|
|
PRESS
RELEASE
For Immediate Release ~ May 28, 1999
Contact: Lucy Keshishian
|
GEORGE W. BUSH'S CHOICE OF ADVISORS SPELLS TROUBLE FOR ARMENIAN AMERICANS
AADLC Study Reveals Strong Anti-Armenian Bias Among Key Advisors
|
Falls Church, VA: All six Members of Congress who serve on the ten-member Presidential Exploratory Committee set up by George W. Bush have long records of consistently, often aggressively, opposing issues of concern to Armenian American voters, according to a study released today by the Armenian American Democratic Leadership Council (AADLC).
"Although Governor Bush has remained silent about his views on Armenian issues, his choice of advisors speaks volumes about where he really stands," said AADLC Executive Director Alex Sardar. "Among the most revealing findings of our survey is the consistent pattern of opposition to Armenian American issues exhibited by the more than one hundred GOP Representatives who have endorsed Bush - a striking 61% of whom voted last September to repeal Section 907, as opposed to only 26% among Democrats."
The five members of Bush's Exploratory Committee who serve in the U.S. House have all received "F" ratings from Armenian advocacy organizations for consistently seeking to defeat initiatives of concern to Armenian Americans. These five Representatives, Roy Blunt (R-MO), Jennifer Dunn (R-WA), Anne Northup (R-KY), J.C. Watts (R-OK), and Henry Bonilla (R-TX), sought, unsuccessfully, in September of 1997 to send direct U.S. aid to the corrupt and undemocratic government of Azerbaijan by voting to repeal Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
The lone Senator on the Exploratory Committee, Paul Coverdell (R-GA), has consistently opposed issues of concern to Armenian American voters. He has cast votes, in the Foreign Relations Committee and in the full Senate, against placing reasonable human rights restrictions on U.S. aid to Turkey, and for sending U.S. tax dollars to the Azerbaijani government despite its illegal blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
Also serving on Bush's Exploratory Committee is George Schultz, who spearheaded the Reagan Administration's campaign to defeat the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress in 1985 and 1987. Joining Schultz as Bush advisors, according to the March 1st issue of the conservative journal, "Weekly Standard," are Richard Perle and Dick Cheney. Perle, a former Pentagon official, earned a reputation as the Reagan Administration's most vigorous advocate of Turkish interests by rallying Congressional opposition to Armenian Genocide legislation. Former Defense Secretary Cheney, who heads the multi-billion dollar Halliburton energy corporation, has lobbied Congress in support of Azerbaijani interests, including the repeal of Section 907.
###
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
