"1915 ARMENIAN GENOCIDE" RESOLUTION APPROVED AFTER ALL
Russia Today, Russia
Oct 11 2007
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee has passed
a resolution recognizing the 1915 Armenian massacre as genocide. The
Turkish President says the decision is unacceptable and is not regarded
by the Turkish people as of any value.
Considering the killings of nearly 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman
Turks during World War I, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed
legislation declaring the murders to be cases of genocide. The 27 to
21 vote came after a heated debate that voiced concerns over possible
damage to U.S.-Turkey relations. Turkey is seen as a vital partner
in the war on terror.
"Members of this committee have a sobering choice to make. We have to
weigh the desire to express our solidarity with the Armenian people
and to condemn this historic nightmare through the use of the word
genocide against the risk that it could cause our men and women in the
uniforms of the United States armed services to pay an even heavier
price than they are currently paying," stated Tom Lantos, Chairman
of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Armenian genocide of 1915 is already recognized by 22 countries,
including Russia and the European Union. Turkey has repeatedly warned
U.S. lawmakers against the passing of such a measure and denies that
the killings were genocide. A number of U.S. congressmen also sided
with Turkey, a key NATO ally.
"This resolution will not settle the issue anymore that it settled
the issue with all the other nations that passed a similar resolution
because the argument continues to go on," Congressman Ted Poe stated.
Just hours before the vote, President Bush called upon Congress to
reject the Armenian genocide bill arguing it would harm U.S.-Turkey
relations.
"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass
killings, and a vote in favour would do great harm to our relations
with a key ally in NATO and in the global war on terror," President
Bush stressed.
Emphasizing the Bush administration’s concerns, Secretary of Defense
Gates and Secretary of State Rice argued against the approval of the
resolution. Turkey is a key NATO ally of the U.S. and it has warned
that if the measure is now passed in Congress, it may ban the U.S.
from having a strategic military base which serves as a centre for
operations in the region.
Armenian and Turkish reaction
The Armenian President, Robert Kocharian, has welcomed the decision
and says he hopes relations with Ankara can been restored.
Meanwhile, Turkey is considering military action in Northern Iraq as
part of a large-scale campaign against Kurdish separatists.
The Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, will ask the parliament to
authorise a military push in the area where 3,000 Kurdish rebels are
said to be based.
He was put under pressure to act after 15 Turkish service men were
killed in recent attacks in the region bordering Iraq.
However, the U.S. fears such a move could destabilise Iraq’s most
peaceful region.