US, TURKEY STOUSH OVER GENOCIDE CLAIMS

AP
11:17 05/03/2010

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seas Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Washington after a US
congressional panel decided that the Ottoman-era killing of Armenians
was genocide.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the resolution with
a 23-22 vote on Thursday, even though the Obama administration had
urged Congress not to offend Turkey by approving it.

The resolution now goes to the full House, where prospects for passage
are uncertain.

Turkey, a Nato ally with a pivotal role for US interests in the Middle
East and Afghanistan, has warned that the resolution’s approval could
jeopardise US-Turkish cooperation and set back negotiations aimed at
opening the border between Turkey and Armenia.

Armenian American groups have for decades sought congressional
affirmation of the killings as genocide.

Hours before the vote, White House spokesman Mike Hammer said in a
statement that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken with
the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman, and
indicated that "further Congressional action could impede progress
on normalisation of relations" between Turkey and Armenia.

Hammer would not elaborate on the details of the conversation.

Still, Berman on Thursday urged fellow members of the committee to
pass the resolution.

"The Turks say passing this resolution could have terrible consequences
for our bilateral relationship, and indeed perhaps there will be
some consequences," Berman said. "But I believe that Turkey values
its relations with the United States at least as much as we value
our relations with Turkey."

Even if the measure doesn’t go beyond the committee, Turkey has warned
it could jeopardise US-Turkish cooperation and set back negotiations
aimed at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia.

Hammer said President Obama called Turkey’s president, Abdullah Gul,
on Wednesday to express his appreciation for Turkey’s efforts to
normalise relations with Armenia. Obama urged Turkey to rapidly
ratify a deal reached in October with Armenia that would open the
border between the two countries.

The deal must be approved by the Turkish parliament, and Turkish
lawmakers have warned that the committee’s vote could stall progress.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs suggested the administration was
trying to buy time for Turkey’s parliament to act.

"Our focus is on continuing to make progress on an issue that has,
for almost 100 years, divided two countries," Gibbs said. "Through some
very tough diplomatic work by Secretary Clinton, we’ve made progress.

We’re on the cusp of normalisation."

Ad Feedback The Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar genocide
measure in 2007, but it was not brought to the House floor for a vote
following intensive pressure by then-President George W Bush.

Following the 2007 committee vote, Turkey promptly recalled its
ambassador, and US officials feared the Turks might cut off American
access to a Turkish air base essential to operations in Iraq.

The United States still wants Turkey’s support for its operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also is pressing Turkey, which holds
a rotating seat on the UN Security Council, to support sanctions
against Iran, Turkey’s neighbour.

Armenian American 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 World War I, 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 those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

In April, President Obama failed to brand the killings genocide in an
annual White House statement on the day marking Armenian remembrance.

Obama said that while he had not changed his personal views, he did not
want to upset promising talks between Turkey and Armenia on improving
relations and opening their border. Turkey sealed the border in 1993
to protest Armenia’s war with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

The White House reiterated that Obama’s views of the killings had
not changed.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress