Armenian-American clout buys genocide breakthrough
At 93, Armenian American filmmaker Michael Hagopian may finally see his community’s clout pay off if the U.S. Congress recognizes the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
“U.S. representatives in Congress and state governments now realize the Armenian community has a lot of political power and they can make contributions to political causes and various parties,” said Hagopian, best known for his film “The Forgotten Genocide”.
This week, the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution branding the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 as genocide, brushing aside President George W. Bush’s warnings that it would harm relations with Turkey, a key ally. [complete article]
