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BUSH WARNS AGAINST ARMENIA BILL
BBC News, UK
Oct 10 2007
A German soldier took photos of Armenian deportees at the time
President George W Bush has urged US legislators not to pass a
resolution declaring the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks to
be genocide.
"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass
killings," he said hours before a vote by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee.
Such a move, already taken by France's parliament, would do "great
harm" to US relations with Turkey, Mr Bush added.
Turkey admits many Armenians died in WWI but denies any genocidal
campaign.
It is highly unusual for the White House to make such a dramatic
last-minute intervention in Congressional business, the BBC's Justin
Webb reports from Washington.
With the opposition Democrats now in charge in Congress, they
could force a vote, dealing a potentially grave blow to the Bush
administration's efforts to keep Turkey on side, our correspondent
adds.
Turkish indignation
Speaking before Mr Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the
passing of the resolution would be "very problematic" for US policy
in the Middle East.
Turkey has seen angry rallies demanding action in Iraq
It could, she added, destabilise US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan
because Turkey is a main hub for US military operations in the region.
Even if it passes and is then adopted by the House, the bill will
not be binding.
But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Istanbul, says that this will have
little impact on the reaction in Turkey.
Ankara has pulled out all the stops to prevent the genocide resolution
reaching Congress for a vote, she adds.
Politicians have travelled to Washington to lobby lawmakers, while
the country's prime minister and president have both contacted Mr Bush.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned of "serious problems that will
emerge in bilateral relations if the bill is adopted".
All this comes on top of mounting anger that the US is not doing
enough to counter the Kurdish separatist PKK group, which mounts
deadly attacks on Turkey from inside Iraq, our correspondent says.
Some Turkish analysts believe the passing of the resolution would
make it harder for the Turkish government to resist public pressure
to cross the border.
However, the US warned Turkey not to pursue Kurdish rebels into
northern Iraq.
"We do not think it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq
from Turkey at this time," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Armenian pressure
Armenia alleges that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in an
organised campaign to force them out of what is now eastern Turkey
in 1915-17.
That is strongly denied by Turkey, which says that large numbers of
both Turks and Armenians were killed in the chaos surrounding World
War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire when Armenians rose up.
It is still extremely difficult to establish a set of undisputed
facts about what happened in eastern Anatolia almost a century ago,
the BBC's regional analyst Pam O'Toole says.
But the issue has been kept alive by the powerful Armenian diaspora.
Last year, the lower house of the French parliament declared the
killings a genocide.
Ankara argues that there were massacres by both sides at the time
but completely rejects the allegation that there was a state policy
to kill Armenians.
Some Turks fear if those events are recognised as genocide, that
could open the door to claims for compensation or even territory,
our analyst says.
BBC News, UK
Oct 10 2007
A German soldier took photos of Armenian deportees at the time
President George W Bush has urged US legislators not to pass a
resolution declaring the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks to
be genocide.
"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass
killings," he said hours before a vote by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee.
Such a move, already taken by France's parliament, would do "great
harm" to US relations with Turkey, Mr Bush added.
Turkey admits many Armenians died in WWI but denies any genocidal
campaign.
It is highly unusual for the White House to make such a dramatic
last-minute intervention in Congressional business, the BBC's Justin
Webb reports from Washington.
With the opposition Democrats now in charge in Congress, they
could force a vote, dealing a potentially grave blow to the Bush
administration's efforts to keep Turkey on side, our correspondent
adds.
Turkish indignation
Speaking before Mr Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the
passing of the resolution would be "very problematic" for US policy
in the Middle East.
Turkey has seen angry rallies demanding action in Iraq
It could, she added, destabilise US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan
because Turkey is a main hub for US military operations in the region.
Even if it passes and is then adopted by the House, the bill will
not be binding.
But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Istanbul, says that this will have
little impact on the reaction in Turkey.
Ankara has pulled out all the stops to prevent the genocide resolution
reaching Congress for a vote, she adds.
Politicians have travelled to Washington to lobby lawmakers, while
the country's prime minister and president have both contacted Mr Bush.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned of "serious problems that will
emerge in bilateral relations if the bill is adopted".
All this comes on top of mounting anger that the US is not doing
enough to counter the Kurdish separatist PKK group, which mounts
deadly attacks on Turkey from inside Iraq, our correspondent says.
Some Turkish analysts believe the passing of the resolution would
make it harder for the Turkish government to resist public pressure
to cross the border.
However, the US warned Turkey not to pursue Kurdish rebels into
northern Iraq.
"We do not think it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq
from Turkey at this time," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Armenian pressure
Armenia alleges that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in an
organised campaign to force them out of what is now eastern Turkey
in 1915-17.
That is strongly denied by Turkey, which says that large numbers of
both Turks and Armenians were killed in the chaos surrounding World
War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire when Armenians rose up.
It is still extremely difficult to establish a set of undisputed
facts about what happened in eastern Anatolia almost a century ago,
the BBC's regional analyst Pam O'Toole says.
But the issue has been kept alive by the powerful Armenian diaspora.
Last year, the lower house of the French parliament declared the
killings a genocide.
Ankara argues that there were massacres by both sides at the time
but completely rejects the allegation that there was a state policy
to kill Armenians.
Some Turks fear if those events are recognised as genocide, that
could open the door to claims for compensation or even territory,
our analyst says.