Turkish Press
March 23 2007
Rice Defends Turkey Against Armenian Lobby
Published: 3/22/2007
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on
Wednesday that Turkey experiences democratization regarding debates
over Armenian issue in history.
Rice spoke at a committee meeting in the U.S. House of
Representatives under insistent questions by a Democratic Rep. Adam
Schiff who prepared a bill on so-called Armenian genocide.
"What we`ve encouraged the Turks and the Armenians to do is to have
joint historical commissions that can look at this, to have efforts
to examine their past, and in examining their past to get over it,"
Rice said.
"I do not think it helps that process of reconciliation for the
United States to enter this debate at that level," she added.
Rice supported Turkey`s arguments saying history should be examined
by historians.
Schiff reminded that Hrant Dink (Turkish-Armenian editor of a
bilingual weekly) was killed, Nobel-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk was
tried in Turkey and claimed that Turkey does not have any efforts for
reconciliation.
Rice responded to Schiff saying that Turkish people staged
demonstrations and embraced Armenians after killing of Dink. Rice
also stated that there is an ongoing evolution in Turkey which she
called a good ally.