Zaman Online, Turkey
July 4 2005
Armenian Lobby Attempts Border Re-Opening
By Anadolu News Agency (aa)
Published: Monday July 04, 2005
zaman.com
The Armenian lobby submitted a new bill targeting Turkey to the US
House of Representatives.
The draft developed by Adam Schiff asks Washington to pressure Turkey
to re-open the Turkey-Armenian border gate. Democrat Party member,
Schiff, one of the leaders of the Armenian lobby, claims in the
document that keeping the border gate closed violates international
standards and increases cost of transporting goods to Armenia by
30-35 percent. The new bill, which has been submitted to the
International Relations committee at the House of Representatives,
demands the US make an announcement regarding taking certain measures
for the re-opening of the border gate by the US Secretary of State
within 30 days. “It is time that the US placed pressure on Turkey to
elimination the embargo that Turkey imposes on Armenia,” Schiff said.
Another leader of the Armenian lobby from the Democrat Party Frank
Pallone told in a statement: “President George W. Bush and the
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cannot let Turkey impose an
embargo on Armenia without voicing their opposition and concerns.”
Schiff said Republican Committee President Henry Hyde promised to
discuss the bill in a sub-committee this month. The Armenian lobby
group at the US Congress had submitted another draft concerning the
recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide to the House of
Representatives on June 14.