Northern Territory News (Australia)
March 6, 2010 Saturday
1 – Edition
`Genocide’ call outcry
WASHINGTON: US senators have voted to brand the killing of Armenians
by Ottoman forces during World War I a “genocide”, drawing a sharp
response from Turkey, which immediately recalled its ambassador.
Despite fierce opposition to the move from Turkey and the White House,
the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the symbolic resolution
by the slimmest of margins, 23 votes to 22, setting the stage for the
bill to be put before the full House of Representatives.
The Turkish government had warned of serious repercussions for
bilateral relations over the issue.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged the committee not to
press ahead with the vote for fear it might harm reconciliation moves
between Armenia and Turkey and said she hoped their bid would progress
no further.
The US has traditionally condemned the 1915-1918 mass killings of
Armenians, but had refrained from calling them a “genocide”.