Discussion of the Armenian Genocide bill in US Congress may be postponed
till 2008

10.03.2007 14:05
Marlena Hovsepyan
"Radiolur"

It is possible that the Armenian Genocide bill will not be included in
the agenda of the US House of Representatives by April 24. Moreover,
editor of the California Courier Harut Sasounsin told `Radiolur’ that
the discussions may be postponed by 2008. Why?

Currently the Armenian Genocide bill is being discussed in the House
Foreign Relations Committee, after which it will be submitted to the
vote of the members of the House of Representatives. However, Chairman
of the Foreign Relations Committee Tom Lantos may prevent the vote on
the Armenian resolution.

Ethnic Jew Tom Lantos, who escaped the Holocaust, had to be very
sensitive to a genocide perpetrated against another people. However,
he is known for his pro-Turkish position and has always been voting
against the Armenian bill. The vote two years ago was not an
exception, either. Then member of the Committee Lantos voted for the
pro-Armenian documentl only in order to punish Turkey. He said that
Turkey rejected the attack of the American Army on Iraq from the
Turkish side. `To teach a good lesson to Turkey I must say `yes’ to
the Armenian bill,’ Harut Sasounian quotes Lantos as saying.

But now the situation is different: during his visit to Washington in
February Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met with Tom Lantos and
threatening to jeopardize the interests of Israel, made him promise to
prevent the adoption of the resolution. It’s worth mentioning that
only the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee is eligible to
decide the terms of discussion of this or that bill. Harut Sasounian
says only late March it will become clear whether this information
reported by Turkish sources is true or not.

Despite everything, it is obvious that the Turkish side is taking
every effort to prevent the voting on the bill. The editor-in-chief of
the California Courier is worried that the discussion of the
resolution may be delayed until next year. The reason is the
presidential and parliamentary elections expected in Turkey in 2007,
and the objective of the Turkish authorities is to refrain from
disappointing the electorate preceding the elections. `That is why
they are taking extreme steps by threatening to both Israel and the
United States,’ says Harut Sasounian.

It is logical that the Turkish passions towards the Armenian Genocide
bill will calm down after the elections. The importance of this bill
should not be exaggerated, Harut Sasounian says. According to him, in
reality its importance is not that big, since the Congress has already
adopted two similar resolutions. `It should not be perceived as a
question of life and death. In case the resolution is adopted, the
Genocide will be recognized. The Genocide has been recognized long
ago, it will just be another mark,’ Mr. Sasounian told ` Radiolur.’