BERMAN SLAMS EFFORT TO BLOCK HOUSE VOTE ON RESOLUTION

Tert.am
14.04.10

Howard Berman, the chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs
Committee, 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).

In a strongly worded response to a Congressional Turkish Caucus letter
urging Nancy Pelosi to block floor consideration of the measure,
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."

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 U.S. for a
non-binding resolution, however much it may resent that resolution."

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 Sargsyan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. Both foreign leaders are in Washington this week as part of
a major multilateral nuclear summit.