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House to pass bill on Armenian genocide
Michal Lando, Jerusalem Post Correspondent, THE JERUSALEM POST
Oct. 9, 2007
The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee is expected
to approve a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that calls on the US to
recognize the World War I massacres of Armenians as genocide.
The results of the vote will set the stage for a subsequent full House
consideration. If approved in the Committee, it will be up to House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime supporter of such recognition, to
allow for a vote in the House.
The bill is largely expected to pass both the Committee and the full
House despite mounting pressure from Turkey. The bipartisan measure
currently has 226 co-sponsors - more than a majority in the House and
the most support an Armenian Genocide resolution has ever received.
"The United States has a compelling historical and moral reason to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, which cost a million and a half
people their lives," said Rep. Adam Schiff, who sponsored the bill, in
a statement. "But we also have a powerful contemporary reason as well
- how can we take effective action against the genocide in Darfur if
we lack the will to condemn genocide whenever and wherever it occurs?"
Similar bills have been debated in Congress for decades, but Armenian
groups have repeatedly been undermined by concerns about damaging
relations with Turkey.
Now, in the days preceding the vote, Turkish officials warned that
approval of the bill may mean that ties between Turkey the US and
Israel may suffer.
In a letter to Pelosi, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan said that "it
might take decades to heal negative effects of the bill if it passes,"
AP reported. And last week eight former secretaries of state,
Republican and Democrat, urged Pelosi to block it.
On Friday, efforts by Turkey to intercede came through Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who told US President George W. Bush that the
measure would "harm the strategic partnership" between the two
countries. Bush reiterated his opposition to the bill, saying he
recognized the tragedy, but that the determination over whether the
events constitute a genocide should be a matter for historical
inquiry, not legislation.
"They've done everything in their power to scare members away from
voting for it, but if those threats scared people five to 10 years
ago, they don't seem to work today," said Aram Hamparian, Executive
Director of the Armenian National Committee, an Armenian interest
group. "I don't think anybody would like to see this adopted by
Congress over their opposition and be remembered as an organization
that opposed it." Similar threats to target diplomatic ties have been
launched against Israel in the last few days.
The widespread perception in Turkey is that US Jewish organizations
have linked up with Armenian groups to "defame" and "condemn" Turkey,
visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told The Jerusalem Post
Monday.
He warned that if a measure characterizing the killing of Armenians as
an act of genocide was approved by Congress in the coming days, it
would not only harm Turkey's ties with the US, but also Ankara's ties
with Jerusalem.
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, who
has publicly acknowledged the Armenian genocide, harshly criticized
the recent threats by the Turkish government. "This is an ugly and
inappropriate threat by Turkey and it really tells you something about
them when they blame Israel for something the US is doing," said
Klein. "This doesn't have to do with Jews because they aren't lobbying
for it, and I don't think Israel or America or anyone should respond
to this type of inappropriate threat."
However, such threats have caused some Jewish organizations to stop
short of supporting the congressional bills. The issue erupted in
August, when the Anti-Defamation League reversed its longtime refusal
to recognize the genocide after a disagreement emerged with its New
England chapter. Boston Jews, who have close ties with the large
Armenian community in Boston, widely supported the recognition, and
stood behind New England Regional director Andrew Tarsy, who was fired
after telling the media he disagreed with the national position on the
Armenian genocide. Tarsy was reinstated, but the ADL stopped short of
supporting the congressional resolution.
Foxman continues to oppose the bill. "We are opposed in the sense that
we do not believe this is the place it should be resolved," said
Foxman. "We may change our minds we may not." ADL's national
policy-making body is expected to discuss the congressional
resolutions at its annual meeting on November 1. Foxman has repeatedly
urged the Turks and the Armenians to resolve the issue between
themselves. But Armenians have refused offers by the Turkish
government to establish a joint commission to study historical facts.
Hamparian compared such a request to calls by Ahmadinejad for more
research on the Holocaust. "I think it's about as sincere as the
Iranian government saying they need to revisit the Holocaust," said
Hamparian. "I think it's a veiled denial put in the guise of academic
inquiry."
Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257 265241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Michal Lando, Jerusalem Post Correspondent, THE JERUSALEM POST
Oct. 9, 2007
The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee is expected
to approve a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that calls on the US to
recognize the World War I massacres of Armenians as genocide.
The results of the vote will set the stage for a subsequent full House
consideration. If approved in the Committee, it will be up to House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime supporter of such recognition, to
allow for a vote in the House.
The bill is largely expected to pass both the Committee and the full
House despite mounting pressure from Turkey. The bipartisan measure
currently has 226 co-sponsors - more than a majority in the House and
the most support an Armenian Genocide resolution has ever received.
"The United States has a compelling historical and moral reason to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, which cost a million and a half
people their lives," said Rep. Adam Schiff, who sponsored the bill, in
a statement. "But we also have a powerful contemporary reason as well
- how can we take effective action against the genocide in Darfur if
we lack the will to condemn genocide whenever and wherever it occurs?"
Similar bills have been debated in Congress for decades, but Armenian
groups have repeatedly been undermined by concerns about damaging
relations with Turkey.
Now, in the days preceding the vote, Turkish officials warned that
approval of the bill may mean that ties between Turkey the US and
Israel may suffer.
In a letter to Pelosi, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan said that "it
might take decades to heal negative effects of the bill if it passes,"
AP reported. And last week eight former secretaries of state,
Republican and Democrat, urged Pelosi to block it.
On Friday, efforts by Turkey to intercede came through Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who told US President George W. Bush that the
measure would "harm the strategic partnership" between the two
countries. Bush reiterated his opposition to the bill, saying he
recognized the tragedy, but that the determination over whether the
events constitute a genocide should be a matter for historical
inquiry, not legislation.
"They've done everything in their power to scare members away from
voting for it, but if those threats scared people five to 10 years
ago, they don't seem to work today," said Aram Hamparian, Executive
Director of the Armenian National Committee, an Armenian interest
group. "I don't think anybody would like to see this adopted by
Congress over their opposition and be remembered as an organization
that opposed it." Similar threats to target diplomatic ties have been
launched against Israel in the last few days.
The widespread perception in Turkey is that US Jewish organizations
have linked up with Armenian groups to "defame" and "condemn" Turkey,
visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told The Jerusalem Post
Monday.
He warned that if a measure characterizing the killing of Armenians as
an act of genocide was approved by Congress in the coming days, it
would not only harm Turkey's ties with the US, but also Ankara's ties
with Jerusalem.
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, who
has publicly acknowledged the Armenian genocide, harshly criticized
the recent threats by the Turkish government. "This is an ugly and
inappropriate threat by Turkey and it really tells you something about
them when they blame Israel for something the US is doing," said
Klein. "This doesn't have to do with Jews because they aren't lobbying
for it, and I don't think Israel or America or anyone should respond
to this type of inappropriate threat."
However, such threats have caused some Jewish organizations to stop
short of supporting the congressional bills. The issue erupted in
August, when the Anti-Defamation League reversed its longtime refusal
to recognize the genocide after a disagreement emerged with its New
England chapter. Boston Jews, who have close ties with the large
Armenian community in Boston, widely supported the recognition, and
stood behind New England Regional director Andrew Tarsy, who was fired
after telling the media he disagreed with the national position on the
Armenian genocide. Tarsy was reinstated, but the ADL stopped short of
supporting the congressional resolution.
Foxman continues to oppose the bill. "We are opposed in the sense that
we do not believe this is the place it should be resolved," said
Foxman. "We may change our minds we may not." ADL's national
policy-making body is expected to discuss the congressional
resolutions at its annual meeting on November 1. Foxman has repeatedly
urged the Turks and the Armenians to resolve the issue between
themselves. But Armenians have refused offers by the Turkish
government to establish a joint commission to study historical facts.
Hamparian compared such a request to calls by Ahmadinejad for more
research on the Holocaust. "I think it's about as sincere as the
Iranian government saying they need to revisit the Holocaust," said
Hamparian. "I think it's a veiled denial put in the guise of academic
inquiry."
Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257 265241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull