The New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 1 2007
Interior Ministry anticipates further turmoil in wake of Dink killing
House receives Armenian ‘genocide’ resolution
The New Anatolian with AP / Washington
01 February 2007
Democratic and Republican lawmakers introduced a resolution on
Tuesday urging the U.S. government to recognize so-called Armenian
genocide.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a co-sponsor, acknowledged that the
resolution might harm U.S.-Turkish relations in the short term.
Nevertheless, he said, "I’m optimistic that the relationship will go
on. We will move beyond this."
Schiff and other lead sponsors who introduced the resolution in the
House of Representatives say they have commitments from more than 150
other members who want to add their names as co-sponsors after the
legislation’s introduction. That would be a strong show of support in
the 435-member body.
The sponsors, who held a press conference Tuesday attended by two
Armenian survivors of the events, say that the move to Democratic
control in Congress increases the chances that the bill will reach
the House floor for a vote. Similar resolutions have been introduced
in the past but were kept from a vote by congressional leaders.
"We feel very strongly that this year is the year we’re going to get
this passed," said another co-sponsor, Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone
Jr., whose state, New Jersey, has a large Armenian-American
community.
The bill, which claims that 1.5 million Armenians were killed almost
a century ago in what it describes as genocide, is likely to draw
reactions from Turkey. The Bush administration has warned that even
congressional debate on the genocide question could damage relations
with a vital Muslim ally and member of NATO.
The resolution’s supporters say that the leader of the House, Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, who has expressed support for the
resolution, is likely to come under pressure from the Bush
administration to keep the House from voting on the bill.
"Make no mistake, the speaker will get a call from the president
asking for no vote on the grounds of national security," said
Republican Rep. George Radanovich, a co-sponsor.
Turkey strongly opposes the claims that its predecessor state, the
Ottoman Empire, caused the Armenian deaths in a planned genocide. The
Turkish government has said the toll is wildly inflated and that
Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the
empire’s collapse and the World War I conditions. Ankara’s proposal
to Yerevan to set up a joint commission of historians to study events
of 1915 is still awaiting a positive response from the Armenian side.
After French lawmakers voted in October to make it a crime to deny
that the claims were a genocide, Turkey said it would suspend
military relations with France.
Turkey provides vital support for U.S. military operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan.