Washington Post
Transcript [Excerpt]
Rice Testifies Before the House Judiciary Committee on Mideast Policy
CQ Transcripts Wire
Wednesday, October 24, 2007; 3:34 PM
DANA ROHRABACHER, R-CALIF: About the vote that we had here a week ago
or so — two weeks ago on the Armenian question that officially has
enraged the Turks, I think that people should understand — and I’d
like your opinion on this — it’s just that the Turks — that vote in
no way was an anti-Turkish vote.
And I think I speak for my colleagues here.
That vote was a human rights vote and a recognition of a violation of
human rights.
But the Turks should understand and the Kurds should understand that
that in no way would mean that we would tolerate attacks by Kurdish
guerrillas on Turkish soldiers and Turkish civilians.
And, quite frankly, the Kurds should understand that we will support
the Turks’ right to retaliate if, indeed, Kurdish terrorists go across
the border and murder Turkish citizens and soldiers.
Is that our position?
SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Well, clearly, we have said the
PKK is a terrorist organization. And we’ve clearly said that the Turks
should not have to sustain attacks from havens in — across that
border in Iraq.
We have cautioned that retaliation of cross-border raids and the like
and cross-border operations would have a destabilizing effect, and
that has been the course of our conversation. And we’ve encouraged
everyone to work together toward a solution that does deal with the
terrorist problem but doesn’t destabilize northern Iraq.
If I may, though, Congressman, on the Armenian resolution — and I
recognize that it was a difficult vote for some who supported the
administration’s position on this, because I know it’s difficult —
there was a reason that we felt very strongly that this resolution
should not go forward.
This is a very delicate time with Turkey. It is a time when it is
going through a major transformation internally. We have extremely
important strategic interests with the Turks.
RICE: This is something that was a horrible event, in the mass
killings that took place, but at the time of the Ottoman Empire. These
are not the Ottomans.
ROHRABACHER: Right.
RICE: And what we have tried to do instead is to get the Turks and the
Armenians to work together to look to their future.
I had the Armenian prime minister in yesterday. And I said to him,
"You have to understand that Americans, who are always accused of
being too forward-looking, not looking back enough, really do believe
that it’s important that Armenia and Turkey move forward." And I
encouraged him to reach out to the Turks, at the civil society level
and the like.
But I continue to believe that the passage of such a resolution of —
the Armenian Genocide resolution, would severely harm our relationship
with Turkey.
ROHRABACHER: The reason why…
REP. TOM LANTOS, D-CALIF. CHAIRMAN: The gentleman’s time has expired.
Source: le/2007/10/24/AR2007102401683.html