105-Year-Old Armenian Genocide Survivor, Among Others, to be Present During Vote on H.Res.252 Today

The Foreign Affairs Committee at the US House of Representatives will vote on a draft resolution today (H.Res.252) at 10 EST (-5 UTC/GMT) recognizing the mass killings and deportation of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 as Genocide. Present during the reading and discussion will be Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chair Ken Hachikian and Armenian National Committee Western Region Chair Aida Dimedjian.

Futhermore, there will be several Armenian Genocide survivors in attendance at the Committee vote, including Yeretzgeen Sirarpi Khoyan, 105 years old, born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1905; Onorik Eminian, 97 years old, born in Smyrna, Turkey, in 1913; and Charlotte Kechejian, 98 years old, born in Nikhda, Turkey, in 1912.

The Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res.106) was submitted to the House of Representatives by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), on January 30, 2007, during the 110th United States Congress.

Upon its introduction it was referred to United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs where it passed a 27-21 vote and was sent back for a full house vote. The George Bush administration “vetoed” the bill in the House of Representatives and thus, it never made it to a full house vote.

This time, members of Congress Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) have once again formally introduced the draft resolution to the House of Representatives. The new bill, H.Res.252, already has the support of 137 members in the house.