UNSURE ON ARMENIA RESOLUTION, ELLISON SAYS U.S. NEEDS TO ACKNOWLEDGE GENOCIDE HERE
By Andy Birkey
Minnesota Independent
March 4 2010
Rep. Keith Ellison says he hasn’t yet made up his mind about whether or
not Congress should recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915 committed
by the Ottoman Empire. A hearing is set for Thursday in the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs, of which Ellison is a member.
Ellison told the Turkish news service Hurriyet that the United States
needs to acknowledge its own past genocides before pointing the finger
at other countries.
"I am still developing my position. I would like to know how this
affects Turkey and Armenia’s relationship. Is it going to help the
relationship, improve it or degrade it? I need to know the answer on
that before I decide on this resolution… Is this resolution going
to improve the well-being of people in Armenia or Turkey or anywhere?"
Congressman Ellison also said America still has not recognized its own
genocide or genocides that it committed, yet tries to give lessons
to the other countries. Ellison said: "And you know, we have not
acknowledged yet the genocide that was committed against the Native
American tribes."
The issue is complicated by hard-right American Christians who use
the killings as evidence of Christian persecution, many times for
anti-Islam purposes, as well as by Muslim Turks who view the push
for genocide recognition as part of an anti-Muslim sentiment from
Western nations.
Though Turkey, one of few Western democracies in the Muslim world,
has good relations with the United States, Turkey has threatened to
scale back its support for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
if Congress passes the resolution.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued a proclamation in 2005 to recognize
the Armenian Genocide. Forty-two other states have done so.
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