PanARMENIAN.Net
U.S. Congressmen outraged by Turkey’s threats
09.02.2007 17:29 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We are outraged that the Turkish government would put the
lives of our troops abroad at risk in the pursuit of its increasingly
desperate campaign to deny the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million
Armenians," said Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI).
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) expressed outrage at recent warnings by the Turkish
government that it will take actions threatening the security of U.S. troops
in Iraq should Congress even consider the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). In a letter to
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA), Reps. Pallone
and Knollenberg noted that, "it is our understanding that senior Turkish
government officials have warned that, in response to Congress even
considering this resolution, they will close supply pipelines for our forces
serving in Iraq. This shameless threat to interfere in U.S. military
operations is absolutely unacceptable and deeply offensive."
"Sadly, the Turkish government is able to maintain its denial – against all
evidence and the tide of international opinion – in large part due to the
State Department’s efforts to silence those who speak with moral clarity
about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
"It is a testament to the hypocrisy of the Administration’s position that,
on the one hand, its senior officials remained almost entirely silent on
Article 301 prior to Hrant Dink’s murder, while on the other hand loudly and
repeatedly attacking even the consideration by the U.S. Congress of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution."