Author: Chilingarian Babken

CounterCurrents.org
March 6 2010

Holocaust Denial re Armenian Genocide And ongoing Palestinian,
Iraqi And Afghan Genocides

By Dr Gideon Polya
06 March, 2010
Countercurrents.org

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress House of
Representatives has just voted 23 to 22 on Resolution 252 that
recognizes the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide as a genocide. The 23-22
vote enables the measure to go to the full House of Representatives –
if the House leadership decides to bring it up. Turkey subsequently
withdrew its ambassador to the US and the Obama Administration
attacked the vote, Secretary of State Clinton declaring : `The Obama
administration strongly opposes the resolution that was passed by only
one vote by the House committee and will work very hard to make sure
it does not go to the House floor,’ (see:
65 ).

Turkey would gain great credit by finally acknowledging the reality of
the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide as a genocide. In doing so they would
follow the example of outstanding, Nobel Prize-winning Turkish writer
Orhan Pamuk (author of many novels, notably `My Name is Red’ and
`Snow’; see: ) who has stated
that `It’s essential to freely speak of what happened to Armenia in
the Ottoman Empire’ (see:
pic.php?f=10&t=307 ).

The Turks alive today had nothing to do with the Armenian Genocide and
the continued refusal of Turkish Governments to acknowledge this crime
against Humanity simply damages the good name of the Turkish people.

A profound statement was made by Congressman Brad Sherman (Democrat,
California) in supporting the Armenian Genocide recognizing House
Committee Resolution 252: "Genocide denial is not just the last step
of the genocide, it is the first step in the next genocide" (see:
).

The history of the latter half of the 20th century and of the 21st
century reveals how history ignored yields history repeated. Turkey
is a key staging post for the US wars against the people of Iraq ,
Afghanistan and now NW Pakistan. By steadfastly ignoring the reality
of the Armenian Genocide as genocide Turkey has become complicit in
genocidal crimes of the US Alliance that have been associated with 4.4
million violent and non-violent excess deaths in Iraq (1990-2010) and
4.5 million violent and non-violent excess deaths in Afghanistan.

Indeed the sensitivity of the Obama Administration to the House
Committee Armenian Genocide resolution 252 stems from Turkey’s key
logistical role in the US War On Terror that in actuality is a War on
Women and Children or more specifically a War on Arab, Muslim, Asian
and non-European Women and Children.

Turkey already admits that hundreds of thousands of Armenian died in
WW1 and accordingly should realize that the continuing argument about
the Armenian Holocaust or Armenian Genocide is ultimately an argument
about semantics ` about the meaning of the words `holocaust’ and
`genocide’, as elaborated below.

Holocaust is the destruction of a large number of people. The term was
first applied to a WW2 atrocity by Jog in 1944 (Jog, N.G. (1944),
Churchill’s Blind-Spot: India (New Book Company, Bombay)) in relation
to the `forgotten’ man-made Bengal Famine (6-7 million Indians – many
of them Muslims in a "forgotten" WW2 Muslim Holocaust – deliberately
starved to death by the British, 1943-1945). It was subsequently
applied to the Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million killed, 1 in 6 dying from
deprivation) which was part of a horrendous WW2 European Holocaust (30
million Slavs, Jews and Gypsies killed in the Nazi German Lebensraum
genocide).

Unfortunately the racist Zionists (RZs) (who were complicit in the
Jewish Holocaust by collaboration with the Nazis, opposing placement
of Jewish refugees anywhere but Palestine and persuading Churchill to
oppose the Joel Brand scheme to save 0.7 million Hungarian Jews) have
appropriated the term Holocaust to mean only the WW2 Jewish Holocaust
to the exclusion of all other holocausts (see the testimony of
outstanding humanitarian Jews Joel Brand:
istzionism/brand-joel-exposing-zionist-complicity- in-nazi-mass-murder-of-hungarian-jews
and Lenny Brenner:
acistzionism/brenner-lenni-exposing-zionist-collab oration-and-complicity-with-the-nazis
).

Genocide is very precisely defined in International Law as ` acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnic, racial or religious group’ as set out by Article 2 of the 1948
UN Genocide Convention : `In the present Convention, genocide means
any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole
or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: a)
Killing members of the group; b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm
to members of the group; c) Deliberately inflicting on the group
conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction
in whole or in part; d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births
within the group; e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to
another group.’

Key to this internationally agreed, legal definition of genocide is
`intent’. Thus the `intent’ of a serial killer is not abolished by his
refusal to confess or otherwise explicitly declare `intent’ ` it can
be clearly established simply by the evidence of sustained,
remorseless actions leading to serial deaths. Likewise, for example,
the sustained, remorseless actions (and inactions) of the British
caused the deaths of 6-7 million Indians in 1943-1945 Bengali
Holocaust (see the transcript of the 2008 BBC broadcast involving
myself, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and other
scholars: rogramme.html
) and the sustained British deprivation of its Indian subjects in the
2 century British Indian Holocaust (1.5 BILLION excess deaths, or
about 1.8 BILLION including the Native States, and about 20% of them
Muslims).

Here is the expert advice of Denis Halliday (who resigned after 34
years with the UN, including being UN assistant secretary-general,
over the Sanctions imposed on Iraq, characterizing them as
`genocide’) on genocidal `intent to kill’ in answering the question
`Who, in your view, is primarily responsible for the deaths of those
500,000 children under five [under Sanctions]?’ (2000) : `All the
members of the Permanent Security Council, when they passed 1284,
reconfirmed that economic sanctions had to be sustained, knowing the
consequences. That constitutes `intent to kill’, because we know that
sanctions are killing several thousand per month. Now, of the five
permanent members, three abstained; but an abstention is no better
than a vote for, in a sense. Britain and America of course voted for
this continuation. The rest of them don’t count because they’re
lackeys, or they’re paid off. The only country that stood up was
Malaysia , and they also abstained. But you know, by abstaining
instead of using your veto, when you are a permanent member you’re
guilty because you’re continuing something that has this deadly
impact. However, I would normally point the finger at London and
Washington , because they are the most active in sustaining sanctions:
they are the ones who will not compromise" (see: Denis Halliday,
interviewed by David Edwards, `Half a million children under five are
dead in Iraq ` who is responsible. An interview with Denis Halliday –
Former Assistant Secretary-General of The United Nations’, Media Lens,
May 2000: icles_2001/iraqdh.htm
).

Muslims have been subject to horrendous mass murder events, such as
the mass murder of the people of Jerusalem by the Crusaders on 15 July
1099 – more than 70,000 dead bodies of Muslim children and women
were found in the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem alone. In the13th
century the Mongols under Genghis Khan killed millions in Iraq and
adjoining. regions. In 1492 millions of Muslims (and Jews) were killed
or expelled from Spain , putting an end to the brilliant civilization
of Moorish Spain. Millions of Muslims were killed in subsequent
centuries due to expansion of the Russian Empire in Asia, the British
Empire in Asia and Africa, the French Empire in Asia and Africa, the
Spanish Empire in Asia and Africa, the Portuguese Empire in Africa and
Asia and the Dutch Empire in South East Asia (principally in what is
now Indonesia)..

The horrible reality in today’s world is an ongoing Muslim Holocaust
and Muslim Genoicde that isremorselessly ignored by academics,
journalists, politicians and media in the lying, holocaust complicit,
holocaust ignoring, genocide complicit, genocide ignoring,
Zionist-beholden, neocon-beholden, US imperialism-beholden Western
Murdochracies. The parts of this ongoing Muslim Holocaust and Muslim
Genocide are summarized below.

Palestinian Holocaust, Palestinian Genocide (0.3 million post-invasion
violent and non-violent excess deaths, 0.2 million post-invasion
under-5 infant deaths, 7 million refugees):
ngenocide/ .

Afghan Holocaust, Afghan Genocide (4.5 million post-invasion violent
and non-violent excess deaths, 2.4 million post-invasion under-5
infant deaths, 3-4 million refugees plus 2.5 million NW Pakistan
Pashtun refugees):
caustafghangenocide/ .

Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide (2.5 million post-invasion violent and
non-violent excess deaths, 0.9 million post-invasion under-5 infant
deaths, 5-6 million refugees; 1990-2010, 4.4 million violent and
non-violent excess deaths, 2.1 million under-5 infant deaths):
stiraqigenocide/ .

Global avoidable mortality of Muslims : the above atrocities are
dwarfed by the 1950-2005 excess deaths in the mostly post-colonial
Muslim World that totalled 0.6 billion (see my book "Body Count.
Global voidable mortality since 1950" , G.M. Polya, Melbourne , 2007,
and "Global avoidable mortality":
http://globalavoidablemortality.b logspot.com/ ).

Climate Holocaust, Climate Genocide (man-made global warming
increasingly impacts the current 22 million annual avoidable deaths
from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease; estimates from
top UK climate scientists Dr James Lovelock and Professor Kevin
Anderson point to 10 billion avoidable deaths this century due to
unaddressed global warming, this including 6 billion infants, 3
billion Muslims in a near-terminal, 21st century Muslim Holocaust , 2
billion Indians, 1.3 billion non-Arab Africans, 0.5 billion Bengalis,
0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis):
egenocide/ .

I have used the above compilations (based on UN Population Division,
UNICEF and WHO data) in making a Formal Complaint to the Chief
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court re Australian
Government and US Alliance Formal complaint to the Chief Prosecutor of
the International Criminal Court re various US Alliance, NATO, EU,
Australia, New Zealand and UK involvement in Palestinian Genocide,
Iraqi Genocide, Afghan Genocide, Muslim Genocide, Aboriginal Genocide,
Biofuel Genocide and Climate Genocide:
muslimholocaustmusli mgenocide/9-january-2010 . Turkey has made a major
contribution to Humanity but no country is without blemish and denial
of such blemishes simply compounds the problem of `history ignored
yields history repeated’. . Indeed my own country Australia was
intimately connected with the xenophobia-driven Armenian Genocide
which commenced after months of Allied shelling in the Dardanelles and
the day before the invasion of Turkey by Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The
Armenians observe 24 April as Armenian Genocide Day and in Australia
and New Zealand 25 April is observed as Anzac Day, the most solemn
memorial day in Australasia . Australia still does not recognize its
unwitting role in the Armenian Genocide.

Australians have much to be proud of in terms of humane social
innovation ` we were world leaders in free trade unions, democracy,
one-man-one-vote, women’s suffrage, free education, free speech,
religious tolerance, accessible universities, accessible hospitals and
the 8 hour day. Nevertheless Australia has an appalling secret
genocide history involving participation in a succession of 21
genocides, commencing with the Aboriginal Genocide. Indeed 7 of these
genocides in which Australia is complicit are still ongoing,
specifically the ongoing Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide, Afghan
Genocide, Muslim Genocide, Biofuel Genocide, Climate Genocide and the
Aboriginal Genocide ` all genocides as defined by Article 2 of the UN
Genocide Convention (see ` Australia ‘s secret genocide history. La
Trobe, `Bundoora Eucalyptus’ & Black Crimes of White Australia ‘:
/australia-s-secret-genocide-history
and `Muslim Holocaust, Muslim Genocide’:
muslimholocaustmusli mgenocide/ ).

Yet Australia is in almost complete denial about these ongoing
atrocities. Thus the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the
most unbiased and liberal of Australia’s Mainstream media but a search
of the whole ABC site for the terms Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi
Genocide, Afghan Genocide, Muslim Genocide, Biofuel Genocide, Climate
Genocide and the Aboriginal Genocide yields almost no results except
for a few relating to the Aboriginal Genocide (noting that a major
denier of the Aboriginal Genocide sits on the ABC Board) (e.g. see
`Iraqi Holocaust minimizing by Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC) ‘: ignoring/iraqi-holocaust-minimizing-by-australian- broadcasting-corporation-abc
). The Turkish people would gain great credit internationally by (a)
finally acknowledging the reality of the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide
as a genocide and (b) by exposing and opposing the mass murder of
their co-religionists in the ongoing US Alliance Palestinian Genocide,
Iraqi Genocide, Afghan Genocide and racist Zionist-promoted Muslim
Holocaust and Muslim Genocide.

Dr Gideon Polya published some 130 works in a 4 decade scientific
career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text
"Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds" (CRC Press/Taylor &
Francis, New York & London, 2003:

Targets-P lant-Bioactive-Compounds/dp/0415308291 ). He has recently
published `Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950′ (G.M.
Polya, Melbourne, 2007: and
) and an updated 2008 version of his
1998 book `Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History, Colonial
rapacity, holocaust denial and the crisis in biological
sustainability’ (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2008:
). He is currently teaching
Biochemistry theory and practical courses to second year university
agricultural science students at a very good Australian university.
Words having failed, he also paints huge Paintings for Peace, Planet,
Mother and Child:
netmotherchild/ (anyone is
free to reproduce these images with attribution in the interests of
Humanity).

a060310.htm

CNM News Network
March 5 2010

Armenian Genocide Resolution Approved

March 5th, 2010

Armenian Genocide Resolution Approved. The Turkish Ambassador was
withdrawn yesterday after a US House panel (congressional committee)
approved an Armenian Genocide resolution. Turkey was a key Muslim ally
of the States.

Approximately 1.5 million Armenians are believed to have been killed
by Ottoman Turks during the WWI era. Historians generally point to
this as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey denies that the killings constitute genocide, and claim that
the deaths were a result of WWI civil unrest. They also say that US
lawmakers should stay out of the argument over whether or not the
deaths are genocide or not.

Obama pledged during the election to pass a resolution to call
Armenian deaths a genocide. He’s in an awkward position as his
administration reversed course, with Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton noting that things have changed.

The resolution passed won’t necessarily be acted on, and Clinton has
urged that Congress not act on the resolution, as such actions could
cause friction between Turkish and Armenian talks.

Turkey spoke out strongly against the US action, stating that `Turkey
will not be responsible for the negative results that this event may
lead to.’

The US really doesn’t want to anger Turkey at this point. They hold a
rotating seat on the UN Security Council that will have to vote for
sanctions against Iran.

The Turkish border to Armenia has been sealed since 1993 when the
country was protesting Armenia’s war against Azerbaijan.

President Bush also tried to pass similar resolutions, but backed off
because many feared that the Turks would cut off access to a key air
base needed for operations in Iraq.

nocide-resolution-approved/

The Hill, DC
March 6 2010

Turkey protests House lawmakers’ move to recognize Armenian genocide

By Tony Romm – 03/06/10 12:26 PM ET

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday lambasted U.S.
lawmakers for pursuing a resolution that would label his country’s
treatment of Armenians after World War I as a "genocide."

That declaration, approved Thursday by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, could only serve to damage U.S.-Turkish relations, the
prime minister said.

Erdogan later decried the effort as a "parody," and he stressed his
country would in no way be "deterred" by U.S. lawmakers’ forthcoming
proclamation.

"Let me say quite clearly that this resolution will not harm us," he
told a business group. "But it will damage bilateral relations between
countries, their interests and their visions for the future. We will
not be the losers."
Despite the issue’s high profile, there been little movement in the
United States to recognize the killing of almost 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1917 as a genocide.

The delay stems in part from the belief that such a proclamation would
deter Turkey from cooperating further with the White House in the
fight against regional terrorism. Former President George Bush
campaigned against the resolution on those grounds in late 2007,
imploring the House Foreign Affairs Committee to reconsider a label
that would only serve to do "great harm to relations with a key ally
in NATO."

Interestingly enough, then-Sen. Barack Obama signaled on the 2008
campaign trail that, "as president I will recognize the Armenian
genocide." But this week, the Obama administration has tried to derail
that effort, citing concerns that the resolution will only reverse
months of progress in Turkish-American relations.

It is unclear whether lawmakers share that view. Turkey, however,
signaled this week that it certainly does: Erdogan on Thursday
recalled its ambassador to the United States.

om/news/85277-turkey-protests-house-lawmakers-move -to-recognize-armenian-genocide

, turkey
March 6 2010

Erdogan: US resolution wont harm Turkey anyway but bilateral ties

Turkish PM Erdogan said that the U.S. House resolution on Armenian
allegations would not harm Turkey in anyway.

