Los Angeles, CA – Former California State Assemblymember and State Senate candidate Carol Liu has issued a letter strongly disagreeing with Congresswoman Jane Harman’s effort to kill the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 106) pending in the House of Representatives. In her correspondence, Liu outlines that the “United States cannot, even by omission, condone the continued misrepresentation of history. She adds, “The foreign policy of the United States must not be based on fear [a reference to Turkish threats against America] but rather on the honest affirmation of our own ideals.” Carol Liu’s letter was sent to both the Chairman and Ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“We are proud of Carol Liu,” commented Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) Executive Director Andrew Kzirian. “She is speaking truth to power and our community respects that. It is clear that Jane Harman’s opposition to the genocide bill has drawn a lot of attention from area legislators and public figures, like Carol Liu, who strongly disagree with her position,” Kzirian added. Last month Jane Harman published an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times outlining her opposition to the Armenian Genocide resolution. She wrote, in part, “So I agree with eight former secretaries of State — including Los Angeles’ own Warren Christopher — who said that passing the resolution ‘could endanger our national security interests in the region, including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and damage efforts to promote reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia.’ Timing matters. I asked a leader in California’s Armenian American community just days ago why the resolution was being pushed now. “They didn’t ask me,” he said. It wasn’t his call, and he probably would not have pushed it.” The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots political organization. Working through a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the US and around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues.

Photo caption: California State Senate Candidate and former California State Assemblymember Carol Liu.