VIRGINIA
REJECTS TURKISH GOVERNMENT PRESSURE;
ADOPTS
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
RICHMOND,
VA - In the final days of its 2000 legislative session,
the
Virginia General Assembly adopted a resolution that marks April
24 as
"Virginia Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide" and
condemns
the campaign to deny this crime against humanity, reported
the
Armenian National Committee of Virginia (ANC-VA). The General
Assembly's
decision to pass HJ298 ultimately defeated the well-
financed,
orchestrated efforts of the Turkish government and its
tobacco
and defense industry allies, who hoped to block
commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide.
The
ANC-VA worked closely with Delegates Eric Cantor (R-Richmond),
Jay
Katzen (R-Warrenton), and Johnny Joannou (D-Portsmouth)
in
initiating HJ298 in preparation for the 85th Anniversary
commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide in Virginia.
The
resolution properly characterizes as "genocide" the campaign
by
Turkey to annihilate the Armenians and draws attention to
ongoing
revisionist efforts to deny and distort the historical
facts
of the Genocide.
"The
tragic events of the Armenian Genocide were certainly a sad
moment
in history, not just for the Armenian people but all of the
world,"
said Del. Cantor. "By passing this
legislation, we hope to
teach
the lesson of genocide to all Virginians, especially our
children. My hope is that we will learn about the
mistakes of the
past
and remain vigilant against the recurrence of a systematic
annihilation
of any people." Championing the
resolution through
the
hurdles in the Senate were Richard Saslaw (D-Springfield),
Warren
Barry (D-Fairfax), and Nick Rerras (R-Norfolk).
"We
commend the General Assembly for guarding itself against
foreign
interference and passing legislation that honors the
victims
of the Armenian Genocide and its survivors, many of whom
found
safe haven in the Commonwealth for themselves and generations
that
followed," stated ANC-VA spokesperson Lucy Keshishian. "By
adopting
this legislation, the General Assembly joins a long list
of
Virginia governors and state officials who, over the course of
the
past 25 years, have commemorated the Genocide and have
recommitted
Virginians to combatting intolerance of all forms."
After
passing unanimously in the Virginia House of Delegates on
February
10, HJ298 ignited an intense lobbying campaign by Turkey
to
defeat the measure in the Virginia Senate.
As a result, the
Senate
Rules Committee held an unprecedented two hearings on the
matter
before a packed hearing room. Under
intense pressure from
Turkey's
attacks, the panel produced a watered-down version of the
resolution
on March 6, which excluded the word "genocide." A small
group
of Senators, led by Emily Couric (D-Charlottesville), opposed
even
this weakened version on the Senate floor and called for the
defeat
of any legislation dealing with what she claimed to be false
allegations
against Turkey. However, the full
Senate -- following
the
lead of Senators Saslaw, Barry, and Rerras -- rejected the
amended
version of the legislation approved by the Rules Committee,
and in
the end, passed the stronger House of Delegates' version in
its
original form.
In the
weeks leading up to the resolution's passage, the Turkish
government
employed its powerful lobbying team to silence
Virginia's
commemoration efforts. This
sophisticated campaign
included
direct pressure from the Turkish Embassy in Washington,
D.C.;
large volumes of e-mails to Senators from individuals in
Turkey;
heavy-handed pressure from tobacco and defense industry
lobbyists;
and paid spokesmen from a variety of Turkish groups that
included
a discredited lawyer who had previously made a name for
himself
as an advocate for the Sudanese dictatorship as well as a
self-proclaimed
Armenian, Edward Tashji, Public Affairs Director
for the
Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), who
alleged
that the Armenian Genocide was a myth.
In a
March 7 article in the Fairfax Journal, Daniel Seligson
reported
the following: "[Sen.] Barry said that . . . a number of
senators
were pressured by the Turkish Embassy in Washington not to
adopt a
strongly worded resolution. . . . [T]he Turkish government
threatened
a boycott against Virginia-grown tobacco products*
including
internationally popular Marlboro cigarettes*if the
resolution
were adopted." Philip Morris,
maker of Marlboro
cigarettes,
operates a cigarette processing plant in Richmond,
which
is one of the world's largest. In
addition, Turkey's newly
hired
$1.8 million lobbying team -- comprised of former Congressmen
Bob
Livingston, Gerald Solomon, and Stephen Solarz -- also actively
lobbied
against the measure and even sent a representative to
deliver
testimony against the resolution.
Outraged
by the Turkish government's heavy-handed campaign to erase
history,
Virginians of Armenian and Greek descent from throughout
the
state joined together to educate legislators about the genocide
and the
role of commemoration in preventing future atrocities.
Also,
Genocide scholars including Virginia Commonwealth University
professor
Dr. Herbert Hirsch and Dr. Roger Smith of the College of
William
and Mary appeared before the Senate Rules Committee
hearings. The ANC-VA efforts were supported by Mike
Erkiletian and
Moorad
Mooradian of the Armenian National Institute (ANI); the
Zoryan
Institute; the Armenian Martyrs Day Committee of Virginia;
the
American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association
(AHEPA);
Steve Calos, President of the Richmond Chapter of American
Hellenic
Institute (AHI); the Virginia Council of Churches; and the
Virginia
Interfaith Center for Public Policy.
As per
the language of the resolution, copies of this legislation
will
now be provided to Governor James Gilmore, to Virginia's
Congressional
delegation, and to the ANC-VA. The full
text
of
HJ298 follows.
________________________________________________________________
HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 298
Adopted
by the Virginia General Assembly March 9, 2000
Designating
April 24, 2000, as Virginia Day of Remembrance of the
Armenian
Genocide of 1915-1923.
WHEREAS,
one and one-half million men, women, and children of
Armenian
descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by
the
Turkish Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923; and
WHEREAS,
the Armenian genocide and massacres of the Armenian people
have
been recognized as an attempt to eliminate all traces of a
thriving
and noble civilization more than 3,000 years old; and
WHEREAS,
to this day, revisionists still inexplicably deny the
existence
of these horrific events; and
WHEREAS,
modern Turkey continues to deny and distort the facts of
the
genocide and honors the perpetrators of that crime against
humanity
as national heroes; and
WHEREAS,
before the implementation of the Jewish holocaust, in
order
to encourage his followers, Adolph Hitler asked, "Who
remembers
the Armenians?"; and
WHEREAS,
by consistently remembering and openly condemning the
atrocities
committed against the Armenians, Virginians are highly
sensitive
to the need for constant vigilance to prevent similar
atrocities
in the future; and
WHEREAS,
the Armenian people have not received reparations for
their
losses; and
WHEREAS,
recognition of the 85th anniversary of this genocide is
crucial
to ensuring against future genocide by educating people
about
past horrors; and
WHEREAS,
Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having
embraced
democracy following nearly 70 years of oppressive Soviet
domination;
and
WHEREAS,
Armenian-Americans living in Virginia have greatly
enriched
the Commonwealth through their leadership in business,
agriculture,
academia, government, and the arts; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED
by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the
General
Assembly designate April 24, 2000, as Virginia Day of
Remembrance
of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923; and, be it
RESOLVED
FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit
copies
of this resolution to the Governor of Virginia, the Virginia
congressional
delegation, and the Armenian National Committee of
Virginia
for appropriate distribution.