POSTPONEMENT OF GENOCIDE RESOLUTION DISAPPOINTS SOME
By Arya Hebbar, Correspondent
San Mateo County Times, CA
Nov 2 2007
Bay Area Armenians upset, Turks relieved as House delays vote
Bay Area Armenians are disappointed the House delayed voting on a
resolution declaring the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during
World War I a genocide, but their Turkish counterparts are relieved.
An international furor caused the bill’s Southern California sponsors
to ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week not to bring a vote this year
on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
"It is disappointing that Turkey was shamelessly allowed to interfere
in the process of a simple resolution," said Roxanne Makasdjian,
chairwoman of the Bay Area Armenian National Committee. "It is always
the right time to tell the truth."
Ilkcan Cokgor, president of the Turkish American Association of
California, disagreed.
"All of us Turkish Americans believe very strongly that it is an
issue between Turkey and Armenia and it is definitely not (the)
American Congress’s business."
That sentiment was echoed by Oytun Eskiyenenturk, president of Bay
Area Cultural Connections and a San Francisco resident, who suggested
"A fact-finding committee with respected historians from both Turkey
and Armenia should look at evidence and decide if it should be called
a genocide or not."
The Armenian-American community had cheered the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs’ passage of the non-binding genocide resolution on
Oct. 10, saying it would bring closure to the thousands of Armenians –
estimates range as high as half a million – who left their homeland
in search of safety.
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