WASHINGTON—Placing profit over human rights, the chief executive officers of five top defense firms have urged Congress to block a measure calling for U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“Lobbying against genocide recognition for financial gain is morally reprehensible—whether it’s the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, or the ongoing genocide in Darfur,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “The CEOs of Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon, United Technologies, and Northrop Grumman should be ashamed of themselves—trampling on the memory of 1.5 million men, women, and children to justify their salaries.”
In a letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman, just days before his Committee considers the Armenian Genocide resolution, leaders of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Boeing Corporation, Raytheon Corporation, United Technologies, and Northrop Grumman warned of “alienating a significant NATO ally and trading partner” and “negative repercussions for U.S. geopolitical interests.”
However, trade statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tell a different story. Turkey’s trade levels with countries that have recognized the Armenian Genocide since 1995 have increased between 24 and 351 percent. U.S. trade with Turkey has increased 10-fold since President Ronald Reagan cited the Armenian Genocide in a Presidential Proclamation in 1981.
Click here to see a chart detailing expanding trade levels: http://www.anca.org/endthegagrule/Turkey_Empty_Threats.pdf.
“The statistics prove that Turkey’s doomsday trade scenarios are hollow,” said Hamparian. “Once again, the Turkish lobby is using threats and intimidation to gag America from speaking truthfully about the Armenian Genocide.”
Spearheaded by Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), George Radanovich (R-Calif.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), the Armenian Genocide Resolution H.Res.252, calls upon the president to properly characterize the annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-23 as genocide and 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.
The resolution currently has over 137 co-sponsors. While in the Senate, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton supported similar legislation.
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