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Associated Press
Jan 31 2007
House Gets Armenian Genocide Resolution
By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
(01-30) 17:14 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced a resolution
urging the government to recognize as genocide the deaths of 1.5
million Armenians at the end of World War I.
The measure is likely to touch raw nerves in Turkey, which rejects
the charge that genocide was at the root of the deaths. The Bush
administration has warned that even congressional debate on the
matter could damage relations with Turkey, a vital Muslim ally and
member of NATO.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., 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."
Sponsors of the measure, who held a news conference Tuesday attended
by two Armenian survivors of the episode, say that the move to
Democratic control in Congress increases chances that it 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 resolution's supporters say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., who has expressed her support, is likely to come under
pressure from the Bush administration to keep the House from voting.
"Make no mistake, the speaker will get a call from the president
asking for no vote on the grounds of national security," said Rep.
George Radanovich, R-Calif., a co-sponsor.
Bush issues a statement every year to commemorate the event. He has
used such words as "tragedy,""forced exile" and "terrible events" but
not "genocide." In Turkey, it is a crime to use the word to describe
the deaths.
Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor
state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a
genocide. The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly
inflated, and Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest
during the disarray surrounding the empire's collapse.
After French lawmakers voted in October to make it a crime to deny
that the killings were a genocide, Turkey said it would suspend
military relations with France. Turkey provides vital support to U.S.
military operations. Incirlik Air Force Base, a major base in
southern Turkey, has been used by the U.S. to launch operations into
Iraq and Afghanistan and was a center for U.S. fighters that enforced
the "no-fly zones" that kept the Iraqi air force bottled up after the
1991 Gulf War.
Jan 31 2007
House Gets Armenian Genocide Resolution
By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
(01-30) 17:14 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced a resolution
urging the government to recognize as genocide the deaths of 1.5
million Armenians at the end of World War I.
The measure is likely to touch raw nerves in Turkey, which rejects
the charge that genocide was at the root of the deaths. The Bush
administration has warned that even congressional debate on the
matter could damage relations with Turkey, a vital Muslim ally and
member of NATO.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., 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."
Sponsors of the measure, who held a news conference Tuesday attended
by two Armenian survivors of the episode, say that the move to
Democratic control in Congress increases chances that it 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 resolution's supporters say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., who has expressed her support, is likely to come under
pressure from the Bush administration to keep the House from voting.
"Make no mistake, the speaker will get a call from the president
asking for no vote on the grounds of national security," said Rep.
George Radanovich, R-Calif., a co-sponsor.
Bush issues a statement every year to commemorate the event. He has
used such words as "tragedy,""forced exile" and "terrible events" but
not "genocide." In Turkey, it is a crime to use the word to describe
the deaths.
Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor
state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a
genocide. The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly
inflated, and Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest
during the disarray surrounding the empire's collapse.
After French lawmakers voted in October to make it a crime to deny
that the killings were a genocide, Turkey said it would suspend
military relations with France. Turkey provides vital support to U.S.
military operations. Incirlik Air Force Base, a major base in
southern Turkey, has been used by the U.S. to launch operations into
Iraq and Afghanistan and was a center for U.S. fighters that enforced
the "no-fly zones" that kept the Iraqi air force bottled up after the
1991 Gulf War.