ANKARA WARILY EYES TODAY’S GENOCIDE RESOLUTION VOTE

2010/03/04 | 09:42

world

Today’s upcoming vote in the United State Congress on how to describe
the events of 1915 (House Resolution 252) looms front and center in
many of the nation’s papers and news outlets.

The Wall Street Journal says the vote "is turning into a game of
brinksmanship between the White House and Ankara." It quotes Suat
Kiniklioglu, a legislator and deputy chairman of external affairs for
the ruling Justice and Development Party as saying, "There would be
consequences if the vote passes. Turks find it very offensive to be
equated with Nazis."

In this push and pull process, the White House seems to have faded to
the foreground, a break from previous administrations’ active lobbying
against similar measures. When asked how passage of the resolution
would effect relations with Turkey, State Department spokesman P.J.

Crowley said, "We have a pretty good idea of how everyone feels on
the issue."

For many, the nagging questions remains to what extent the current
Obama administration is using the Genocide issue for political
leverage , like the sword of Damocles over Ankara? This question
takes on more validity given the ongoing ratification process of the
Turkish-Armenian Protocols.

The traditional Turkish response, at least on the whole, is that Ankara
is a strategic partner for the U.S. and that it would be foolish
to damage such a cooperative partnership over events, while tragic,
don’t amount to genocide.

"Turks feel the way these events happened is not well known abroad
and only in a one-sided way," said Ilter Turan, a professor of
political science at Bilgi University in Istanbul. He said a vote to
recognize genocide would likely trigger anti-American demonstrations
and retaliation by the government.