I received this forwarded ANC alert two weeks ago:
U.S. Representative from Texas Attacks Armenian Genocide Resolution
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, an eight-term legislator from Dallas, Texas, is attacking U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a “one-sided” view of a “historic dispute.”In a letter circulated on February 25th to all 434 of her House colleagues, she dismissed the Armenian Genocide as an “inter-communal war.”
Please take two minutes to call her office to politely share your concerns.
I called Rep. Johnson’s office at the beginning of March to ask for an online link to this letter. A staff member provided a website address, which didn’t work. I called back, and he said he would email the link. It never showed up.
The staff member who answered the phone today said that it was an internal letter that is not available to the public, and apologized for the misunderstanding and inconvenience after I pointed out that someone in the congresswoman’s office had told me it was online and a link would be emailed.
The impression from each of these phone calls was that the office had received many inquiring calls about the congresswoman’s “Dear Colleague” letter. Sunroom Desk’s editor sent an email inquiry to Representative Adam Schiff’s office last week asking for a copy of the letter; his office has not yet responded.
Eddie Bernice Johnsons Chief of Staff & Legislative Director is an Ethnic Turk by the name of Murat Gokcigdem. That is why she said she does not believe there was a genocide. She has no idea about the issue she just said what her Chief of Staff & Legislative Director told her to say.
The irony is that Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson as part of the Black caucus attended a Darfur rally in front of the Sudanese embassy where some members of the caucus were arrested.. Does she not realize that the Denialist government of Turkey is the same government who is supporting President Bashir of Sudan!!!!!
Her position is quite ironic; realities of the Sudan genocide in many cases reflect the early 20th century Turkish government: racial hatred, nationalist movements encouraging radical Islamic factions to eliminate a weaker minority, persecution of Christians, government encouragement of criminal gangs terrorizing and pillaging remote villages, to name a few.
When I worked for Congressman Tom Barrett (D-Wis.) 2000 to 2003, I recall Murat Gokcigdem (a fellow staffer at the time) strongly urged Barrett to vote against the same such Resoultion. Barrett made up his own mind and voted along with other members and supported the Armenian Genocide Resolution. It is the elected Member’s responsibiltiy to ‘know’ or sign off on what s/he will vote on behalf of constituents. She cannot pass off the respnsibiltiy to Murat or any staffer, ultimately. Murat is a ethnic Turk, so wouldn’t you expect, generally, that he would be inclined to take such a position and advocate for it as would anyone else in a similar situation? Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson bears full responsibility alone for her vote. End of story.