Saturday, 06 March 2010 14:29

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the U.S. House
resolution on Armenian allegations would not harm Turkey in anyway but
really hurts the relations between two ally, at a business conference
in Istanbul.

"We will not lose anything. Those who act on animosity and a feeling
of revenge with cheap tricks, they will lose. Let me put this clearly,
the resolution of the U.S House Committee on Foreign Affairs will not
harm Turkey in anyway," said Erdogan.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives
adopted a resolution Thursday with 23 votes against 22, calling on
U.S. President Barack Obama to recognise the incidents of 1915 –which
took place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire– as
genocide.

The adoption of the resolution stirred wide reaction in Turkey which
strongly rejects the allegations and regards the events as civil
strife in wartime which claimed lives of many Turks and Armenians.

Erdogan said the resolution on Armenian allegations would seriously
harm U.S. relations and interests.

Turkey insists that World War I-era incidents should be examined by
historians using scientific tools and archives, Anadolu Agency said.

"Relations harmed"

"The decision of the Foreign Affairs Committee will not hurt Turkey,
but it will greatly harm bilateral relations, interests and vision.
Turkey will not be the one who loses," said Erdogan, speaking at a
summit of Turkish businessmen.

Turkey severely criticized the resolution Friday warning that it would
jeopardise the historic rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia and
harm Turkey-U.S. relations.
Turkish Foreign Minister told an exclusive press conference that the
Obama Administration did not throw enough weight around the issue.

Following Turkey’s reaction the Obama administration announced that it
was against any further congressional action on the resolution warning
the congress that it could harm the normalisation process between
Turkey an Armenia.

The Congress is yet to decide whether or not to put the resolution to
vote in the house floor, which would seriously risk further straining
relations with Turkey, a close ally to the U.S. for decades.

The Obama administration made a last-minute appeal against the
resolution and has vowed to stop the vote, which was broadcast live on
Turkish television, from going further in Congress.

Ambassador to U.S. recalled

Turkey recalled its envoy to the United States for consultations.

Turkey’s ambassador to the United States told journalists upon his
return on Saturday it was unclear when he would head back to
Washington following his talks with the president, prime minister and
foreign minister.

"I will return when the time is right … We will have to wait and
see," Namik Tan said. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted in a
media report as saying that the consultations could last "a long
time."

The resolution urges Obama to use the term "genocide" when he delivers
his annual message on the killing of Armenians in April.

Commentators had said the bill could affect Washington’s use of the
Incirlik air base in southeast Turkey which s unpopular among Turkish
people ans many intellectuals. Turkish lawmakers rejected to accept
the base iduring Iraq war in the first parliament vote but in next
sessions it is accepted.

Turkey is a transit route for U.S. troops going to and from Iraq, and
the country has 1,700 non-combat troops in Afghanistan.

Agencies

French insurer pays Armenian descendants
Agence France-Presse
March 5, 2010

A French insurance firm has paid compensation to descendants of
Armenians massacred in the First World War based on life insurance
policies taken at the time, a community group said Thursday.

Thousands of families applied for compensation through policies that
their ancestors bought under the Ottoman Empire from companies that
were taken over by the French firm, Axa.

Hilda Tchoboian, the head of an Armenian association in the French
city of Lyon, said Axa had agreed to pay nearly 1,000 Armenian, French
and American families, and had started sending cheques of about
$10,000 each.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey, was
falling apart. Several countries, including Canada and France, have
classified the killings as genocide.

h+insurer+pays+Armenian+descendants/2643531/story. html

Atlantic Online
March 5 2010

It’s that Time of Year Again: Remembering that No-One Remembers the Armenians
05 Mar 2010 10:58 am

by Alex Massie

Poor Armenia. Just about the only time that wee country gets a mention
in Washington is when the perennial Recognise-the-Genocide issue comes
up. As tradition demands, the Secretary of State lobbied Congress to
avoid passing anything resembling or hinting at any such thing.
Nevertheless the Foreign Affairs Committee voted 23-22 in favour of
the annual motion acknowledging the ghastliness. Whether it makes it
to the floor remains a moot issue.

