TURKEY HOPES CONGRESS WILL NOT APPROVE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.02.2007 15:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The Armenian Genocide bill will shadow the strategic
partnership of Turkey and America, if approved," stated Turkish Prime
Minister Rejep Tayyip Erdogan. In his words, Ankara does not expect
such a decision from the House of Representatives. "However, I have
worries that such a surprise would shadow our strategic partnership
with the U.S. We have never lived with a stain throughout our history
and we shall not live with such stain," stated Turkish premier at
the meeting with American businessmen. Erdogan did not clarify what
particularly Turkey is going to do. As Sabah newspaper reports, Rejep
Erdogan blamed the Armenian Diaspora for using the Genocide issue
to harm Turkey. The PM stressed, that "it is a historian’s job to
decide whether there was a genocide or not and no one has the right
to defame Turkey via political lobbies."

106th resolution on recognizing the Armenian Genocide was introduced
in the U.S. Congress at the end of January. During past years such
resolutions were rejected thanks to the efforts of U.S. administration.

But this year the possibility of its adoption is rather high. The
democratic majority of Congress, including Speaker of the House of
Representatives Nancy Pelosi, has pro-Armenian stance.