The Hill, DC
March 6 2010

Turkey protests House lawmakers’ move to recognize Armenian genocide

By Tony Romm – 03/06/10 12:26 PM ET

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday lambasted U.S.
lawmakers for pursuing a resolution that would label his country’s
treatment of Armenians after World War I as a "genocide."

That declaration, approved Thursday by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, could only serve to damage U.S.-Turkish relations, the
prime minister said.

Erdogan later decried the effort as a "parody," and he stressed his
country would in no way be "deterred" by U.S. lawmakers’ forthcoming
proclamation.

"Let me say quite clearly that this resolution will not harm us," he
told a business group. "But it will damage bilateral relations between
countries, their interests and their visions for the future. We will
not be the losers."
Despite the issue’s high profile, there been little movement in the
United States to recognize the killing of almost 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1917 as a genocide.

The delay stems in part from the belief that such a proclamation would
deter Turkey from cooperating further with the White House in the
fight against regional terrorism. Former President George Bush
campaigned against the resolution on those grounds in late 2007,
imploring the House Foreign Affairs Committee to reconsider a label
that would only serve to do "great harm to relations with a key ally
in NATO."

Interestingly enough, then-Sen. Barack Obama signaled on the 2008
campaign trail that, "as president I will recognize the Armenian
genocide." But this week, the Obama administration has tried to derail
that effort, citing concerns that the resolution will only reverse
months of progress in Turkish-American relations.

It is unclear whether lawmakers share that view. Turkey, however,
signaled this week that it certainly does: Erdogan on Thursday
recalled its ambassador to the United States.

om/news/85277-turkey-protests-house-lawmakers-move -to-recognize-armenian-genocide