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ARMENIA GENOCIDE BILL CHALLENGED
By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee , CA
Aug 7 2007
House support up but politics cloud an OK.
WASHINGTON -- An Armenian genocide resolution now has more supporters
than ever before, but its future remains uncertain amid an intensifying
political tug-of-war.
Strongly backed by San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, the genocide
resolution has amassed a record 226 House co-sponsors. That's enough
for victory, if the measure can reach the House floor. So far,
though, Democratic leaders haven't yet given a green light to the
diplomatically volatile resolution.
"We haven't got a straight answer yet," Fresno resident Hygo
Ohannessian said Monday. "We don't know if it's a game or not."
Ohannessian is acting chair of the Armenian National Committee Central
California, one of many Armenian-American groups lobbying on the
genocide resolution. The activists showed their clout late last week,
when the Bush administration withdrew its nominee as U.S. ambassador
to Armenia.
The nominee, career foreign service officer Richard E. Hoagland,
asked that his stalled nomination be withdrawn after it became clear
he couldn't get past Senate objections over the genocide question.
"It's good news," Ohannessian said. "The committee is really happy
about it."
The next steps could get trickier still as Congress considers
intertwined controversies involving resolutions and ambassadors.
Many historians agree the mass deaths and deportations of Armenians
during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted to genocide.
Under international law, genocide means the "the intent to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group."
President Ronald Reagan in 1981 cited the Armenian genocide, as did
the House in a 1984 resolution. Since then, other genocide resolutions
have stalled.
The Turkish government says the Armenians died amid a complicated,
multifront war. The Bush administration, like the Clinton
administration before it, says the historical record is ambiguous
and urges Congress not to alienate an important ally that borders Iraq.
So far, House records show, seven House members who initially
co-sponsored the genocide resolution this year have withdrawn their
support -- including, most recently, a GOP member of the appropriations
committee.
Bush originally nominated Hoagland in May 2006 to fill the Armenian
spot left vacant when Evans was pulled back to the United States.
Evans contravened official U.S. policy when he publicly declared that
an Armenian genocide had occurred between 1915 and 1923.
By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee , CA
Aug 7 2007
House support up but politics cloud an OK.
WASHINGTON -- An Armenian genocide resolution now has more supporters
than ever before, but its future remains uncertain amid an intensifying
political tug-of-war.
Strongly backed by San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, the genocide
resolution has amassed a record 226 House co-sponsors. That's enough
for victory, if the measure can reach the House floor. So far,
though, Democratic leaders haven't yet given a green light to the
diplomatically volatile resolution.
"We haven't got a straight answer yet," Fresno resident Hygo
Ohannessian said Monday. "We don't know if it's a game or not."
Ohannessian is acting chair of the Armenian National Committee Central
California, one of many Armenian-American groups lobbying on the
genocide resolution. The activists showed their clout late last week,
when the Bush administration withdrew its nominee as U.S. ambassador
to Armenia.
The nominee, career foreign service officer Richard E. Hoagland,
asked that his stalled nomination be withdrawn after it became clear
he couldn't get past Senate objections over the genocide question.
"It's good news," Ohannessian said. "The committee is really happy
about it."
The next steps could get trickier still as Congress considers
intertwined controversies involving resolutions and ambassadors.
Many historians agree the mass deaths and deportations of Armenians
during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted to genocide.
Under international law, genocide means the "the intent to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group."
President Ronald Reagan in 1981 cited the Armenian genocide, as did
the House in a 1984 resolution. Since then, other genocide resolutions
have stalled.
The Turkish government says the Armenians died amid a complicated,
multifront war. The Bush administration, like the Clinton
administration before it, says the historical record is ambiguous
and urges Congress not to alienate an important ally that borders Iraq.
So far, House records show, seven House members who initially
co-sponsored the genocide resolution this year have withdrawn their
support -- including, most recently, a GOP member of the appropriations
committee.
Bush originally nominated Hoagland in May 2006 to fill the Armenian
spot left vacant when Evans was pulled back to the United States.
Evans contravened official U.S. policy when he publicly declared that
an Armenian genocide had occurred between 1915 and 1923.