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LOS ANGELES,
CA--Representatives from the Armenian National
Committee--Western Region (ANC-WR) Board, staff, supporters and
former interns attended an event at the UCLA School of Law
featuring US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The event, hosted by the Williams Institute, the Department of
Women Studies and the Center for the Study of Women, took place
on Thursday, April 16th. On campus to discuss her recent book,
“Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters.”
Pelosi also touched on several current event issues including
the economy and Afghanistan as well as the genocide in Darfur,
the Rwandan Genocide, and the Armenian Genocide.
During the question and answer session, ANC-WR Board Member Aida
Dimejian asked the Speaker if she thought President Obama would
unequivocally reaffirm the Armenian Genocide in his upcoming
remarks commemorating April 24th. Responding to the question,
Pelosi noted that “the President is a values-based person” and
reiterated that the issue of the Armenian Genocide has always
been a top priority of hers. Touching on the human face of the
issue, she recalled of seeing the aged genocide survivors that
attended the October 2007 vote on H.Res.106 in the US House
Foreign Affairs Committee.
Pelosi also took the opportunity to introduce Hassan Bubacar
Jallow, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda, who joined the community in the packed auditorium for
the event. In concluding her remarks regarding genocide, she
emphasized that it was important that “we act upon the issue in
a way which makes a difference.”
Raffi Kassabian, a member of the ANC-WR's State and Regional
Affairs Committee as well as a recent alumnus of the UCLA School
of Law ('08) and the ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship ('02) was
impressed by the visible impact that the issue of genocide made
during the event.
“Having the Speaker both address this important issue and
introduce Prosecutor Jallow during the discussion really drew
the attention of the audience. There was a palpable
appreciation for the cycle of genocide of which we, as Armenian
Americans, are all too aware,” said Kassabian.
“Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughter's”, written to
address the public's interest in Pelosi's groundbreaking rise
from local public servant to the Speaker of the US House of
Representatives, touches on several recurring themes including
the message of never losing faith and the importance of
addressing human rights issues with a foundational commitment to
truth.
This was readily apparent to Tamar Tavlian, a second year
student at Pasadena City College and an alumna of the ANC-WR
Internship-Externship Program (Summer '08) who also attended the
event. She along with Dimejian, Kassabian, and long-time ANC
supporter Elizabeth Boyajian briefly met with Pelosi following
the event.
“We let her know that the Armenian American community
appreciates her past support and requests her continued, strong
leadership as we work to ensure that the Armenian Genocide is
unambiguously acknowledged by both the Obama Administration and
the US Congress,” said Tavlian.
The Armenian National Committee - Western Region is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the Western United States and affiliated
organizations around the country, the ANC-WR promotes awareness
of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
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