"Advocacy Week 106" held in Washington

PanARMENIAN.Net - Human rights advocates from all over the western United States traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in "Advocacy Week 106" from Monday, December 3 through Friday, December 7, reported the Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region (ANCA-WR).



"We have seen scores of constituents expressing deep concerns over the inaccurate, misrepresented and distorted nature of media coverage on the resolution in October," stated ANCA-WR Executive Director Andrew Kzirian. "These human rights activists traveled to Washington, DC to help set the record straight and remind Members what the resolution is really all about - ending the cycle of genocide and not succumbing to Turkey's denial," he added.



Convening at the ANCA's Washington headquarters, constituents from Idaho, Arizona, Texas and California conducted over 150 meetings on Capitol Hill with Members of the House and Senate. Although not usually in session at this time of year, Congress will likely convene well into December to address various pieces of appropriation legislation. Constituents viewed this extra time in session as an opportunity to help raise awareness of recent developments regarding the resolution and the Turkish government's denialist activities.



Introduced by Representative Adam Schiff, the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 106) passed through the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on October 10, 2007 by a vote of 27-21 despite unprecedented opposition by President Bush and other facets of the administration, including current and former high-ranking cabinet officials from the Departments of State and Defense.