NRC HANDELSBLAD
Dutch daily Newspaper
16 September 2005

‘U.S. must recognise Armenian Genocide’

WASHINGTON, 16 SEPT. Over the strong objections of the US government, a
congressional panel yesterday endorsed a resolution calling the President to
recognise the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians during their violent
deportation by Ottoman Empire as Genocide.

This is a very sensitive issue in the relations with Turkey, an important
strategic ally of the United States.

The House of Representatives’ International Relations Committee voted 35-11
to approve a resolution calling on Turkey to acknowledge the culpability of
its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire in the 1915-1923 killings. A
second resolution passed 40-7, calling for the President to recognise the
deaths as Genocide and for U.S. foreign policy to reflect an understanding
of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenians say that Ottoman Turks caused the deaths of Armenians in a planned
Genocide. Turkey says that not 1.5 million, but at most 300,000 Armenians
were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman
Empire.

The State Department sent a letter to committee members saying the debate
“could damage U.S.-Turkish relations and could undermine progress by Ankara
and Yerevan (Armenia) as they begin quiet talks to address the issue and
look to the future.”

The sponsor of the first resolution, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, said he
was sensitive to Turkey’s importance and that he considers it an ally of the
United States. But “that alliance cannot be used as a tool to escape from
the past no matter how uncomfortable that past is.” Rep. Tom Lantos, the
panel’s top Democrat, said he was supporting the resolution to punish Turkey
for its refusal in 2003 to allow U.S. troops to open a second front in the
war against Iraq. He said Turkey needed to show more solidarity with the
United States. (AP)