TURKISH GROUPS RESUME LOBBYING EFFORTS AGAINST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

armradio.am
03.03.2010 12:41

Two groups of Turkish parliamentarians resumed Tuesday their lobbying
efforts against the Armenian genocide bill that will be voted on by
the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission head Murat Mercan
said that such a measure will be seen by the Turkish public as
"inappropriate pressure on Turkey," warning: "There will be an
overwhelming public reaction and outcry over the bill."

Å~^ukru Elekdag, former Turkish ambassador to the United States and
an opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, member said the
Armenian issue should not be allowed to have a detrimental effect on
U.S.-Turkish relations.

Meanwhile, Turkish Parliament U.S. Caucus head Suat Kınıklıoglu,
who led the second Turkish group, drew attention to a possible chill
in U.S.-Turkish ties and said the partnership between the two countries
"should not be marred by events of almost 100 years ago." He also said
the passage of the resolution might "radicalize" an already sensitive
debate within Turkey about the future of Turkish-Armenian relations.

Noting the United States and Turkey have worked closely and
constructively together on a wide range of international issues,
Mercan said: "If the resolution passes the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, this mutually beneficial cooperation will be put into
immediate jeopardy. That outcome is good for neither Turkey nor the
United States."

Responding to a question, Mercan said they have not talked to any
officials from the U.S. administration yet, and said the place they
like to be more involved is with the U.S. Congress, where the vote
will be taken. Nevertheless, Mercan conceded that the U.S.

administration’s role is always important and they still expect
the U.S. administration take a greater role to stop the resolution,
the Hyrriyet Daily News reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress