ntons_last_minute_intervention_on_armenian_genocid e_bill
Clinton’s last-minute intervention on Armenian genocide bill
By Joshua Keating Thursday, March 4, 2010 – 2:28 PM
After remaining largely silent on the issue, the secretary of state
spoke up today:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a Democrat, on Wednesday to argue
that the legislation could harm efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian
relations, the White House said.
"Secretary Clinton called Chairman Berman … and in that conversation
the secretary indicated that further congressional action could impede
progress on normalization of relations," said National Security
Council spokesman Mike Hammer.
Berman has gone ahead with debate on the issue anyway and a vote is
expected shortly.
"Turkey is a vital and, in most respects, a loyal ally of the United
States in a volatile region," Berman, an influential member of
Congress because of his chairmanship of the foreign affairs committee,
said at the start of the hearing. "Be that as it may, nothing
justifies Turkey’s turning a blind eye to the reality of the Armenian
genocide," he added.
"Germany has accepted responsibility for the Holocaust. South Africa
set up a Truth Commission to look at Apartheid. And here at home, we
continue to grapple with the legacies of slavery and our horrendous
treatment of Native Americans," he added.
All in all, the level of cynicism in Washington around this tragic
historical event is pretty disheartening. Like President Bush before
him, President Obama was for using the word "genocide" as a candidate
before he was
against it as president. Former House Majority leader Dick Gephart,
who supported recognition as a congressman, is now lobbying against it
on the Turkish payroll.
Outside the Armenian-American community, whose grievance on this issue
is understandable and shouldn’t be dismissed, most Americans would
probably prefer that the congress focus its efforts on preventing and
ending current conflicts.
Update: Looks like the Committee approved it. Turkish Ambassador fo
the U.S. Namik Tan has reportedly been recalled to Ankara to
consultations. This could get ugly.