ARMENIA: US CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ADOPTS RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Joshua Kucera
Eurasia Insight
ghtb/articles/eav030410b.shtml
3/04/10
A US congressional committee narrowly passed a resolution on March 4
officially to term Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 massacre of ethnic Armenians
as genocide. The move is likely to complicate relations between
the United States and Turkey, and could bring the Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation process to a halt.
The resolution, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by
a 23-22 vote, is nonbinding, and its prospects in the full House of
Representatives are unclear. Nevertheless, Turkish government officials
and lobbying groups warned before the vote of adverse consequences if
the resolution won approval. Turkish officials specifically mentioned
that the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process would be threatened
by passage of the genocide resolution.
A similar resolution was adopted by the same committee in 2007 by
a slightly wider margin, but never came to a vote in the full House
of Representatives.
A delegation of Turkish MPs visited Washington the week before the
vote to lobby members of the committee and journalists. Members of the
Turkish parliamentary delegation were in attendance as the committee
debated the resolution. Also in the audience were the ambassadors
of both Armenia and Turkey, as well as three survivors of the 1915
tragedy, aged 97, 98 and 105.
"Turkey is a vital, and in most respects, loyal ally to the United
States in a volatile region. We have also been a loyal ally to Turkey
and should continue to be so. Be that as it may, nothing justifies
Turkey turning a blind eye to the reality of the Armenian genocide,"
said Howard Berman, a Democrat from California and chair of the
committee.
Those who argued against the resolution did not attempt to deny that
genocide had occurred. Some said they opposed adoption on the grounds
that it would damage relations with Turkey, a key US ally that hosts an
American air base at Incirlik. "I don’t think with our troops in the
field, and knowing that we might have to take some kind of military
action down the road, maybe even against Iran, we need to have as
many friends in that part of the world as possible," said Dan Burton,
a Republican representative from Indiana.
Some members also cited the sensitivity of the ongoing Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation process for opposing the resolution.
"This is a fragile process that deserves protection," Burton said. "If
we pass this [resolution], it jeopardizes those negotiations between
the Armenians and the Turks." [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
A few members who previously supported similar resolutions said
that they voted differently this time because they wanted the
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process to succeed. William Delahunt,
a Democrat from Massachusetts, said that a meeting with a member of
the Turkish parliament left him convinced him that passage of the
resolution would "imperil" Turkey’s negotiations with Armenia.
"I want to be clear, on the record, that I think there was a genocide.
But the timing [for adopting a resolution] is wrong" because of the
protocols process, said Mike McCaul, a Republican from Texas who has
also supported genocide resolutions in the past.
Members who supported the resolution countered that the US-Turkish
alliance would endure. "Turks say passing this resolution could have
terrible consequences for our bilateral relationship. And indeed,
perhaps there will be some consequences," said Berman. "But I believe
Turkey values its relationship with the United States at least as
much as we value our relations with Turkey. And I believe the Turks,
however deep their dismay today, fundamentally agree that the US-Turkey
alliance is too important to get sidetracked by a nonbinding resolution
passed by the House of Representatives."
Berman also pointed to statements by Turkish officials, including
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who have said that Turkey will
not ratify the protocols until the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh has been resolved. Such statements indicate that
Turkish threats to abandon the ratification process over congress’
genocide resolution may be moot.
Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California who is one of Armenia’s
staunchest supporters in Congress, called Turkey a "paper tiger"
that has not acted on similar threats it made when other countries,
including Canada, France and Belgium, passed similar resolutions.
Since France passed a genocide recognition resolution in 2001,
Sherman said, French exports to Turkey have increased four-fold.
The Obama administration, which had remained quiet on the measure,
made a surprise last-minute intervention. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton reportedly wrote Berman on March 3 to ask him to hold off
on a resolution vote, saying its passage would damage relations
with Turkey. President Obama and Clinton both supported genocide
recognition during their time in the Senate. And in contrast to
previous US administrations, the Obama White House did not lobby hard
against the resolution.
Editor’s Note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC,-based freelance
writer who specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus
and the Middle East.
Posted March 4, 2010 © Eurasianet