WHITE HOUSE PRESSES TO STOP ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VOTE
By Desmond Butler
Associated Press
March 4, 2010
The Obama administration is urging a House panel not to offend Turkey
by declaring that the Ottoman-era killing of Armenians was genocide.
But the committee chairman pressed ahead Thursday.
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is urging a House panel not to
offend Turkey by declaring that the Ottoman-era killing of Armenians
was genocide.
But the committee chairman pressed ahead Thursday.
The administration stepped in despite a campaign promise by President
Barack Obama to brand as genocide the killing of as many as 1.5
million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. The vote by the congressional
committee could alienate Turkey, which plays an important role for
U.S. interests in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Howard Berman on Wednesday that such a vote would
jeopardize reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia, White
House spokesman Mike Hammer said.
Despite the call, Berman, D-Calif., on Thursday urged members of
the committee to approve the resolution, and they appeared likely to
endorse it. That would send it to the full House, where its prospects
are uncertain.
The United States relies on Turkey as a key supply route for U.S.
troops in Iraq and Turkey’s troops serve in the U.S.-led coalition
forces in Afghanistan. The United States also is pressing Turkey,
which holds a rotating seat in the U.N. Security Council, to support
sanctions against Iran, Turkey’s neighbor.
Even if the genocide measure doesn’t go beyond the committee, Turkey
has warned it could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation and set back
negotiations aimed at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia.
The Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar measure in 2007, but
it was not brought to the House floor for a vote following intensive
pressure by President George W. Bush.
Following the 2007 committee vote, Turkey promptly recalled its
ambassador, and U.S. 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.
On Thursday, a Turkish official suggested his country could again
recall its ambassador to the United States if the congressional panel
approves the resolution.
"All options are on the table," the government official said, speaking
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says the resolution could damage
Turkish-U.S. ties and undermine reconciliation efforts with Armenia.
"If it passes, then the Obama administration should try to prevent
it from being voted by Congress," Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news
agency quoted Davutoglu as saying Thursday during a visit to Egypt.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will wait to see the result
of the committee vote before deciding whether to bring it up for full
House vote.
Armenian American groups have for decades sought 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 says the toll has been inflated
and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide.
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,
sealed since 1993.
—
Associated Press writer Suzan Frazer contributed to this story from
Ankara, Turkey.