ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEASURE LOSING SUPPORT
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY
Oct 17 2007
Nearly a dozen U.S. lawmakers have turned against a congressional
resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide.
The resolution on the World War I-era massacres of Armenians, which
until Tuesday had seemed certain to pass, is now very much in doubt,
the New York Times reported. Among those now opposing the measure are
two prominent Jewish representatives, Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Jane
Harman (D-Calif.).
In explaining their shift, some legislators acknowledged that concern
for U.S. objectives in the Middle East could be compromised by the
resolution. The Turkish government has spent millions lobbying to
defeat the measure.
"We simply cannot allow the grievances of the past, as real as they
may be, to in any way derail our efforts to prevent further atrocities
for future history books," said Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.), who
withdrew his support for the measure Monday night.
The shift was prompted in part over reports that Turkey’s Parliament
is considering authorizing incursions into Kurdish areas of northern
Iraq to attack separatists of the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK. The
rebels have been fighting for more than two decades for autonomy in
Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast.
The United States opposes Turkish incursions, but Syrian President
Bashar Assad told reporters Wednesday that Turkey has every right to
act against the separatists, according to The Associated Press.
"We understand that such an operation would be aimed toward a certain
group which attacks Turkish soldiers," Assad said. "We support
decisions that Turkey has on its agenda, we are backing them. We
accept this as Turkey’s legitimate right."
king/104712.html