ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL CONSIDERED
Gabriel Sanders
Forward, NY
Oct 10 2007
As the House Foreign Affairs Committee sat down this week to consider
House Resolution 106, a bill that would formally recognize the Armenian
genocide, a range of Turkish officials warned that the bill’s passage
could severely damage Ankara’s ties to both the United States and
Israel.
In an October 9 letter to President Bush, Turkish President Abdullah
Gul warned of "serious troubles," should the House adopt the measure.
Earlier in the week, during a visit to Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan told the Jerusalem Post that "if something goes wrong in
Washington, D.C., it inevitably will have some influence on relations
between Turkey and the U.S., plus the relations between Turkey and
Israel as well."
The bill is expected to be approved by the committee and has enough
votes to pass should it reach the House floor.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the
bill’s passage would be "very destabilizing to our efforts in Iraq
and Afghanistan because Turkey, as an important strategic ally, is
very critical in supporting the efforts that we are making in these
crucial areas."
Last year, Turkey cut military ties with France after the French
parliament passed a bill making denial of the Armenian genocide
an offense.
On Tuesday, the American Embassy in Ankara warned Americans living
in Turkey of possible "demonstrations and other manifestations of
anti-Americanism throughout Turkey" should the bill make it to the
House floor.
A letter being circulated by the Turkish Jewish community was still
more direct.
"There have been insinuations that our security and well-being in
Turkey is linked to the fate of Resolution 106," the letter read.