WASHINGTON, DC. - Republican and Democratic members of a key U.S. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee joined yesterday with the panel’s Chairman, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), in voicing growing Congressional concern for the welfare of Armenians, other Christians, and all religious minority communities in Syria, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The hearing, titled: “Religious Minorities in Syria: Caught in the Middle,” featured testimony from a State Department human rights official, Thomas O. Melia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, as well as from a number of experts.

Chairman Smith, referencing a hearing on the Armenian Genocide Resolution that he had chaired in 1996, asked what specific steps the Obama Administration had taken to assist the Armenian refugees who have fled Syria.  Deputy Assistant Secretary Melia noted that U.S. officials have been in touch with Armenian Church and community leaders but would get back to the Subcommittee with a detailed response.

During her testimony, Ms. Shea offered specific examples of the targeting of Christians, including the Armenian population.

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian thanked Chairman Chris Smith and hic colleagues for holding hearing about religious minorities in Syria and for using this important national platform to raise concerns about the welfare of at-risk and refugee Armenians, other Christians.