It has come to light that, contrary to their public statements of being good corporate citizens and champions of human rights, six American and British mega-corporations have been secretly lobbying the United States Congress not to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
In the American system, it is customary for corporations to lobby Congress only on taxes and trade rules related to their specific businesses. It is however highly unusual and downright shameful for corporations to do the bidding of their foreign clients.
BAE Systems Inc., Goodrich Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., United Technologies Corp. and energy producer Chevron Corp are spending over a million dollars a week to lobby Congress.
The world-wide Armenian community cannot match this level of expenditure. We can however raise our righteous voice by signing the petition below. The collected signatures will be hand delivered and emailed to the corporate heads and key stockholders of these companies.
PETITION: STOP LOBBYING AGAINST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
TO: CEOs and Shareholders of BAE Systems Inc., Goodrich Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., United Technologies Corp. and Chevron Corp.
We the undersigned strongly urge you to re-evaluate your commitment to lobby Congress of the United States against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
An overwhelming majority of historians assert that up to 1.5 million innocent Christian Armenian men, women, and children were brutally massacred by Ottoman Turks under the cover of World War I.
According to the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), denial of the Armenian Genocide has emboldened all the genocides perpetrated during the past century.
President Ronald Reagan recognized the truth when on April 22, 1981, he stated: "Like the Genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it [...] the lessons of the holocaust must never be forgotten."
And on January 19, 2008, Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama stated: "The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence."
We therefore urge you to cease and desist from covering up mass murder and wholesale looting. It is America that must dictate truth to Turkey, as opposed to Turkey dictating lies to America.
Reclaim the higher ground again by acting like "good corporate citizens."
Recognition can be delayed but will not be denied. Do not end up on the wrong side of history.
Sincerely,
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