WILL CONGRESSMEN APPROVE?
esolution
08:59 pm | March 04, 2010
Politics
Today the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives
was going to discuss the Armenian Genocide Resolution 252.
The discussions were going to start at 7 p.m. Yerevan time and were
to be followed by a vote. The resolution will be adopted if 24 out
of 46 committee members vote for it.
Head of "Heritage" party’s faction Armen Martirosyan is certain that
the resolution will be adopted, but had difficulty saying whether it
would become a topic of discussion for the Congress.
Is Armenian Genocide recognition in the interest of the US? In
response, Martirosyan said: I think the establishment of historical
justice is in the interest of all countries."
Deputy of the Republican faction Edward Sharmazanov is also
optimistic. "I think this issue is clear for the American society and
the political elite. Out of 50 states, 42 have recognized the Armenian
Genocide and many presidents have pronounced the word "genocide". The
issue is more on U.S.-Turkey relations because they are currently
multi-layered and problematic. I obviously expect approval."
Sharmazanov said that it would be naive for political figures to think
that the approval or disapproval of the resolution would condition
Armenia’s relations with the US.
"There is room for development of Armenian-American relations and I
am in favor of active development. If Turkey delays the ratification
of the Protocols and creates artificial obstacles, the intermediary
countries will use their levers to pressure Turkey and bring it
down to its knees. I think this resolution is one of those levers,"
said Sharmazanov.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
has adopted such resolutions in 2000, 2005 and 2007. Although those
resolutions were greatly supported in Congress, they were not put up
for a vote in the plenary session of the House of Representatives.