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TURKISH PRESIDENT WARNS BUSH GENOCIDE BILL WILL HARM TIES
International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Oct 9 2007
France
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey's president wrote to U.S. President George
W. Bush Tuesday, warning that a bill recognizing the World War I
mass killings of Armenians as genocide would harm ties between the
two allies.
President Abdullah Gul's letter warned of "serious troubles in the
two countries' relations" if the bill is passed, Gul's office said
in a statement. It said Gul had thanked Bush for his administration's
efforts to stop the bill from passing, but gave no further detail.
The Bush administration opposes the bill and has been pressing Congress
to reject the measure.
But supporters of the congressional measure seem to have enough votes
to get approval by both the committee and the full House.
The bill declares the killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 a
genocide, though it would have no binding effect on the U.S. foreign
policy. The U.S. House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee
is expected to consider the legislation on Wednesday.
Armenians say more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide in the hands of the Ottomans during the World
War I, before modern Turkey was born in 1923.
The Turks say the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and
governmental breakdown as the 600-year-old empire collapsed.
Many in the U.S. fear that a public backlash in Turkey could lead
to restrictions on crucial supply routes through Turkey to Iraq and
Afghanistan, and the closure of Incirlik, a strategic air base in
Turkey used by the United States.
After France voted last year to make denial of Armenian genocide a
crime, the Turkish government ended military ties with that country.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, in an interview with CNN-Turk television
in Amman, Jordan, said that, if passed, the bill would affect Turkey's
ties with Washington and harm the United States' image in Turkey.
"There are risks," Babacan said. "There would be a change in the way
the United States is perceived in Turkey."
Public opinion polls show that the United States is already unpopular
in Turkey due to widespread opposition to U.S. policy in Iraq.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Oct 9 2007
France
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey's president wrote to U.S. President George
W. Bush Tuesday, warning that a bill recognizing the World War I
mass killings of Armenians as genocide would harm ties between the
two allies.
President Abdullah Gul's letter warned of "serious troubles in the
two countries' relations" if the bill is passed, Gul's office said
in a statement. It said Gul had thanked Bush for his administration's
efforts to stop the bill from passing, but gave no further detail.
The Bush administration opposes the bill and has been pressing Congress
to reject the measure.
But supporters of the congressional measure seem to have enough votes
to get approval by both the committee and the full House.
The bill declares the killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 a
genocide, though it would have no binding effect on the U.S. foreign
policy. The U.S. House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee
is expected to consider the legislation on Wednesday.
Armenians say more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide in the hands of the Ottomans during the World
War I, before modern Turkey was born in 1923.
The Turks say the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and
governmental breakdown as the 600-year-old empire collapsed.
Many in the U.S. fear that a public backlash in Turkey could lead
to restrictions on crucial supply routes through Turkey to Iraq and
Afghanistan, and the closure of Incirlik, a strategic air base in
Turkey used by the United States.
After France voted last year to make denial of Armenian genocide a
crime, the Turkish government ended military ties with that country.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, in an interview with CNN-Turk television
in Amman, Jordan, said that, if passed, the bill would affect Turkey's
ties with Washington and harm the United States' image in Turkey.
"There are risks," Babacan said. "There would be a change in the way
the United States is perceived in Turkey."
Public opinion polls show that the United States is already unpopular
in Turkey due to widespread opposition to U.S. policy in Iraq.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress