Genocide resolution clears hurdle amid fierce lobbying
A divided House Foreign Affairs Committee approves the emotionally
charged measure, despite vocal opposition by Turkey and President
Bush.
By Richard Simon
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 11, 2007
WASHINGTON – The long struggle over formal U.S. recognition that the
killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was a genocide reached a
turning point Wednesday, with a House committee calling on the
president to "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate
annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide."
A divided House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the emotionally
charged measure, despite fierce lobbying by Turkey and President Bush,
who sternly warned that it would offend an important ally and harm
U.S. security interests.
Armenian groups in the United States have pressed for the resolution,
while Turkish politicians have threatened to retaliate — which could
mean cutting off U.S. access to a crucial Turkish air base that is
used to supply U.S. troops in Iraq.
The bipartisan 27-21 vote came in a packed room that included four
survivors of the World War I-era genocide, three in their 90s and one
who was 102. "Somebody’s got to speak for the people I see in front of
me," Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) said in urging the resolution’s
passage.
Congress has wrestled for years with the issue, which has been closely
watched by Armenian Americans, many of whom live in California. This
year, the resolution, which does not have to be approved by the
president, appears to stand its best chance of passing.
The resolution has 225 cosponsors in the House — more than a majority
and the most support it has ever received, according to its chief
sponsor, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank). Nancy Pelosi (D-San
Francisco), who became House speaker with the Democratic takeover of
Congress this year, has long championed the issue.
The bill faces a tougher time in the Senate. It has the support of
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.), but it has drawn just 32 cosponsors, well short of
the votes needed to pass.
Schiff called the lobbying by the White House and Turkey the "most
intensive legislative fight" he had ever been in. Still, he said, "The
truth sometimes wins, and it won today."
The Turkish government disputes that a genocide took place, contending
that during and after the First World War, Armenians as well as Turks
were casualties of the war, famine and disease. But historical
evidence and authoritative research support the term, and The Times’
policy is to refer to the deaths as genocide.
Opponents of the measure warned that it could threaten U.S. interests
in the Middle East, endangering U.S. military supplies that pass
through Incirlik air base near the southern Turkish city of Adana on
their way to American troops in Iraq. Turkey is one of the United
States’ most important allies in the Muslim world.
"We’re talking about kicking the one ally that’s helping us over there
in the face right now," said Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.). "It just
doesn’t make any sense to me."
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) said that "America can ill-afford to lose
the support of an ally as important as Turkey at this critical
juncture."
But Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) responded, "I consider myself a
friend of Turkey. But friends don’t let friends commit crimes against
humanity — genocide — and then act as witting or unwitting
accomplices in their denial."
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) dismissed the threats of reprisals.
"We will get a few angry words out of Ankara for a few days, and then
it’s over," he said. "We cannot provide genocide denial as one of the
perks of friendship with the United States."
The resolution was backed by 19 Democrats, including committee
Chairman Tom Lantos, a Holocaust survivor from Burlingame; and eight
Republicans. Eight Democrats and 13 Republicans opposed it. All 10
Californians on the committee supported the resolution.
Schiff said he was optimistic that the resolution would pass the
House, though he predicted another tough fight. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.
(D-N.J.), co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
said the measure would "move swiftly to the House floor and will be
passed with overwhelming support." A House vote is expected before
Thanksgiving.
Similar resolutions were approved by the House in 1975 and 1984 but
did not make it through the Senate. In 2000, a genocide resolution was
headed to the House floor when the vote was abruptly called off at the
urging of then-President Clinton.
"This is a historic day," Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the
Armenian Assembly of America, said after the vote.
Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy, who was in the audience for the vote,
vowed to continue to fight, and the Turkish government said it
"resents and condemns" the vote.
"It is an irresponsible act for a committee of the House of
Representatives to pass, in this manner and at an extremely critical
time, a draft that will not only endanger the relations with a
friendly and allied nation but also jeopardize a strategic partnership
that has been cultivated for generations," the Turkish statement said.
"We still hope that common sense will prevail and that the House of
Representatives will not move this resolution any further."
Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Pelosi, said that the committee vote
"demonstrated bipartisan support for a resolution which is consistent
with long-held concerns of the people of the United States about the
suffering of the Armenian people."
Hours before the vote, Bush warned that the resolution’s passage would
have serious consequences for U.S. foreign policy. "Its passage would
do great harm to our relations with a key ally in NATO and in the
global war on terror," Bush said on the south lawn of the White House.
"We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian people," he
said, but added: "This resolution is not the right response to these
mass killings."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M.
Gates also spoke out against the measure, as did a slate of past
secretaries of State from both parties.
Gates said that 70% of the supplies destined to U.S. forces in Iraq
were flown through Turkey, including almost all of the new
mine-resistant armored vehicles. He said access to airfields and roads
"would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and Turkey
reacts as strongly as we believe they will."
Turkey spent thousands of dollars on lobbyists — including hiring the
firm that employs former House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt
(D-Mo.) — and sent a delegation of high-ranking officials to the U.S.
Capitol to buttonhole U.S. lawmakers.
In Turkey, hundreds marched to U.S. consulates to protest the
resolution, and leftist demonstrators chanted anti-American slogans at
the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkish media outlets reported.
The resolution’s consideration comes at a tense time, when fighting
between Kurdish rebels and Turkish troops has escalated. Turkey
reportedly launched airstrikes into Iraq on Wednesday, targeting
Kurdish rebel positions.
Turkish commentators have suggested that there will be reprisals if
the resolution passes.
"This decision may be a new turning point — even the beginning of a
new departure — in Turkish-U.S. relations," commentator Sami Kohen
said in the prominent newspaper Milliyet.
If Congress passes the resolution, commentator Tamer Korkmaz said this
week in the conservative newspaper Zaman, "we would not be the real
losers, the U.S. would be."
Turkish-U.S. relations have been prickly for some time. Ankara refused
to allow American forces to use Incirlik to launch one flank in the
invasion into Iraq in 2003. The U.S. has been reluctant to crack down
on anti-Turkish Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq for fear of harming
relations with Kurds, who are the most reliable U.S. allies among the
Iraqis.
On the other side, former California Gov. George Deukmejian, a
Republican of Armenian descent, recorded a message supporting the
resolution that was posted on the Internet by the Armenian-American
Political Action Committee. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole
(R-Kan.) urged passage of the resolution, saying that any diplomatic
fallout would be transient. "Turkey and the United States have a broad
and deep relationship that will survive our recognition of this
historic truth," he wrote.
The head of the worldwide Armenian Apostolic Church, His Holiness
Karekin II, delivered the invocation in the House chamber earlier
Wednesday, asking all to "remember the victims of the genocide."
Both sides are expected to step up lobbying before the House vote. A
few lawmakers who were once cosponsors have withdrawn their support.
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) said last week in a letter to the Foreign
Affairs Committee that "a terrible crime was committed against the
Armenian people," but, noting that Turkey helps to moderate extremist
forces in the Middle East, concluded, "I have great concern that this
is the wrong time for the Congress to consider this measure."
richard.simon@latimes.com
Times special correspondent Yesim Borg in Istanbul contributed to this report.
Source: ocide11oct11,1,6553860.story?ctrack=2&cset=tru e