Rep. Schiff asks Obama to call Armenian Genocide what it is
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution in the U.S. Congress, spoke on the House floor Thursday, delivering an open letter to President Barack Obama and urging him to recognize the Armenian Genocide in his final year in office in advance of the 101st anniversary of the genocide on April 24.
NEWSLETTER: Get the latest 818 headlines straight to your inbox >>
During the genocide, which began in 1915, 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire, which is modern-day Turkey.
“The facts of the slaughter are beyond dispute. And I know you are well-acquainted with these horrors visited upon the Armenian people, having spoken eloquently about them as Senator,” Schiff’s letter states.
Schiff said he has sat with genocide survivors, whose numbers keep dwindling, and he’s heard them talk about the destruction of their lives and families.
“Mr. President, for them and for their descendants, the word ‘genocide’ is sacred because it means the world has not and will not forget. To deny genocide, on the other hand, is profane. It is, in the words of Elie Wiesel, a “double killing.”
--
Mark Kellam, mark.kellam@latimes.com
Twitter: @LAMarkKellam
