“According to House Resolution number 296, the victims of the Armenian Genocide must be properly commemorated, the US will not tolerate denial of the Armenian Genocide and it will not engage in denial, and it will encourage public works to be undertaken so students can learn about the Armenian Genocide in school,” member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau and head of the Armenian Cause Office, Giro Manoyan, told reporters regarding the passage of H.Res.296 in the US House of Representatives recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
According to Giro Manoyan, this resolution has a more political than legal value, since people have been fighting for 35 years to ensure that this resolution could be voted upon. “The last time that the resolution was voted upon in the US House was in 1985, but Turkey’s efforts increased since then. The executive authorities of the US have frequently stopped legislators from voting on such resolutions. Therefore, this resolution was not voted upon after 1984. This is also a factor that makes its passage historical.”
Manoyan described the people who underestimate the value of such a resolution as follows: “Of course, there are also people among us who say that this resolution does not carry any value. Let them go and carry out their work as they see fit. But it must be accepted that part of the legislative body of one of the most powerful governments in the world dedicated two hours to this issue. If people think that keeping the US House of Representatives busy for 2 hours is easy, let them go try it. This was an issue of proving the power of the American-Armenian community and the ANCA.”
When asked if it can be assumed that the resolution will now go to the Senate, Giro Manoyan said, “It’s not a law, but a resolution. So it will not go to Senate on its own, but the resolution does have its own version in the Senate. Senate Resolution number 150 says the same thing. The important thing is that this will influence members of the Senate to pass the resolution and not let it simply remain as part of the agenda. This resolution can establish a new political atmosphere.”
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Tatev Harutyunyan
