US TO VOTE ON ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

Al-Jazeera
March 4 2010
Qatar

Turkey says that the Armenian death toll has been inflated [EPA]

A US congressional panel is to vote on a resolution declaring the
killing of Armenians by Turkish forces during the First World War
as genocide.

The measure being put before the Foreign Affairs Committee is not
binding but approval could send the bill to the full House for
consideration.

Turkey sought to put pressure on Washington ahead of Thursday’s vote,
saying that its adoption would damage strategic ties between the
two countries.

The committee approved a similar measure in 2007, but it was not
brought to the House floor for a vote following intensive pressure
by George Bush, the former US president.

Turkish pressure

Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, said on Thursday that
the resolution could damage ties between the two Nato allies.

Davutoglu said: "If it passes, then the [Barack] Obama [the US
president] administration should try to prevent it from being voted
by Congress."

Abdullah Gul, the country’s president, was reported to have phoned
Obama late on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper said Gul had urged the US leader to use
his influence to block the resolution.

Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, has said she will wait to see the
result of the committee vote before deciding whether to bring it to
the House floor.

Diplomatic relations

Armenian-US 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 the First World War, 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 that many of those killed were victims of civil
war and unrest.

After decades of hostility, Turkey and Armenia signed a deal in
October to establish diplomatic relations and open their border.

But the process has hit the rocks, with Ankara accusing Yerevan of
trying to tweak the terms of the deal and Armenia charging that Turkey
is not committed on ratifying the accord.

"We have taken very important steps for comprehensive normalisation
in the Caucasus. It is necessary to avoid risking these efforts,"
Davutoglu said.

The minister did not say what Turkey would do if the bill was adopted,
but a Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "all
options are on the table", including once again recalling Turkey’s
ambassador to the US.

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