To: Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Honorable Robert Menendez
Dear Senator Menendez,
In Armenia, we were excited to learn that on April 10 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted an Armenian Genocide resolution which calls upon the Senate to commemorate the first genocide of the XX century and encourages the President of the United States to ensure that America’s foreign policy reflects and reinforces the lessons of this horrendous crime.
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We thank you, Senator Menendez, a long-time friend of Armenia, for spearheading this effort and would like to express our gratitude to all Senators who voted in favor of this key Resolution.
We are also inspired by your simple yet unequivocal and clear-cut statement: “Genocide is genocide, and you cannot call it anything else but that and you need to have recognition of that.” Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States is of crucial importance: it will undoubtedly give a new impetus to the entire process of international recognition of the Genocide which is long overdue.
As we are rapidly approaching the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, convenient use of euphemisms for the description of this crime against humanity is no longer acceptable for the American people who have deep-rooted trust in democracy, human rights, universal values of humanism, and historic justice. We remain hopeful that under your leadership the process of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which is well-documented in the American records, will get to its logical conclusion, thwarting futile efforts to let this outrageous crime to fall into oblivion and averting new similar acts of inhumanity.
Please accept, Senator, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Sincerely,
Artak Zakaryan
Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the Republic of Armenia