ISRAELI KNESSET REFUSED TO DISCUSS DRAFT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION IN NOD TO TURKEY
Arminfo
2007-03-15 14:04:00
The members of the Israeli Knesset refused to discuss the draft
Armenian Genocide Resolution in nod to Turkey.
As the Haaretz.com reports, the Knesset decided yesterday to shelve
a proposal for a parliamentary discussion on the Armenian genocide,
in compliance with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s request.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had also asked for a removal of
MK Haim Oron’s (Meretz) proposal from the agenda of the Knesset
Education, Culture, and Sports Committee. She said the discussion
might destabilize diplomatic relations with Turkey, which denies
responsibility for the death of nearly 1 million Armenians during World
War I. MK Oron said that before the vote, Livni called him twice to
ask him to withdraw the proposal. "This inquiry is something we owe
the Armenians, primarily at a time when we are struggling to preserve
the memory of our own people," said Oron.
He added that he had intended the discussion to lead to a resolution
by the Knesset acknowledging the genocide perpetrated against the
Armenians by the Turkish security forces. Prominent members of the
Armenian community in Israel observed the vote from the Knesset
visitors’ balcony and expressed their disappointment with the decision.
Health Minister Yacov Ben-Yizri, speaking for Livni, said that "as Jews
and Israelis we are especially sensitive to the issue, but over the
years the subject has been transformed into a heated discussion that
the two parties must resolve in order to truly heal the wounds of the
past." In his address, Ben Yizri did mention that the Armenians were
"killed en-masse during the last days of the Ottoman.