Ok now that explains alot. :( -after reading it all. OF course with the start of WW1 this was swept under the rug for a lack of a better term.

Indeed it was. And to touch upon why this Resolution is so important, America finally becoming one of the countries to officially recognize this event will deliver a significant blow to Turkey'* denial, as America is a pretty big part of their backbone. Between this, and the pressure mounting by the European Union for Turkey to recognize the genocide if they want their application to be accepted, it will become increasingly difficult for them to keep up their stance of denial. There is no one, easy answer or solution to reaching an end to this matter. We just have to chip away at it little by little, and America finally making it offically accepted will be a HUGE piece.

That was greatly educational. They don't teach this stuff in school anymore. For all kids these days know, there was only one genocide in history, and it involved Jews and *****.

As an Armenian, I can see why you'd be interested in and upset by this. But what exactly will it accomplish to have it recognized by the USA? Will it just be a "shame on you" to Turkey, or are there other possible reparations that could be imposed on them?

I do agree with a few of the above that musicians should generally stick to music, and not get into politics. In this case however, it seems to be a legitmiate issue for SOAD, so I don't mind. Now when half of the music industry went to campaign for John Kerry... that was just annoying.

I forgot about them trying to get in the EU- I think it will all come to light before they get the OK.

Well, as I said, this is just one step in making their denial crumble, but it is a GIANT step. As you can tell by the effort and money exerted, Turkey obviously feels there’* a lot at stake. You have to understand the lengths they go through to deny this. Among many other such incidences in the past, they actually threatened to deny America use of Turkish air bases if they recognized this event on the onset of our current war (April 24th was just around the corner). They threatened, and did cancel a MULTI million dollar arms deal with France for recognizing it. Relations with Canada are now under heavy strain because they recognized it last year. They keep saying let the historians decide, but when nations research this crime, and side with the Armenians, they get all upset.

JMFC said that they don't teach this stuff in school, anymore. Truth of the matter is, this subject was NEVER in the textbooks, unless there was a small paragraph briefly mentioning it. This is just another result of America not wanting to upset Turkey, as well as the strong lobbying power of Israel to hold a "monopoly on sympathy", as I like to put it. By the way, a decent chunk of your tax dollars have gone to Turkey for years specifically to sponsor their campaign against this genocide! COME on, now. FRANCE, of all countries, stood up and told Turkey to shove it. But America is busy kissing Turkey'* *** because they're scared of upsetting them???

There are many reasons this issue is important to us. First, the moral. This is pretty basic. Not only did they do what they did, but they're trying to add insult to injury by wiping the slate of history clean, and erasing the memory it. The very least we can do is spoil their dreams, and show them that we will never "go away" and let this issue die. We will never forgive, we will never forget. Secondly, it is important for nations to stand up and say such things can't be swept under the rug, and will not be tolerated. As I mentioned, Hitler drew much of his inspiration and strategies from what the Turks implemented against the Armenians. History is bound to repeat itself unless governments take a strong stand against incidences like this.

Then there are the political reasons. Plain and simple, we want an admission of guilt from Turkey, along with a royal, and sincere apology for starters. What happens from their as far as reparations for the lands and people we lost......I can't really say. That will become very complex, and we'll cross that bridge if we ever get there. But in order for this to ever materialize, we have to increase the pressure on Turkey, and make them understand that the gig is up. We do that with steps like this (America'* recognition of the genocide). We do it by educating as many people as we can, while urging nations to teach their students about this piece of history instead of jumping straight to its offspring, the Jewish Holocaust. And hopefully, with all these countries (there are currently 18 nations that have made it official) picking justice over foreign policy, and with the new added pressure by the EU (several have asked for an admission of guilt as a prerequisite for consideration), this ridiculous charade will cave in.

I'm sorry for the long-winded replies. I'm trying my best to explain how deeply emotional this issue is for us, but words can't do it justice. It'* something that'* been a part of every Armenians life for the past 90 years. If you guys are truly interested, I would STRONGLY suggest renting the movie Ararat. I ran across it by accident at Blockbusters in the "new releases" section a few years back. Very well done movie by world renowned Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan. I thought it was going to be a boring documentary, but it was actually a well done drama based on the production of a movie about the genocide. It'* hard to explain, but trust me, it'* worth it if things like this interest you. If you're not crying by the end of this film.......you've had your tear ducts removed.

One final note. SOAD has plenty of reason to take this issue personally. All 4 members are Armenian, themselves, and Serj (the singer) has an even greater personal reason for this...

I can only imagine what it would mean to his grandfather to see this thing go through after all these years (he was 7 during the genocide), even though it'* a ways from our main goal. It would be nice for one of the less then 20 remaining survivors who have lived with the horror of these memories for nearly a century to see some kind of justice before they left us. Thus, why I'm hoping those that have the least bit of interest will join us to speak out against injustice by sending one of these Web Fax'.

RareGMFan: my e-mail has been sent & my heart goes out to you & your countrymen!

I am ALL too familiar with how history can be twisted/distorted/buried/ignored by the powers that be. As a 1st generation Ukrainian, I am constantly educating people about the 6-7 million Ukrainians who died in the 1932-1933 Artificial Famine caused by Joseph Stalin'* policy of forced collectivization.....We all should always remember that the ***** don't hold a monopoly on Genocide!

Thank you very much for contributing, sir. It is greatly appreciated.

Ah yes, the infamous Black Famine. I came across this during my extensive research on the Armenian genocide years back. Truly amazing. Fatality numbers rivaling the Holocaust, yet the majority have never heard about it. Unbelievable how many events in history are kept from us, or are looked over in favor of others, isn't it?

I did it. I hate political tip-toeing around the truth.

Thank you, sir!