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| Congressman Tom Lantos dies in US | Congressman Tom Lantos dies in US |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Veteran Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the US Congress, has died. | Veteran Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the US Congress, has died. |
| Mr Lantos, 80, a member of the House of Representatives for California, passed away on Monday morning. He had been suffering cancer of the oesophagus. | Mr Lantos, 80, a member of the House of Representatives for California, passed away on Monday morning. He had been suffering cancer of the oesophagus. |
| He chaired the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee and called for greater US action on human rights in China, Darfur, Burma and Russia. | He chaired the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee and called for greater US action on human rights in China, Darfur, Burma and Russia. |
| Mr Lantos was 16 when the Nazis invaded his native Hungary in 1944. | Mr Lantos was 16 when the Nazis invaded his native Hungary in 1944. |
| His mother and many of his relatives perished in the Holocaust. | His mother and many of his relatives perished in the Holocaust. |
| class="lp" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm">HAVE YOUR SAY class="" href="Link to thread">He carried a moral authority on issues like genocide and human rights, given his early life experiences John Duff, Olney, MD, USA class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4269&edition=2&ttl=20080211173113">Send us your commentsMr Lantos announced last month that he had been diagnosed with cancer and that he would not be seeking re-election in his northern California district. | |
| At the time he said: "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress." | At the time he said: "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress." |
| 'American by choice' | 'American by choice' |
| Mr Lantos, who was first elected in 1980, used his chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to focus on human rights issues. | Mr Lantos, who was first elected in 1980, used his chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to focus on human rights issues. |
| In October last year, his committee passed a measure to describe the 1915-17 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, a move that provoked Turkey's fury. | In October last year, his committee passed a measure to describe the 1915-17 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, a move that provoked Turkey's fury. |
| In November he attacked Yahoo executives over their company's actions that led to the jailing of a dissident Chinese journalist. | In November he attacked Yahoo executives over their company's actions that led to the jailing of a dissident Chinese journalist. |
| "While technologically and financially you are giants, morally, you are pygmies," Mr Lantos said. | "While technologically and financially you are giants, morally, you are pygmies," Mr Lantos said. |
| Mr Lantos, who called himself "an American by choice", survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, escaping twice from a forced labour camp. | Mr Lantos, who called himself "an American by choice", survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, escaping twice from a forced labour camp. |