Armenians push Bush over ‘G’ word

The New Anatolian, Turkey
April 21 2005

Armenian pressure on U.S. President George Bush to use the “G” word
in his speech for April 24, the 90th anniversary of the so-called
Armenian genocide, is growing. Some 32 senators from the U.S Congress
on Monday wrote a letter to Bush asking him to use the word “genocide”
in his speech.

The 32 signatures out of the 100-member Senate are reportedly a record.

The U.S. presidents’ speeches every April 24, to commemorate the
controversial events of the early 1900s between Armenians and the
Ottoman Empire, are a tradition. But despite Armenian pressure, no
U.S. president have ever used the word “genocide.” Due to sensitivity
on the issue from both the Turkish public and government on the usage
of the word, U.S presidents have instead referred to the events using
either “tragic events” or “massacre.”

There are some very weighty signatures on the U.S senators’ letter to
President Bush, including that of current New York Senator and former
first lady Hillary Clinton. Others are former Democratic presidential
candidate Sen. John Kerry, Senate Democrat Minority leader Harry Reid,
and 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.

Last year senators sent a similar letter to the U.S. president but
only 22 senators signed it.

Recently, there was another letter sent from members of the U.S.
House of Representatives to Bush in an attempt to put pressure on
him to recognize the so-called genocide. It was signed by 175 out of
a potential 435 members, according to U.S. congressional sources.

The New Anatolian / Ankara 21 April 2005

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress