Armenia welcomes ‘genocide’ vote

BBC
2007/10/11

Armenia’s president has welcomed a vote by US lawmakers backing the
description of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks after
1915 as genocide.

Robert Kocharian told reporters he hoped the vote would lead to "full
[US] recognition… of the genocide".

Earlier Turkish President Abdullah Gul denounced the vote. Turkey has
always denied any genocide took place.

The White House has also been critical, expressing fears Turkey could
stop co-operating in the "war on terror".

The non-binding vote, passed by 27 to 21 votes by members of the
congressional House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the first step
towards holding a vote in the House of Representatives.

Divisions within the committee crossed party lines with eight
Democrats voting against the measure and eight Republicans voting for
it.

President Bush had argued against a vote in favour of the bill, saying
"its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in
Nato and in the global war on terror".

Turkey is a regional operational hub for the US military, and some
suggest access to Incirlik airbase, or other supply lines crucial to
US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, could be cut in response.

The row has also erupted as US fears grow of a Turkish military
incursion into northern Iraq to neutralise Kurdish separatist
guerrillas there, who continue to cross the border to ambush Turkish
troops, reports the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

Talks appeal

Speaking after talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Mr
Kocharian praised the committee vote.

"We hope that this process will lead to the full recognition by the
United States of America of the fact of the Armenian genocide," he
said.

Mr Kocharian also appealed to Turkey to join Armenia in talks to
restore bilateral relations, reported the news agency Associated
Press.

Wednesday’s vote was received angrily by President Gul, who made a
statement late in the evening accusing US politicians of
"sacrific[ing] big problems for small domestic political games".

"This unacceptable decision of the committee, like similar ones in the
past, is not regarded by the Turkish people as valid or of any value,"
Mr Gul said, according to the Anatolia news agency.

‘Sobering’

Correspondents say the committee’s vote means that only a change of
heart by the opposition Democrats, who control Congress, can now stop
a full vote on the bill.

Tom Lantos, the committee’s chairman, had opened the debate by
admitting the resolution posed a "sobering" choice.

"We have to weigh the desire to express our solidarity with the
Armenian people… against the risk that it could cause young men and
women in the uniform of the United States armed services to pay an
even heavier price than they are currently paying," he said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to take up its
version of the resolution in the future.

Iraq vote

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has meanwhile confirmed that the
Turkish parliament could discuss a motion as soon as Thursday that
would authorise incursions into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish PKK
separatists.

The move comes after an escalation in attacks by the PKK killed almost
30 soldiers and civilians in just over a week.

The government is under immense pressure though to act, but Washington
has warned Ankara against any unilateral moves that would destabilise
Iraq even further.

After the Armenian vote in Congress, correspondents say, Turkey will
be far less inclined to heed instructions from the US on anything.

Published: 2007/10/11 13:27:35 GMT
(c) BBC MMVII

Source:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress