TURKS WARN U.S. AGAINST RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Sebnem Arsu and Brian Knowlton Published: March 30, 2007
International Herald Tribune, France
March 30 2007
ISTANBUL: A planned vote in the U.S. Congress that would classify the
widespread killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government
early in the 20th century as genocide is threatening to make bilateral
relations unusually tense.
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, backs the
resolution and at first wanted a vote in April. But under Turkish
pressure, Bush administration figures have lobbied for the Democrats
in charge of Congress to drop the measure.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert
Gates sent strong letters of protest to her and to Representative
Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which
has not set a date for the vote. "That has had an impact," said
Lynne Weil, a Lantos spokeswoman, referring to the letters. Copies
were also sent to Representative John Boehner, Republican of Ohio,
the House minority leader.
Turkey vehemently denies that the killings of 1.5 million Armenians
during a period of several years, beginning in 1915, amounted to
genocide. It contends that the deaths occurred in the chaos of war
as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and that many Turks were
also killed when Armenians sided with Russian forces in the hope of
claiming territory in eastern Turkey.
But many Armenians have sought acknowledgment from nations around
the world that the deaths amounted to systematic genocide at Ottoman
hands. So far, parliaments of more than 15 countries have agreed.
France and Switzerland went further and called for criminal charges
against those who deny it.
A vote in Congress would be purely symbolic, but Turks have warned
that it would be felt as a bitter slap, and that it could bring
enormous public pressure on the government in Ankara to chill its
cooperation with Washington. The U.S. has strong military ties to
Turkey, a NATO member.
In an effort to highlight Turkey’s opposition to a congressional
resolution, many high-ranking Turkish officials have visited Washington
in recent months. One of them, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, says
that the damage would be very deep if the resolution passed.
"It is only natural that the Turkish public who closely follow the
issue would also react to this strongly," Gul said in a telephone
interview this week. "As the elected government of democratic Turkey,
we would not be able to remain indifferent. However, I am confident
that common sense would prevail at the Congress."
In Turkey on Thursday, the government held an opening ceremony for a
museum in a restored Armenian church near the city of Van in eastern
Turkey that dates from the year 941 and is considered one of the most
precious symbols of the Armenian presence in Anatolia. The renovation
was undertaken as a major step toward mending ties with Armenians.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also chided the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee on Thursday for supporting a resolution that would condemn
the killing in January of Hrant Dink, an editor who was a voice for
ethnic Armenians in Turkey.
Similar congressional votes have been deferred in the past after
intense lobbying. But with strong support for the resolution from
Pelosi, and lingering resentment in Congress over Turkey’s refusal
to let U.S. forces use Turkish soil for the invasion of Iraq, the
bill’s prospects may have grown.
Fueled partly by anger over the Iraq war, the proportion of Turks
having a positive view of the United States plunged from 52 percent
in 2000 to a low of 12 percent last year, according to a Pew Global
Attitudes Survey.
Sebnem Arsu reported from Istanbul, and Brian Knowlton from Washington.