Tripoli Post , Libya
March 6 2010
Turkey recalls ambassador after US resolution on ‘Armenian genocide’
06/03/2010 22:13:00
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Washington after the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives today passed a
resolution that described the mass murders of Armenians during World
War I as the `Armenian genocide.’
`We condemn this resolution accusing Turkey of a crime that it had not
committed,Ankara had warned that the bill’s passing could lead to a
rupture in relations with Washington and could harm an already
endangered reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia.
`Turkish-US relations are experiencing their most successful period in
history," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said
Tuesday.
"I hope that they will not be damaged by such initiatives.’
The non-binding resolution, which passed with a 23 to 22 vote, calls
on US policy and President Barack Obama to refer formally refer to the
World War I mass killings as a `genocide.’
Speaker Nancy Pelosi must now decide whether the bill passed by the
committee will be sent to a floor vote in the House.
Armenians alleges that up to 1.5 million of their own were
systematically killed by the Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Turkey has long denied the genocide claim, saying the number of
Armenians killed was much lower and that the deaths were the result of
violent turbulence that also affected other groups at the time.
When a similar resolution was passed by a congressional committee in
2007, public opinion was set aflame ` contributing to Turkey
registering as one of the most anti-American countries at the time.
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