TURKEY PULLS AMBASSADOR OVER ARMENIA GENOCIDE BILL

Politico.com
March 4 2010

Turkey recalled its new ambassador to the United States, Namik
Tan, Thursday after the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a
resolution that labels as genocide the killings of ethnic Armenians
by Ottomon Turks following World War I, POLITICO’s Marin Cogan reports:

The resolution, approved narrowly by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee 23-22, calls the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians
genocide.

The decision to recognize the historical event as genocide
may seem like a minor event, but the issue is one of the most
explosive in Washington. Turkey has a strong lobbying presence in
Washington to defend them against the accusation of genocide, but the
Armenian-American community has been passionate–and persistent–about
getting official recognition from the United States government.

The issue has been a perennial one for activists on both sides,
and both the Bush and Obama administrations have tried to quiet the
Armenian push on this resolution because the U.S. has a critical
military presence in Turkey.

The Turkish government said the resolution was filled with historic
inaccuracies.

"This decision, which could adversely affect our cooperation on a wide
common agenda with the United States, also regrettably attests to a
lack of strategic vision," the Turkish government said in a statement.

"As a result of this development we recalled this evening our
Ambassador Namik Tan to Ankara for consultations."

The Obama administration is concerned that the decision could create
more tension between the countries. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton called Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman
(D-Calif.) this week to warn that the move would have international
implications–but the committee went ahead anyway.

"We are concerned about its potential impact on our relations with the
affected countries," said Philip Crowley, a state department spokesman.

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