World Jewish Congress
March 5 2010

Tensions between Turkey and US over Congress resolution on Armenian `genocide’
05 March 2010

Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has warned of a breakdown
in ties with Washington after a committee of the US House of
Representatives approved a resolution labeling the World War I-era
mass killings of Armenians a `genocide.’ Davutoglu said the Obama
administration had not sufficiently put its weight behind efforts to
block the vote. He called on the administration to prevent the measure
from coming to the full House. Immediately after the vote on Thursday
night, Ankara recalled its ambassador to the US for consultations.

Davutoglu said the issue was a matter of "honor" and said the country
would assess what other measures to take. Some historians estimate up
to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the 1915/16 conflict, most of
them at hands of Ottoman forces. Turkey, the successor state of the
Ottoman Empire, denies the word genocide is an accurate description of
the events.

The resolution will now go to the full House of Representatives, where
its prospects are uncertain.

Earlier this week, the Jewish community of Turkey reiterated its
opposition to the resolution tabled in Congress. In a statement, it
said that `the assessment of historic events by parliaments is an
unrealistic undertaking that does not serve to the interests of the
parties involved, and that such matters can only be resolved by
historians.’

However, a key Jewish Congressman urged passage of the resolution.
Howard Berman, a Democrat from California and chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, said: "Turkey is a vital and, in most
respects, a loyal ally of the United States in a volatile region. We
have also been a loyal ally to Turkey, and should continue to be so.
Be that as it may, nothing justifies Turkey’s turning a blind eye to
the reality of the Armenian genocide."

According to the ‘Jerusalem Post’, Ankara has not – unlike in previous
years – sought to enlist the support of Israel and Jewish groups to
combat the resolution.

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