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January 29, 2008
Berkeley
City Council Calls Upon Congress to Advance
the Armenian Genocide Resolution
BERKELEY, CA – The Berkeley City Council
unanimously passed a resolution calling
on the United States House of
Representatives to advance H.Res.106,
the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
reported the San Francisco Bay Area
Armenian National Committee (Bay Area
ANC).
"Your action tonight will help send the
message that Berkeley does not want our
country to bow to foreign intimidation
on a matter as fundamental as genocide,"
said Bay Area ANC Chairwoman Roxanne
Makasdjian in thanking the Council for
adopting the resolution.
The measure was introduced by Councilman
Kriss Worthington, who worked with the
Bay Area ANC in drafting the language
for the resolution. A number of Armenian
Americans were on hand and spoke during
the public comment portion of the
Council meeting, including members of
the Armenian Youth Federation and the
University of California Berkeley
Armenian Student Association.
"I’m glad to see Berkeley once again
stand up for human rights," said Shant
Hagopian, a UC Berkeley student and Bay
Area ANC activist. "This resolution is
one more step forward on the path to
justice."
Over the few weeks following the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs’ passage of
H.Res.106 on October 10, 2007, the
Armenian Genocide captured the attention
of US leaders and policymakers in an
unprecedented fashion. Despite
tremendous pressure put on
Representatives by the Turkish
government to withdraw their
co-sponsorship of the resolution, an
overwhelming number of members of
Congress continue to support H.Res.106.
H.Res.106 "call[s] upon the President to
ensure that the foreign policy of the
United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning
issues related to human rights, ethnic
cleansing, and genocide documented in
the United States record relating to the
Armenian Genocide." The resolution is
necessary now due to the Turkish
government’s increasingly aggressive
campaign of genocide denial, including
demands that the US government join
Turkey in denying the Armenian Genocide.
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