ADVOCATES SAY ARMENIA MEASURE WILL STALL
United Press International UPI
March 9 2010
ANKARA, Turkey, March 9 (UPI) — An Armenian genocide resolution
headed to the full U.S. House of Representatives lacks the political
momentum to pass, a Turkish advocate said.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
passed a non-binding resolution Thursday by a vote of 23-22 that
classifies the 1915 killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire an
act of genocide. The measure passed despite a last-ditch plea by U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ankara recalled its ambassador from Washington last week as the
resolution made its way for a vote in the full House.
Jim Holmes, the president of the American-Turkish Council, told
Turkey’s English-language daily newspaper Hurriyet that the measure
was likely to stall.
"The resolution has passed the panel vote with the narrowest possible
margin and has no political credibility (in Congress)," he said.
Ankara ahead of the Thursday vote warned the genocide label could
unsettle bilateral cooperation in the region, including key support
from Ankara in the U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ankara’s
relationship with Tehran could be a factor as well.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Washington
in April to attend an international nuclear security summit. He
expects to meet with ATC leaders during his visit unless he decides to
boycott the Washington summit in protest of the genocide resolution,
Hurriyet added.