ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LABEL ENDORSED
By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee
Oct 11 2007
House panel votes 27-21 over Bush’s objection.
WASHINGTON — A bitterly divided House Foreign Affairs Committee
overcame presidential and diplomatic resistance to pass a resolution
Wednesday that calls the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians nearly
a century ago a "genocide."
By an unexpectedly close 27-21 vote, the panel approved language
declaring that "the Armenian genocide was conceived and carried out by
the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923." Upward of 1.5 million Armenians
died during the period, according to some estimates.
"Nations of the world have periods in their history that they can’t
overlook; we acknowledge and we confront them," said Rep. Jim Costa,
a Fresno Democrat who is on the committee. "My Armenian friends
believe this was a genocide, and so do I."
The nonbinding resolution calls upon President Bush to use the word
"genocide" when he issues his annual Armenian message in April. The
president, though, will not do so, even if the full House approves
the resolution in coming weeks.
Like presidents Clinton and Bush before him, the current president
considers the phrase "Armenian genocide" historically questionable
and diplomatically harmful. White House and Turkish officials warn
that U.S.-Turkey relations will suffer if the House approves the
resolution. The Ottoman Empire was the precursor of modern Turkey.
"Its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in
NATO and in the global war on terror," Bush told reporters several
hours before the committee acted.
Turkey’s allies noted repeatedly Wednesday that about 70% of
U.S. military air cargo entering Iraq comes in through Turkey. The
country’s Incirlik air base is heavily used by U.S. warplanes, and
an estimated 3,000 trucks each day enter Iraq over the Turkish border.
"America can ill afford to lose the support of a critical ally like
Turkey," said Rep. Robert Wexler, R-Fla.
Armenian-Americans mobilized constituencies in regions including the
San Joaquin Valley, as well as Michigan and New Jersey, to support
the measure.
It is endorsed by all San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, who are attentive
to the 50,000-plus Armenian-Americans living in the region.
During the years that Republicans controlled the House, Rep. George
Radanovich, R-Mariposa, was denoted the chief author.
"The United States needs to be firm about recognizing genocide when
it occurs," Radanovich said.
The committee approved a differently worded resolution in 2005 by a
40-7 margin.
Lawmakers say this year’s vote was closer because in 2005, committee
members knew that House Republican leaders would block it from
coming to the House floor. This enabled certain lawmakers to cast a
constituent-friendly vote in committee while remaining confident the
United States wouldn’t suffer real diplomatic fallout.
This year, the committee vote carried more weight because Democrats
under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appear determined to bring the
resolution before the full House. Pelosi has not yet set a date for
a vote, but it appears guaranteed to pass if she does, because 226
House members — more than a majority — have already co-sponsored it.
The resolution is symbolic, without force of law, and so it needs
neither Senate approval nor the president’s signature. In this respect,
it is similar to other House resolutions, like one approved unanimously
Tuesday that denounces female genital mutilation.
Few resolutions, though, can match the Armenian genocide measure for
political intensity.
The Turkish government says that hundreds of thousands of Turks as
well as Armenians died during a complicated war, but that there’s
no evidence supporting claims of a concerted government effort to
eradicate Armenians. Turkish leaders consider it a national insult
to accuse their predecessors of committing an international crime.
"I just don’t understand why we would shoot ourselves in the foot,"
said Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind. "The whole [Mideast] is a tinderbox,
and our strongest ally in the area is Turkey."
The committee’s vote Wednesday afternoon followed more than three
hours of debate and marked the first time in two years that the
panel has considered an Armenian genocide measure. The full House
last approved an Armenian genocide resolution in 1984.
Although the outcome appeared pre-ordained Wednesday, with nearly
half of the committee previously signed on as resolution co-sponsors,
the first hearing was packed.
"We have to weigh the desire to express our solidarity with the
Armenian people and to condemn this historic nightmare … 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,"
said the committee chairman, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo.
Lantos voted for the resolution.
While avoiding making direct threats in public, Turkish officials
have repeatedly cautioned the resolution would further undermine
America’s already tentative standing in a volatile region.
Turkey is spending more than $300,000 a month on lobbyists hired to
oppose the resolution, according to Justice Department filings. The
Turkish Embassy’s allies helped pack the hearing room, wearing
large buttons urging no votes. The Turkish ambassador, Nabi Sensoy,
sat throughout the hearing alongside three visiting members of the
Turkish legislature.
"It’s very disappointing," Sensoy said afterward, "and I hope it
won’t go further than this."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
