examiner.com
March 5 2010
House ‘genocide’ resolution sparks controversy
March 5, 10:25 AMNY Military Headlines Examiner John Signoriello
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution Thursday
that labeled Turkey’s early 20th-century atrocities against the
Armenian people as ‘genocide.’
The measure passed by a 23-22 vote.
Minutes after the vote, Turkey withdrew its ambassador to the U.S.
HR 252 states in part:
"The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly
2,000,000 Armenians…1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed
and 14,500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes."
Turkey’s Foreign Minister warned the Obama administration to impede
the resolution or "the picture ahead will not be a positive one,"
according to AFP.
Foreign Minister Davutoglu said the Obama administration had not put
sufficient weight behind efforts to block the vote and called on
Washington to do more to prevent the measure from now going to the
full House.
He complained of a lack of ‘strategic vision’ in Washington, adding
that the issue was a matter of ‘honor’ for his country.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration had
lobbied members of the committee to oppose the resolution.
According to WSJ, a White House spokesman said Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton had called House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman
Howard Berman (D-CA) prior to the vote to indicate that "further
congressional action could impede progress on normalization of
relations" between Turkey and Armenia.
Some commentators, particularly those with a pro-resolution bent,
mentioned that opposition to the proposal was ‘softer’ than in years
past.
———————————— ——————————————–
Turm oil in Turkey
The House resolution comes at a particularly bad time for Turkey,
which finds itself embroiled in a military coup controversy.
Seven high-ranking Turkish military officers were charged last
Wednesday with plotting a coup against the country’s Islamist-leaning
government, two days after as many as 50 officers were arrested and
accused of belonging to the plot, according to the Christian Science
Monitor.
Reuters reports that four admirals, a retired brigadier-general and
two retired colonels were jailed….
< Click here for an article about that topic >
——————————————- ————————————-
A WSJ article pointed out the President Obama’s opposition to the
genocide proposal actually undermined a campaign pledge he made in
January 2008 when he said "as president I will recognize the Armenian
genocide."
White House spokesman, Mike Hammer, said Thursday , according to WSJ:
"The president’s position on the events of 1915 is well known and his
view of that history has not changed."
Eighteen NY and NJ legislators co-sponsored the resolution, including
NY Reps Charles Rangel and Anthony Weiner.
A similar resolution is pending in the Senate, where NY Senator
Charles Schumer is a co-sponsor.
Committee approval of the resolution is the first step in the
legislative process.
Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that
deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general
debate.
A similar resolution languished in committee during the last
administration because President Bush opposed it.
NY Congressman, Michael McMahon, a member of the committee, opposed
the resolution.
< Click here for an article on that topic >
"If HR 252 is passed and Turkey decides to close its border to our
troops in Iraq or remove its $100 million investment in Afghanistan,
our Armed Forces will be forced to take longer, more dangerous routes
to and from Iraq, exposing them to a greater possibility of attack and
longer deployments," Rep. McMahon stated.
Turkey is the critical passageway for our troops to Iraq, he said,
shortening travel time and reducing the risk of an IED attack.
"Furthermore, as a critical Muslim NATO ally and partner in
Afghanistan, we rely on Turkey to protect our troops as part of the
broader Afghan reconstruction effort."
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush I, Bill Clinton and George
Bush II have all opposed a similar resolution based on similar
arguments, according to Rep. McMahon, while Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates, under both the Bush and Obama Administrations, has
warned against the passage of the resolution.
"If Turkey decides to withdraw its support for the US mission in Iraq
and Afghanistan, I know that my visits to Walter Reed and Arlington
will only increase," Rep McMahon stated. "Even with my profound
sympathy for the families of those who perished during the Ottoman
Empire, I cannot responsibly risk such a possibility."
Rep. McMahon represents the 13th Congressional District, which
includes all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn.
He faces re-election in November.
Michael Allegretti, a possible GOP opponent, announced he was in favor
of the resolution.
`I urge the members of the House Foreign Relations to stand-up and
recognize the genocide which took place between 1915-1923," Mr.
Allegretti stated."It is unspeakable that one and a half million
Armenians lost their lives in an effort to erase them from their
homeland. Passage of this resolution would be a positive step for the
region."
Rep. McMahon called Allegretti’s position "reckless, irresponsible and
a serious threat to US national security and the safety of our Armed
Forces."
Many analysts have pointed out that passage of the resolution comes at
a time the US is seeking Turkey’s support for sanctions against Iran.
An article in the Jerusalem Post quoted an anonymous diplomatic source
as saying Turkey did not ask Israel’s help to lobby against the
resolution, as it has in years past, because of deteriorating
relations between the two countries.
That article mentions that Israeli official Haim Oron has called on
the Knesset to recognize the Armenian genocide.
"It is incumbent upon Israel’s Knesset, in particular, to conduct a
thorough debate and reach a resolution recognizing the Armenian
genocide that occurred nearly 100 years ago," said Oron, warning that
"the attempt to deny it and erase it from history is part of a
campaign that has consequences for other denials."
The Jerusalem Post article mentions that, in 2007, Anti-Defamation
League national director Abe Foxman incurred Turkish wrath when he
issued a statement saying that the Turkish actions toward the
Armenians from 1915-1918 were "tantamount to genocide."
Relations between Israel and Turkey have showed signs of breaking down
lately, the Jerusalem Post article states; however, Israel has avoided
recognizing the Armenian genocide at all costs, and the government has
in the past thwarted all attempts to promote such an official
recognition.
A similar ‘genocide’ dispute is one of several issues bogging down
negotiations between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October of 2009 to
establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border in a deal
hailed as a historic step toward ending decades of hostility, yet the
parliaments of both countries have not ratified the measures
Turkey’s refusal stems, in part, from (Armenian President) Yerevan’s
attempts to have the massacres internationally recognized as genocide,
according an AFP article written earlier this year.
There is another sticking point.
Turkish officials have repeatedly said the agreements will not be
ratified without progress in the dispute over Nagorny-Karabakh,
according to Mariam Harutunian of AFP.
Backed by Armenian President Yerevan, ethnic Armenian separatists
seized control of Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from
Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that claimed an estimated
30,000 lives, she explained, adding that Turkey closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan–with which it
has strong ethnic, trade and energy links–against Yerevan’s support
for the enclave’s separatists.
The Jerusalem Post article quoted the head of Armenia’s parliament as
saying that it will not ratify the deal before the Turkish parliament
does.
NY-Military-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m3d5-House-gen ocide-resolution-sparks-controversy