RESOLUTION ON ARMENIA GENOCIDE OPPOSED
By Desmond Butler, Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
Oct 6 2007
WASHINGTON – Turkish and American officials have been pressing
lawmakers to reject a measure next week that would declare the World
War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.
The dispute involves the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire.
Armenian supporters of the congressional measure, who seem to have
enough votes to get approval by both the committee and the full
House, have also been mustering a grass-roots campaign among the
large diaspora community in the United States to make sure that a
successful committee vote leads to consideration by the full House.
Similar measures have been debated in Congress for decades. But
well-organized Armenian groups have repeatedly been thwarted by
concerns about damaging relations with Turkey, an important NATO ally
that has made its opposition clear.
"The lobbying has been the most intense that I have ever seen it,"
said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
After France voted last year to make denial of Armenian genocide a
crime, the Turkish government ended military ties.
The Turkish government has been holding back from public threats
while making clear that there will be consequences if the resolution
is passed.
But Armenian groups charge that behind the scenes, Turkey has been
much more clear.
Turkey argues that the House is the wrong institution to arbitrate a
sensitive historical dispute. It has proposed that an international
commission of experts examine Armenian and Turkish archives.
"I have redoubled my efforts," says Sensoy. Turkish lawmakers have
also been manning the phones to congressional offices.
According to one congressional aide, Turkey’s military chief, Gen.
Yasar Buyukanit, has been calling lawmakers to argue that a vote will
boost support for Islamists in Turkey. The aide spoke on condition
of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Bush administration has been telling lawmakers that the resolution,
if passed, would harm U.S. security interests.
Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said Friday that Bush
believes the Armenian episode ranks among the greatest tragedies of
the 20th century, but the determination whether "the events constitute
a genocide should be a matter for historical inquiry, not legislation."
White House staff have also spoken with aides to House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., in the hope that she will stop the measure from
coming to a vote.
"The administration has reached out to the speaker’s office and made
our position clear," he said. "We’ll see what happens."
From: Baghdasarian