Educate Lobbyists’ Clients on Genocide Denial; Call for Nationwide Protests if Lobbying Continues
On Thurs., Jan. 29, a coalition of organizations representing Armenian Americans sent letters to more than 200 businesses, universities, and NGOs currently working with one of 5 firms—including those led by former congressional leaders Dick Gephardt (Gephardt Government Affairs) and Dennis Hastert (Dickstein Shapiro)—that are helping Turkey to deny the Armenian Genocide in Congress.
Despite international consensus from historians about the Armenian Genocide, Turkey is well known for its aggressive, ongoing denial of this crime, which witnessed the planned and systematic murder of more than 1.5 million Christian Armenians between 1915 and 1923. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the genocide, and Armenian Americans, along with allies nationwide, will be protesting and drawing public scrutiny on both Turkey’s primary lobbying firms and the companies and organizations that continue to do business with them.
“It’s a disgrace that Dick Gephardt and Dennis Hastert—two former leaders of the U.S. House—are making millions enforcing a foreign government’s gag rule on our White House and among the Congress in which they once served,” said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“Gephardt and Hastert should drop their Turkey contract, and, if they won’t, their clients should drop them.”
According to U.S. Department of Justice Foreign Agent Registration Act records, the firms Gephardt Government Affairs, Dickstein Shapiro, Greenberg Traurig, Alpaytac, and LB International all support Turkey’s genocide denial agenda. Their clients include PepsiCo, TIME Inc., Amazon.com Inc., and Chrysler.
The letters to the client businesses requested that they—in light of their firm’s participation in genocide denial—demand that their firm end its contract with the Turkish government.
If the firm does not end its relationship with Turkey, the letter requests that the client company/organization end its own contract with the firm.
If neither occurs by Wed., Feb. 25—60 days out from April 24, the global Day of Remembrance of the genocide—Armenian Americans will start protests against these firms and their clients.
Coalition partners include four of the largest Armenian-American organizations: the ANCA, Armenian Assembly of America, and the Armenian Youth Federation of both the Eastern and Western United States.
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This is an excellent idea, and a campaign we should all support as actively as possible.
THE SHAME AWARD SHOULD GIVE THEM FREE ADVERTISING.
It’s truly a shame what some people will do for money. It’s as though they have no sense of moral values.
I believe Mr. Gephardt has a vacation home in the wine country. does anyone know the address? – a bit of picketing is in order to educate his posh neighbors.
Moral values have been replaced by money and power and sometimes even fear all tools of the devil It wouldn’t hurt to pray actually I recommend it daily we are fighting an unseen war also a very demonic one prayer is our greatest weapon
Gephardt and Hastert are scums of the earth , who have no integrity, no moral compass, and have sold themselves for money.
Below is excerpt from “Wikipedia”.
– ” In 2000 Dennis Hastert, as House Speaker, announced that he would support an Armenian Genocide resolution. Analysts noted that at the time there was a tight congressional race in California, in which the large Armenian community might be important in favor of the Republican incumbent.
The resolution vehemently opposed by Turkey, had passed the Human Rights Subcommittee of the House and The International Relations Committee, but Dennis Hastert , although first supporting it, withdrew the resolution on the eve of the full vote. He explained this by saying that he had received a letter from Bill Clinton asking him to withdraw it because it would harm US interests. Even though there is no evidence payment was made, an official at the Turkish Consulate is said to have claimed in one recording, that was translated by Sibel Edwards, that the price for Hastert to withdraw the Armenian Genocide resolution would have been at least $ 500,000.”
Whether Hastert actually received the bribe or not , his later actions confirm his relations/ties with the Turkish government.
Both Hastert and Gerbhart, after leaving the House, established consulting firms that lobby for Turkey, and each receive huge amounts of money for their despicable services, which is primarily focused on the denial of the Genocide.
What is most disappointing and shameful, indeed disgusting, is that two former leaders of the House, two American politicians, have stooped so low, to become mercenaries of the Turkish government, with no self esteem or regard to their reputation of legacy.
We should all support the action of the Coalition.
Vart Adjemian
shame on these money hungry individuals that have no humanity, their love for money and misinformation that do not want the truth to be exposed, THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A FACT THAT IS ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE WORLD THE TURKS COMMITTED GENOCIDE AGAINST THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE, THESE PEOPLE ARE PURSUING A LIE, I ASK THEM TO SEEK THE TRUTH AND STAY AWAY FROM EVIL WHICH WILL SET YOU FREE.
If I am not mistaken, Dennis Hastert attended and graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, a well known Christian college, where Billy Graham was graduated. Supposedly Dennis Hastert is a christian (born again) christian. If that is true I say his christianity my foot. He is not a christian by any means. He is nothing but a judas of Iscariot, who for a few shekels of silver betrayed the Lord Jesus to Christ’s enemies. Mr. Hastert knows the truth about the Armenian Genocide, but unfortunately, he has sold his soul for few turkish dollars. Shame on him. God will take care of him just as He took care of Judas Iscariot.
I am a psychologist, educator, experienced assertiveness trainor and author. I was humbled and honore to be invited as the Keynote Speaker for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial at Kean University in Union, NJ 07083. This will take place on Apri 23rd, 2015 at the Little Theatre starting at 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
I intend to bring up those lobbyists who are working with the Turkish Govt. which upsest me a great deal. Especially, Turkey is supposed to be an ally to USA, and they do such damage to this genocidal atmosphere making the ISIS go in and out their borders to Syria unashamedly. We all honor our ancestors the harsh way that they had to be murdered by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. I was born in Musa Dagh, 25 years prior to the Armenan Genocide, and my parents resisted the Turkish forces not to be deposted. They stayed on Mount Moses for 53 days and fought valiantly, only losing 18 of our men. Thank to God Almighty, that a French warship, Le Guichen saved them and brought them to Port Sai-id, Egypt. I think the Turks feel kind of embarrased too for having failed this grup of 6 villages -Bitias, Hadji Habli, Khederbeg, Vakef, Yoghunoluk, and Kebuse. Thank God we exist and my parents got married in USA after WWI, and when they visited their parents in 1939, I was born in Yoghunoluk as an Armeicn citizen. I have done many commemorative speeches about the armenian Genocide at Rutgers University, Union County College, and Raritan Valley Community College. I have tried to educate the Armeican people so that those denial lies ought not be continued. God bless this cuntry so that we have the freedom of speech; and God Bless All the Armenians in the world, about 10 million of us!
There may be something to that whole “karma” thing after all. Has Mr. Hastert ever been in a Turkish prison?
Free Turkish delights drove Hastert greedy! it will come as no surprise to us, for Hastert fraudulent Character.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/05/28/former-house-speaker-dennis-hastert-indicted/