The New Anatolian, Turkey
June 15 2005

Armenian Lobby Pushes Resolution in US Congress
The New Anatolian / Washington

The Armenian lobby in the U.S. Congress is preparing to push a new
resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives this month.

Democratic California Congressman Adam Schiff, who is known as a
friend of the lobby, announced yesterday that a new resolution to
recognize the so-called Armenian genocide will be presented to the
U.S. House of Representatives within two weeks.

The resolution is expected to be discussed by a subcommittee of the
U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee.
Diplomatic sources think that the Armenian resolution will be
approved by the subcommittee, but it’s not certain whether the full
committee will considerit.

Diplomatic sources also claim that even if the resolution passes the
International Relations Committee, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert
would prevent it from reaching the House floor.

In October 2000, Hastert withdrew a similar resolution at the behest
of then U.S. President Clinton.

Pro-Armenian congressman stymied

Last week, pro-Armenian Congressman Schiff tried to add two
amendments concerning the controversial Armenian problem during
International Relations Committee hearings on a State Department
authorization bill.

The amendments would have required the U.S. government to analyze
diplomatic responses

to the Armenian “genocide” and urge Turkey to open its border with
Armenia. The amendments’ failure coincided with Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the U.S. and pressure from
the Turkish Embassy in Washington. Schiff’s efforts to add the
amendments were unsuccessful.

GB-Turk Dialogue Committee works to block resolution

In related news, the Britain-Turkey Dialogue Committee is preparing
to block discussions of a Armenian resolution by the Edinburgh City
Council on June 30. The committee will visit the mayor of Edinburgh
to persuade him not to discuss the measure in the City Council.