Obama silent ahead of vote on Armenian genocide

President Barack Obama and Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul make a
joint statement at Cankaya Palace in Ankara. (AP)

By DESMOND BUTLER | AP

Published: Feb 27, 2010 11:04 PM Updated: Feb 27, 2010 11:04 PM

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is in a bind as a congressional
panel prepares to vote next week on a resolution that would recognize
as genocide the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks.

Obama said as a candidate that he believed the killings were genocide.
A congressional resolution to that effect could alienate Turkey, a
NATO ally and traditional friend of the United States that is crucial
to US foreign policy goals.

Past US administrations have defeated similar resolutions through
public cajoling about US national security interests and
behind-the-scenes lobbying.

So far, however, the Obama administration has taken no public position
on the measure. Aides to senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers on
the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee say there has
been no pressure against the resolution from the White House. The
administration was informed ahead of time that the committee would be
scheduling the vote, according to Lynn Weil, spokeswoman for the
committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Howard Berman.

Ankara has long made clear that the issue could alter dramatically
Turkish relations with the United States.

In 2007, when the House Armed Services Committee passed such a
resolution, Turkey promptly recalled its ambassador, and US officials
feared the Turks might cut off American access to a Turkish air base
essential to operations in Iraq. After intensive lobbying by top Bush
administration officials, the resolution was not considered by the
full House.

Berman’s committee is set to consider the issue Thursday.

A positive vote would clear the resolution to be considered by the
full House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will wait to see
the result in the committee before deciding whether to bring it up for
vote.

The United States still wants Turkey’s support for its operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan. It also is pressing Turkey, which holds a
rotating seat in the UN Security Council, to support sanctions against
Iran, Turkey’s neighbor.

It is not known whether the committee will approve the resolution. The
panel is strongly pro-Israel, and prospects for passage could be
affected by rising tensions between Turkey and Israel, as well as
Turkey’s relatively warm relationship with Iran. In the past, Turkey
and Israel had friendlier relations and Israel had quietly lobbied
against the resolution.

Armenian American groups have sought for decades congressional
affirmation of the killings as genocide.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies
that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been
inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

This year, some Armenian groups and lawmakers are expressing optimism
on the resolution’s prospects, noting that Obama, Vice President Joe
Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton all supported
recognition when they served in the Senate.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who introduced the resolution for
consideration, said he sees more favorable conditions than in 2007.

"Last time we had President Bush calling lawmakers at their homes to
oppose the resolution," he said.

In April, Obama broke a campaign promise to brand the killings
genocide in an annual White House statement on the day marking
Armenian remembrance. Obama said that while he had not changed his
personal views, he did not want to upset promising talks between
Turkey and Armenia on improving relations and opening their border.
Turkey sealed the border in 1993 to protest Armenia’s war with
neighboring Azerbaijan.

In October, Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement to normalize
relations, but Turkey has yet to ratify it. As progress toward a
breakthrough between the two countries appears stalled, it may be
harder for the Obama administration to oppose the resolution or
refrain from calling the killings genocide in this year’s statement.

"Our interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts," said White House spokesman Mike Hammer,
when asked about the resolution.

"We continue to believe that the best way to advance that goal is for
the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a
part of their ongoing efforts to normalize relations."

Hammer would not elaborate on the administration’s position on the resolution.

Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, said the Turkish public
may view the administration’s silence on the resolution as pressure to
ratify the agreement with Armenia.

"This could definitely complicate the process," he said.

"The greatest lobbyist in Washington is the administration. We have
not seen them around enough on this."