FACING UP TO HISTORY
Indian Express
p-to-history/591795
March 17 2010
India
Not for the first time, Armenians sense a moment of vindication in
their struggle for the acknowledgment of the tragedy that befell their
forebears during the first world war. Turkey is angry. And America’s
administration is straining to limit the damage.
The latest Turkish-American rift over the Armenian question — after a
congressional committee voted on March 4th to recognise the killings of
1915 as genocide — looks wider than some previous ones. It coincides
with a general scratchiness between America and its ally.
Turkey is reluctant to slap sanctions on Iran. Anti-Americanism is
running high among Turks. Some suspect that Barack Obama retains his
view (expressed as a senator in 2008) that "the Armenian genocide is
not an allegation…but rather a widely documented fact."
Still, the chances are that after a deep sulk, Turkey will send its
ambassador back to Washington, and the administration will persuade
legislators to avoid a vote in the full House, for fear of wrecking
an important relationship — and worsening the fading prospects for
reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia. A tired diplomatic ritual
will play out once again.