Everyone, I think, recognises the practical and political difficulties
in siding with the Armenians or, as may be the case, handing a sop to
the American-Armenian community. Turkey matters more than Armenia. And
Turkey is touchy and macho and quick to take offense. No surprise then
that their ambassador to Washington has been called back to Ankara for
"discussions".

This is, then, an annual rigmarole from which few people escape with
any great measure of credit. This includes the current President who
promised not so long ago that…

I also share with Armenian Americans ` so many of whom are descended
from genocide survivors – a principled commitment to commemorating and
ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances
of genocide in world history. As a U.S. Senator, I have stood with the
Armenian American community in calling for Turkey’s acknowledgement of
the Armenian Genocide. Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of
State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after
he properly used the term "genocide" to describe Turkey’s slaughter of
thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice
my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an
allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a
widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical
evidence. The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on
diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a
senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will
recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Emphasis added. In a better world it might be tough to walk back from that.

To be fair to Obama he is little worse than his predecessor who also
raised Armenian hopes only to pass the issue on to his successor. But
this issue should also be a reminder that you cannot wholly leave the
campaign behind once you assume office and that you should, perhaps,
be wary of writing cheques you cannot cash. Otherwise you look like a
chump at best and, more probably, a duplicitous fraud.

Sure, yes, this is, in many ways, vastly more trivial than recent
improvements in Yerevan-Ankara relations. It may well be that, as was
true last year, passing the resolution and gaining Presidential
approval might set back the bigger, broader, better picture. But this
too should be a memo to 2012 candidates: don’t make cheap commitments
you have few intentions of honouring.

Previously on Armenia and by me: here. Maybe I’m wrong, of course. You
tell me! Write to alexmassieATgmail.com

lantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/03/its-that-time-of -year-again-remembering-that-noone-remembers-the-a rmenians.html

Hurriyet, Turkey
March 5 2010

US committee’s vote on ‘genocide’ marks end of protocols, official says

Friday, March 5, 2010
SERKAN DEMÄ°RTAÅ?/Analysis
ANKARA ` Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey recalled its ambassador to the U.S., Namık Tan, after the panel vote.

The approval of the Armenia `genocide’ resolution by a U.S. House
committee is perhaps not `the end of the world’ but surely is the `end
of the historic protocols’ signed between Turkey and Armenia,
according to a top official.

`No one should expect Turkish Parliament to proceed with the protocols
at least until April 24,’ a senior foreign ministry official told a
limited group of journalists Friday. April 24 is the commemoration day
of the alleged killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire in 1915. Many Armenians would like the U.S. president to use
the word `genocide’ in the annual written statement to mark the date.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols last year to establish
diplomatic ties and open the border after decades of hostility between
the two neighboring countries. The protocols, however, are yet to be
ratified by either parliament. The resolution came at a moment when
Turkey and Armenia were engaged in a diplomatic process to resolve
problems that are blocking the ratifications.

`Turkey has internal dynamics, too. The Parliament cannot make any
step with regard to the protocols. There is a very important
reaction,’ the official told journalists. However, the hurdles before
the reconciliation process are not limited to the House panel’s
approval. The lack of any development in the peace talks between
Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabahk problem
stands as an additional problem for Turkey, which promised its ally
Azerbaijan not to proceed with the protocols unless Yerevan withdraws
its troops from occupied Azeri lands.

For the Foreign Ministry official, `There was no positive development
on this issue to make Turkey hopeful of concluding the reconciliation
process with Armenia.’ Turkey dispatched two of its top diplomats
Friday to Russia, a key country in solving the problem, to ensure
Moscow’s full backing and provide further developments, the official
said. Feridun SinirlioÄ?lu, the undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry,
and Ã`nal Ã?eviköz, his deputy, departed for Moscow on Friday.

