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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution in Congress, released the following statement after President Obama did not use the word “genocide” to describe the Armenian Genocide ahead of Sunday’s commemoration:
“I’m gravely disappointed that President Obama will now leave office without fulfilling his commitment to recognize the Armenian Genocide. For a President who knows the history so well, who spoke so passionately about the genocide as a Senator and Presidential candidate, and who has always championed human rights, the choice of silence and complicity is all the more painfully inexplicable. Remaining silent in an effort to curry favor with Turkey is as morally indefensible as it will be ineffectual.
“How many administrations must be intimidated into silence before we realize that it never changes Turkish behavior for the better and only emboldens the increasingly authoritarian regime? Recognition of the Armenian Genocide could have been a proud part of the President’s legacy; instead this decision will be just another sad milestone in the struggle to prevent genocide by exposing genocide and its perpetrators.”
This past week, Schiff spoke on the House Floor and delivered an open letter to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, urging him to recognize the Armenian Genocide in his final year in office in advance of the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The commemoration of the genocide will take place on Sunday, April 24.