inaccurate description of the Armenian Genocide as an open question, in addition to the offense it represents to Armenian Americans and other victims of genocide, provides American encouragement to the Republic of Turkey in its shameful campaign of denial. More broadly, the Administration’s failure to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide falls far short of our common expectation as Americans that our government will always speak honestly on issues of human rights and genocide prevention.

As you and President Obama noted in an appeal by Senators to then President Bush in 2006, the Armenian Genocide was a “systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. . . The victims of the Genocide deserve our remembrance and their rightful place in history. . . .It is in the best interests of our nation and the entire global community to remember the past and learn from these crimes against humanity to ensure that they are never repeated.”

America should never be complicit in genocide denial, which, as we know from painful historical experience, represents the last stage of this horrific crime. We share the principled view you expressed in 2008, when you said that “[T]he horrible events perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of genocide,” and that “[o]ur common morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for human rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized and remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States.”

We urge you to disavow the ill-considered statement you made during the Town Hall, and to reaffirm your commitment to recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We also hope that the Obama Administration will seize the opportunity to make a statement of clear, unequivocal recognition this April 24th – putting America firmly behind a policy of recognizing genocide wherever and whenever it occurs.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.

Sincerely,