`In order not to be misunderstood we should put it straight: It was
Turkey who has fully endorsed this process with Armenia since 2005.
And we are still committed to it. However, there are so many
developments that have slowed down the pace of talks, including the
Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling on the protocols,’ he said.

In January, the court approved the protocols’ compatibility with
Armenia’s constitution but said they should not violate the principle
set by the country’s Declaration of Independence, which refers to
Turkey’s eastern provinces as West Armenia and that the `genocide’
cannot be disputed.

`We are still seeking a written assurance from Armenia. Everyone is
focused only on the opening of the border. What would happen if they
would give up establishing the independent commission expected to be
tasked with investigating the 1915 incidents?’ the diplomat asked.
Ankara expects official mediator Switzerland to step in and give
written assurance to this end.

The mood between the two neighbors has dramatically changed in the
last few months, making the completion of the protocols more
difficult.

Messages to Turkey

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, some circles in the U.S.
administration think the resolution can be used as leverage against
Ankara for swift ratification of the protocols. `We know who they are
and what they are planning. They should know such an attempt will
never be responded to by Turkey,’ the diplomat noted.

`They perhaps wanted to give a message to Turkey to urge that, in the
case of the failure of the process, they are ready with their sticks
in hand.’

The same source also touched on the role of the Israeli lobby during
this process. `Our ambassador to Washington met with all prominent
representatives of the Israeli lobby. They promised to give support,
but when compared to the past, their support was minimal. Perhaps they
also wanted to give a message to Turkey to show the damage in ties
between Ankara and Tel Aviv,’ added the diplomat.

Passage not likely

Though the House panel’s move disturbed Ankara a lot, Turkish
diplomats are still hopeful the resolution will not be endorsed by the
full House of Representatives. `We are surly going to continue to
press administration on this issue. Furthermore, we will do our best
to stop the use of that word [genocide] by the U.S. President Barack
Obama [in his April 24 statement],’ the diplomat noted.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an is expected to go to the U.S. in
mid-April to attend an international summit on nuclear energy. He
could have a bilateral meeting with Obama, diplomats said, though
there was not a meeting set between the two leaders.

The only concern for Turkey is the decrease of Obama’s influence over
the congressmen before November’s elections. `We think he did not want
to spend all his bullets. He obviously saves them for issues he
considers more important for him,’ the diplomat said.

No sanctions planned

Despite the great disturbance due to the approval of the resolution,
the diplomat emphasized that Turkey was not planning to apply
sanctions on the United States, such as canceling weapon deals or
other economic ties at this stage. `The withdrawal of our ambassador
is enough for the moment. If the resolution reaches the full House and
is endorsed there, of course we will evaluate the issue and our
bilateral ties once again,’ the diplomat said.

`Turkish-American relations are interdependent. As they have
expectations from us, we also have expectations from them,’ added the
diplomat.

Turkey and the United States cooperate on many important international
issues including the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear row, Afghanistan and
pipeline diplomacy.

U.S. HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE APPROVES H.RES. 252, THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

armradio.am
05.03.2010 00:41

The committee passed the motion despite a well-funded lobbying effort
by the Turkish government supported by major defense corporations
doing business with Turkey. Parliamentarians from Turkey and Turkey’s
ambassador to the U.S. personally weighed in on the committee and
the Obama Administration.

Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) opened the hearings in the
presence of three survivors, two nonagenarians and one centenarian. As
many Members spoke in favor of the resolution and the need to speak
the truth to genocide to prevent crimes against humanity, others
raised questions about the timing of the resolution.

Chairman Berman responded, "I have been in Congress 27 years and
it has never been the right time" to take up this resolution. The
House committee had approved similar measures in 2000 and 2007 and
a commemorative resolution was debated on the floor of the Senate
in 1990.

Members rejected arguments by opponents linking passage of the
resolution to the recently negotiated protocols between Turkey and
Armenia, and stressed the resolution is about the U.S. record.

Reflecting bi-partisan support for the measure, Democratic
Representatives Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Jim Costa (D-CA), Donald Payne
(D-NJ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Keith Ellison (D-MN),
Barbara Lee (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA) and Republican Representatives
Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ed Royce (R-CA),
and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) spoke in favor of the resolution.

