Daily Record, Scotlans, UK
March 5 2010
Turkey recalls ambassador from America as US government ponders
branding WWI massacre of Armenians as ‘genocide’
Mar 5 2010
TURKEY angrily withdrew its US ambassador after a government committee
backed a resolution branding the First World War-era killing of
Armenians genocide.
The House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee approved the
resolution, which Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the United States, sees
as a historical affront, over the objections of President Barack
Obama.
The 23-22 vote sends the measure to the full House, where prospects
for passage are uncertain.
"I declare such a decision that was taken with political concerns in
mind to be an injustice to history and to the science of history,"
Turkish president Abdullah Gul said in the capital Ankara.
"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative results that this
event may lead to."
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of the First World War, 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.
The reconciliation agreement reached in October between Turkey and
Armenia calls for a panel to discuss "the historical dimension" of the
killings and Turkey says US politicians should stay out of the issue.
The committee’s vote is awkward for Mr Obama, who pledged as a
presidential candidate to recognise the Armenian deaths as a genocide.
The administration reversed course, as secretary of state Hillary
Clinton acknowledged yesterday.
"Circumstances have changed in very significant ways," she told
reporters travelling with her in Costa Rica.
She said the US supported a Swiss effort to resolve the historical dispute.
"We think that is the appropriate way to manage the problems that have
stood in the way of normalisation between the two countries," Mrs
Clinton said.
She said that the Obama administration was concerned the resolution
could harm the talks between Turkey and Armenia.
"We do not believe that the full Congress will or should act upon that
resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,"
she said.
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 co-operation and set back negotiations aimed at
opening the border between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkey also currently holds one of the rotating seats on the United
Nations Security Council that will have to approve sanctions against
Iran.
"I believe that Turkey values its relations with the US at least as
much as we value our relations with Turkey," chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep Howard Berman, a Democrat, said, in
urging his colleagues to pass the measure.
In April, Mr Obama failed to brand the killings genocide in an annual
White House statement on the day marking Armenian remembrance. He 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 at Armenia’s war with
neighbouring Azerbaijan.
The White House reiterated that Mr Obama’s views of the killings had
not changed.
White House spokesman Mike Hammer said Mr Obama had thanked Turkey on
Wednesday for efforts to resolve the dispute and urged Turkey to
quickly ratify the 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 MPs
have warned that the committee’s vote could stall progress.
Armenian-American groups have sought congressional affirmation of the
killings as genocide for decades.
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 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.
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