Tert.am
11:56 ¢ 25.09.09

U.S. Congressman Against Creation of Historical Commission: Says No
Disputing Armenian Genocide

Armenian Council of America (ACA) representatives met with
U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff and discussed recent developments on the
Armenian Genocide resolution, US-Armenia relations, Armenia-Turkey
relations, and the Obama administration’s policies toward Armenia and
Artsakh, announced a statement from the Armenian Council of America.

Specifically, the Congressman reiterated his position on the
protocols, stating, `While I welcome what may be an important step in
the rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey and hope that the
upcoming talks result in a swift opening of full diplomatic and
commercial relations between Ankara and Yerevan, as well as a
reopening of the border, I have serious concerns about some provisions
of the protocols accompanying the announcement.’

`In particular, I was deeply disappointed to see that the protocols
call for the creation of an historical commission to review the events
of 1915-23. This is a thoroughly discredited idea; there is no dispute
among scholars that the Armenian people were the subject of genocide
during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire and an historical
commission is another effort to obfuscate the truth.’

`Turkey cannot be allowed to re-write this tragic part of its history
as a price for normal relations with Armenia. To do so means
acquiescence in a charade that demeans the memory of so many victims.

`True reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish peoples will
occur when Turkey acknowledges the genocide that was committed by the
Ottoman Empire against Armenians from 1915 – 1923. The Armenian
Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th Century, resulted in the
deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children and the sorrow
that the Armenian people carry in their hearts cannot be healed by
diplomatic relations alone,’ said Congressman Schiff.

Tert.am