TURKISH PRESIDENT DENOUNCES U.S. BILL CALLING ARMENIAN KILLINGS ‘GENOCIDE’
Susheela Hegde – AHN News Writer
AHN.
Oct 11 2007
Ankara, Turkey (AHN) – Turkish president Abdullah Gul criticized the
move of the U.S. Congress committee in passing a bill on massacre of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the World War I as "genocide".
The House of Representatives of Foreign Affairs Committee passed
the bill by 27:21 Wednesday. The bill said killing of 1.5 million
Armenians was a "genocide" that should be acknowledged in the
U.S. policy toward Turkey.
The bill will be now sent to the House of Representatives for a full
vote. Turkey’s ambassador to Washington Nabi Sensoy is reported to
have asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to proceed with the bill
for full vote.
The White House said the non-binding bill may harm the US-Turkish
relations. The bill may also force Turkey withdraw cooperation to the
U.S. military in the Middle East, it is feared. Turkey is an ally in
the U.S. war on terrorism.
Denouncing the vote president Gul said: "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."
He said U.S. politicians are deaf to the calls for being "reasonable"
and indulge in small political games at the cost of big problems.
Turkey is threatening to go for an incursion into northern Iraq to
flush out Kurdish rebels even as the U.S. advises it to exercise
restraint. The bill on Armenians’ massacre could influence Turkey’s
move, it is said.
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