The debate raised questions about the Turkish government’s
credibility whose claim for reconciliation is contradicted by its
persistent opposition to affirming the U.S. record and which wages
an international campaign of denial, despite widespread international
recognition.

"The truth prevailed today, and the cause of genocide affirmation and
prevention has been furthered. The United States record on the Armenian
Genocide is clear, voluminous, and unambiguous, a matter recognized by
President Ronald Reagan and by President Obama in a number of campaign
statements. We commend the leadership of Chairman Howard Berman and
all those who supported the bill’s passage, which was introduced by
Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), George Radanovich (R-CA), Frank
Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL)," stated Armenian Assembly
of America Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

"I also want to acknowledge Representatives Brad Sherman, Anna Eshoo
(D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and Ed Royce for the pivotal role they
played throughout this process," added Ardouny. "The pan-Armenian
community letter sent a message to Congress that Armenian-Americans
speak with one voice when they call on their legislators to affirm
the historic U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide and to honor the
memory of the American diplomats and humanitarians that came to the
rescue of the survivors."

GENOCIDE BILL STRAINS TURKEY-US TIES

Islam Online
March 5 2010

"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative ramifications that
this vote may have in every field," Gul said. (Reuters)

WASHINGTON – Turkey and the United States headed into a clash Friday,
March 5, over a House panel bill branding the killings of Armenians
by Ottoman forces during World War I as "genocide".

"We condemn this resolution which accuses the Turkish nation of a
crime it has not committed," said a Turkish government statement
cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Following this development, our ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan,
was recalled to Ankara for consultations."

By a 23-22 vote, the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs
Committee narrowly passed Thursday the bill describing the Armenian
killings as "genocide".

The non-binding resolution calls on President Barak Obama to ensure
that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the Armenian
"genocide".

"We are seriously concerned that this bill… will harm Turkish-US
relations and impede efforts aimed at normalising Turkish-Armenian
ties."

Turkey is a prominent Muslim partner of Washington in efforts to
stabilise Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is also a key route in major projects to carry oil and natural
gas to Western markets.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people were systematically
killed by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1917 as their empire fell
apart.

Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000-500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with the invading Russian troops.

The US has traditionally condemned the 1915-1918 killings, but
refrained from calling them a "genocide," anxious not to strain
relations with Turkey.

Ankara recalled its envoy from Washington in 2007 when a congressional
committee passed a similar text.

But then-president George W. Bush stopped the resolution from going
to the full House, wary over reports that Ankara would block US access
to a key airbase essential for Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Blow

Ankara warned that the House bill would deal a blow to efforts to
end decades of hostility between Turkey and Armenia.

"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative ramifications that
this vote may have in every field," President Abdullah Gul said.

Following US-backed bridge-building talks, Turkey and Armenia signed
a deal in October to establish diplomatic relations and open their
border.

But the process has already hit the rocks, with Ankara accusing Yerevan
of trying to tweak the terms of the deal and Yerevan charging that
Ankara is not committed to ratifying the accord.

The Obama administration had tried to urge the House committee not
to press ahead with the genocide vote.

"We do not believe the full Congress will or should act on that
resolution," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in
Costa Rica.

Obama pledged during his presidential campaign that he would recognize
the events as genocide.

"The circumstances have changed in very significant ways," Clinton,
who also vowed to brand the killings as genocide during her failed
presidential bid, said.

She said that it became clear after the administration took office
that the reconciliation process was a "very worthy one that we intended
to support.

"I do not think it is for any other country to determine how two
countries resolve matters between them to the extent that actions
that the United States might take could disrupt this process."

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GROUP DEMONSTRATES OUTSIDE EURONEWS OFFICE IN LYON

2010/03/04 | 14:33

world diaspora

Yesterday, the Georgian Human Rights Collective staged a demonstration
outside the Euronews office in Lyon, France.

The group called for the Georgian government to respect the rights of
reporters and to safeguard the freedom of the press. The protestors
also called on the European Union to demand a free and fair hearing
for Vahagn Chakhalyan, a Javakh-Armenian activist now in jail.