US HOUSE PANEL BACKS ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL

WASHINGTON (AFP)
Citizen
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Oct 11 2007
South Africa

US President George W. Bush speaks on the South Lawn of the White
House in Washington, DC. A key congressional committee Wednesday
defied warnings by Bush and Turkey, and endorsed a measure describing
the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of Armenians as "genocide." A key
congressional committee Wednesday defied warnings by President George
W. Bush and Turkey, and endorsed a measure describing the Ottoman
Empire’s massacre of Armenians as "genocide."

The non-binding measure, which passed the Democratic-led House of
Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee by 27 votes to 21, will
now be sent on to the full House for a possible vote.

The text says the World War I killings of Armenians was a "genocide"
that should be acknowledged fully in US foreign policy towards
Turkey, along with "the consequences of the failure to realize a
just resolution."

Bush and top lieutenants earlier were unusually blunt in attacking
the resolution.

The president said the resolution would do "great harm" to ties with
US ally Turkey, a Muslim-majority member of NATO whose territory is
a crucial transit point for US supplies bound for Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Armenians, 1.5 million of their kinsmen died during
World War I, in systematic deportations and killings under the
Ottoman Empire.

Rejecting the genocide label, Turkey argues that 250,000 to 500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia during
the war.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R) speaks as Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates listens during a statement to the media regarding
a House resolution that would label the mass killings of ethnic
Armenians as genocide, which Rice says would be "very problematic"
for ties with Turkey and for Middle East peace. A key congressional
committee Wednesday defied warnings by President George W. Bush and
Turkey, and endorsed a measure describing the Ottoman Empire’s massacre
of Armenians as "genocide." Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, Nabi
Sensoy, said the vote was "very disappointing" but called on House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi to refrain from bringing it to a full vote on
the House floor.

He would not prejudge the response of the Turkish parliament or
government, adding "those who said it won’t do any harm, we will have
to wait and see."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert
Gates also denounced the measure before the hearing.

But despite the warnings, the resolution’s backers warned the issue
could not be ignored.

"Friends don’t let friends commit crimes against humanity," said New
Jersey Republican Representative Christopher Smith.

Democratic House member Gary Ackerman added "we’ve been told the
timing is bad. But the timing was bad for the Armenian people in 1915."

As tension mounted in an emotional hearing lasting nearly four hours,
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos admitted lawmakers
faced a "sobering" choice, adding he would soon introduce a resolution
praising US-Turkish friendship.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice(R) and Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates speak to the media regarding a House resolution that
would label the mass killings of ethnic Armenians as genocide,
which Rice says would be "very problematic" for ties with Turkey
and for Middle East peace. A key congressional committee Wednesday
defied warnings by President George W. Bush and Turkey, and endorsed
a measure describing the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of Armenians as
"genocide." Republican lawmaker Dan Burton, however, said passage of
the genocide resolution could endanger US troops.

"We’re in the middle of two wars. We have troops out there who are
at risk. And we’re talking about kicking an ally in the teeth. It
is crazy."

Earlier, Rice said she sympathized with Armenians’ fate during World
War I.

"But the passage of this resolution at this time would, indeed, be
very problematic for everything that we’re trying to do in the Middle
East because we are very dependent on a good Turkish strategic ally
for this," she said.

The House resolution, which has a parallel measure in the Senate
pipeline, would be "very destabilizing for our efforts in Iraq and
Afghanistan," Rice added.

Gates said that about 70 percent of all Iraq-bound US air cargo,
95 percent of tough new mine-resistant vehicles and one-third of the
military’s fuel transit through Turkey.

US commanders "believe, clearly, that access to airfields and to
the roads and so on in Turkey would be very much put at risk if this
resolution passes and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they
will," he said.

In a letter Tuesday to Bush, new Turkish President Abdullah Gul
"drew attention to the serious problems that will emerge in bilateral
relations if the bill is adopted."

But the measure has strong backing in the House, where the Armenians’
wartime plight has been likened to the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews.

Late last month, all eight former US secretaries of state still
alive wrote to Pelosi urging her to withdraw her support of the
genocide measure.