Rep. Anna G. Eshoo’s (D-CA) has circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter calling for support of H.Res.296, the Armenian Genocide resolution, the Armenian Assembly of America reports.
“Members of my own family were among those murdered. My mother escaped with my grandmother from Armenia, and my father, an Assyrian Christian, was driven from the Middle East. Both carried the terror of the atrocities of the Ottoman Turks for a lifetime,” Rep. Eshoo stated. “As the only Armenian-Assyrian Member of Congress, I urge you to honor the countless individuals who were taken and join 112 of your colleagues in cosponsoring H.Res. 296, a bipartisan resolution formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide.”
Rep. Anna Eshoo is the only Armenian-Assyrian Member of Congress. Throughout her tenure in Congress, she has been a tireless supporter of the proper recognition of Armenian Genocide and a strong advocate of religious freedom around the world.
Rep. Eshoo pointed out that 49 U.S. states and 14 NATO Allies have already formally recognized the murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
“Thank you to the Armenian American community and the Armenian Assembly of America for your active support every year to reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. Your efforts make our relatives who survived the genocide proud, and together we can ensure that their hardships and their families who were slaughtered in plain view will not be forgotten. I am proud to join my fellow Armenians at the annual Armenian Genocide commemorations on Capitol Hill, and look forward to passage of this bill,” Rep. Eshoo told the Assembly.
“Armenian Americans appreciate Congresswoman Anna Eshoo for being a role model and a strong leader to bring justice to what so many of our ancestors overcame – the Armenian Genocide. We encourage all Members to join in reaffirming America’s proud chapter of humanitarian intervention in helping to save thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Assembly of America applauds the Congresswoman’s efforts, and we will continue to push for passage of this legislation,” Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan said.
Rep. Eshoo’s letter follows that of Armenian Caucus leaders Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) who last Friday urged the immediate passage of H.Res. 296. They stated: “As we confront atrocities that are being committed in the present day, it weakens our standing and our moral clarity that the Congress has for too long been silent in declaring the events of 1915 as a genocide. As Turkish bombs fall on Kurdish cities, extremist groups backed by Turkey commit war crimes, and hundreds of thousands of civilians flee for their lives, it is surely not lost on Turkish leaders that for decades their campaign of lobbying and bullying has silenced the Congress from the simple act of speaking the truth about the events of 1915.”
“We fully support passage of H.Res. 296 as Congressmen Bilirakis and Schiff have urged,” Khaloyan added.
H.Res. 296 was introduced this April by Reps. Schiff and Bilirakis along with Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Peter King (R-NY), and Jackie Speier (D-CA), and currently has 112 co-sponsors to date. During the Assembly’s 2019 National Advocacy Conference last month, Armenian Americans from across the U.S. met with Member of Congress urging its adoption.
