Some of you may recall the post I made about the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide a few months back. Well......the House International Relations Committee very recently voted in favor of legislation officially recognizing the Turkish murders of 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 - 1923. So Serj and John from System of a Down, along with fans and several Armenian organizations held a rally in front of the Speaker of House?s office in Batavia, IL. The rally was to urge Speaker Dennis Hastert to put the legislation up for a full vote before the House of Representatives, as only he has the power to do so. Hastert has had this opportunity twice in the past, but under pressure from Turkey, the Bush administration, and Clinton before him, he blocked the vote. It is imperative that we urge him not to fold yet again under the pressure of those promoting injustice.
So.....this is where you guys come in. At the bottom of this post is a link that will take you to an automatic WebFax. All that needs to be done is to fill out the required information, and hit send. It literally takes less then a minute. There is a pre-made message that will be sent directly to Speaker Hastert regarding the need for him to put this legislation up for vote, or as Serj said, to "do the right thing". Every single message counts, as the accumulation will show that this issue does bare importance in America, and that we want to see justice served. It is ridiculous that Turkey has had the power over the almighty U.S. to prevent this from happening for so long. It's time for the denial to stop. The healing process cannot begin while salt is still being poured in the wounds.
*I have to emphasize one thing, though: Many of you know this is an issue that's very important to me, as it is an unclosed chapter in the history of my ethnicity. Much of the Armenian Diaspora is a direct repercussion of this event, and to hear what our people have gone through denied is extremely hurtful, if not enraging. HOWEVER........IF you choose to do this, don't do it because I said so, or because you're a fan of SOAD. I'm not one for blindly following anyone, or anything. So if you choose to do this, let it be because you have familiarized yourself with the issue, feel it's the truth, and want to "do the right thing". I want those that participate to be comfortable with their decision. If you have any questions at all about the Armenian genocide, or want to be more familiar with the event, please do not hesitate to ask me either through here, or through PM. Thank you all for your help, and your time.
Click on THIS (http://capwiz.com/anca/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8041966) link, fill out your name, address, e-mail, etc, and hit "Send Message". The information is only used to prevent multiple e-mails from the same person. There is also a brief outline of what I just discussed on that page.