White House Should Join US Congress In Recognizing Armenian Genocide - National Committee

Sumaira FH Published December 13, 2019 | 02:40 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2019) The Trump administration should join Congress in recognizing the Armenian genocide that took place more than 100 years ago, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian said in a statement.

"It's time for the Executive Branch to join Congress," Hamparian said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing a resolution to recognize the killings of Armenians by the then Ottoman Empire as genocide.

Hamparian suggested that the executive and legislative branch should counter what he called are "Turkey's lies" about the tragic events in 1915 that resulted in the killing and mass expulsion of more than 1.5 million Armenians and work toward ensuring that reparations and other remedies are provided.

"Together, the President and Congress should put in place a sustained and pro-active policy that rejects Turkey's lies, challenges Ankara's obstruction of justice, and works with Armenian and Turkish stakeholders toward the international reparations and other remedies required of this crime," Hamparian said.

The House of Representatives voted to recognize the Armenian genocide on October 29.

The killings and expulsion of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire has been recognized as genocide by 23 states as well as by the EU Parliament.

Turkey has traditionally rejected the accusations of Armenian genocide in relation to the events of 1915 and has called for the creation of an international commission of historians to study the country's archival documents and develop an objective approach to the events.