Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. anca@anca.org
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
April 13, 2010
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
BERMAN SLAMS EFFORT TO BLOCK U.S. HOUSE VOTE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
— Rejects Turkish Caucus Efforts to Deny Armenian Genocide;
Challenges Flawed National Security and Economic Arguments against
Adoption of Resolution
WASHINGTON, DC -Howard Berman, Chairman of the powerful House
Foreign Affairs Committee, today denounced efforts by his
Colleagues in the Turkish Caucus to question the historical truth
of the Armenian Genocide, rejecting the flawed national security
and economic arguments put forth by these legislators to block the
adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252) by the
full U.S. House of Representatives, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
"Chairman Berman expertly takes apart each Turkish Caucus excuse to
delay, derail, and ultimately defeat the Armenian Genocide
Resolution," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look
to the House leadership, first and foremost Speaker Pelosi and
Majority Leader Hoyer, to follow Chairman Berman’s lead in both
scheduling this genocide-prevention measure for a vote and in
working energetically with their colleagues to secure its
adoption."
In a strongly worded response to a Congressional Turkish Caucus
letter urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to block floor
consideration of the measure, Chairman Berman took "strong
exception" to their references to the "so-called Armenian Genocide
Resolution," stating that the assertion, "flies in the face of the
overwhelming weight of unimpeachable historical evidence and the
virtually unanimous opinion of genocide scholars."
Chairman Berman also rejected the flawed national security
arguments against the Armenian Genocide Resolution, stating, "I
believe that U.S.-Turkish security relations are founded on mutual
interests and that Turkey is not about to discard the immense
benefits it derives from bilateral security relations for the sake
of ‘punishing’ the US for a non-binding resolution, however much it
may resent that resolution." He went on to argue that the Turkish
response to the passage of previous genocide legislation has been
"limited and short-lived, at most."
The Chairman also disputed the effect of Congressional Genocide
affirmation on Turkey-Armenia relations, arguing that the Turkey-
Armenia Protocols "have been gathering dust in the Turkish
parliament" due to Turkish preconditions on the process.
The Chairman’s letter coincides with bilateral meetings held
between President Barack Obama and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan, and also between the Armenian President and Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Both foreign leaders are in
Washington DC as part of a major multilateral Nuclear Summit. At a
presentation at George Mason University’s Center for Global Islamic
Studies, Prime Minister Erdogan once again denied the Armenian
Genocide and encouraged the U.S. Congress not to adopt Armenian
Genocide legislation. Meanwhile, across town, at a ceremony
honoring President Woodrow Wilson, celebrated for his commitment to
ensuring that the core territorial and security elements of
Armenia’s historic viability be restored, Armenian President Serzh
Sargisyan made reference to "Wilsonian Armenia" and stressed that
the Turkey-Armenia protocols could not be used to question the
historical truth of the Armenian Genocide.
The full text of Chairman Berman’s letter to his House colleagues
is provided below.
#####
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman’s
Letter to House Colleagues
April 13, 2010
Dear Colleague,
As you may be aware, members of the Turkey caucus are circulating a
sign-on letter to Speaker Pelosi urging that the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H. Res. 252), recently passed by the Foreign Affairs
Committee, not be brought to the full House for a vote. The
authors argue that passage of the bill by the House would do
"irrevocable harm" to U.S. national security, "derail ongoing
efforts" by Armenia and Turkey to normalize relations, and harm the
U.S. economy by putting American exports to and investment in
Turkey at risk.
I disagree with many points in the letter, but I take particularly
strong exception to the use of the phrase "so-called ‘Armenian
Genocide Resolution’", which casts doubt on the historicity of the
Armenian Genocide. In doing so, it flies in the face of the
overwhelming weight of unimpeachable historical evidence and the
virtually unanimous opinion of genocide scholars. In fact, the man
who coined the term "genocide," Rafael Lemkin, considered the World
War I-era massacres of the Armenians to constitute genocide, and he
cited that genocide as the event that triggered his interest in
genocide.
I also reject the various national-security arguments cited by
opponents of the Armenian Genocide resolution. I believe that US-
Turkish security relations are founded on mutual interests and that
Turkey is not about to discard the immense benefits it derives from
bilateral security relations for the sake of "punishing" the US for
a non-binding resolution, however much it may resent that
resolution. For example, would Turkey risk losing real-time
intelligence on PKK movements in northern Iraq? Highly doubtful.
Moreover, the history of Turkish responses to acknowledgement of
the Armenian Genocide by other governments and parliaments suggests
that negative fall-out would be limited and short-lived, at most.
In addition, I dispute the argument that passing H. Res. 252 would
derail the Turkish-Armenian protocols. The protocols have been
gathering dust in the Turkish parliament since they were signed in
October, and particularly in light of the preconditions established
by the Turkish leadership, there is little likelihood that they
will be ratified any time soon.
Finally, I take issue with the assertion that passing the
resolution would harm the U.S. economy. It strains credulity to
believe that Turkey would reject U.S. investment and stop buying
all U.S. products in the event that the House adopted H. Res. 252.
In a more general sense, I am deeply disturbed by this morally-
blind line of argument, as it could be used to justify inaction on
any number of human rights issues around the world.
Although I don’t accept the arguments of those who anticipate
potential harm to U.S. national security should the House pass the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, I respect those arguments. What I can
neither accept nor respect is any claim, direct or implied, that
one of the greatest crimes of modern history did not happen.
Sincerely,
/s/
HOWARD L. BERMAN
Chairman
Committee on Foreign Affairs