`Jewish Lobby behind U.S. `Genocide’ Vote’, Erdogan Slams Vote as ‘Parody’
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06/03/2010
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday slammed as a
"parody" a US Congress panel’s resolution branding the killing of
Armenians during World War I as "genocide" and warned it would harm
countries concerned.
Thursday’s approval of the resolution at the US House Foreign Affairs
Committee was the product of "erroneous policies" and "will not bind
us," Erdogan said in televised remarks. Turkey will "not be deterred
by such a comedy, a parody, a fait accompli," he said in a speech to a
businessmen’s group in Istanbul.
"Let me say quite clearly that this resolution will not harm us. But
it will damage bilateral relations between countries, their interests
and their visions for the future. We will not be the losers," he
added.
A London-based Arabic-language newspaper said on Saturday that Jewish
lobbyists contrived the U.S. congressional vote. Pro-Israel lobbyists
had previously backed Turkey on the issue but changed tack in
retaliation for Turkish condemnation of Israel’s policies in the Gaza
Strip, the Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily said in an editorial.
In his leading article, Al-Quds Al-Arabi editor Abd al-Bari Atwan
urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to give in to
the Jewish lobby’s "extortion" tactics.
The US resolution has triggered protests in Turkey. Protesters on
Friday marched in front of the US embassy in Ankara, the Turkish
capital, chanting "God damn American imperialism".
"This is another game of the United States of America. Turkey never
committed genocide but we defend our land," the Associated Press news
agency quoted one protester as saying.
Turkey recalled its ambassador to the US and condemned Washington’s
move to declare the killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces in the
First World War a "genocide". "We condemn this resolution which
accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it has not committed," Ankara
said in a statement on Thursday. "Following this development, our
ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, was recalled to Ankara for
consultations."
The announcement came minutes after the US House of Representatives’
foreign affairs committee passed a non-binding measure in a 23-22 vote
on Thursday, calling on the administration to ensure US policy
formally refers to the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide.
There are fears the resolution, if adopted, could damage Turkey’s
peace efforts with Armenia. But Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of
state, said the resolution would not be adopted.
Ankara said the outcome of the US panel’s vote demonstrated "a lack of
strategic vision" among US legislators at a time when Turkey and the
US "are working together on a broad common agenda".
Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s president said the resolution had "no value in
the eyes of the Turkish people" and warned that it would deal a blow
on fledgling efforts to end decades of hostility between Turkey and
Armenia.