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TANCREDO CHANGES ARMENIAN STANCE
By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post, CO
Oct 11 2007
Washington - Rep. Tom Tancredo changed his position Wednesday on
whether the post-World War I massacre of Armenians should be called
genocide.
Tancredo, a Littleton Republican who is running for president, voted
to oppose passing a resolution out of the Foreign Relations Committee
and sending it to the House floor.
He supported the same resolution when a vote was held in committee
in 2005. Republican leadership never allowed a full House vote.
"This has got to be an issue that these two friends of ours, Turkey
and Armenia, take care of," Tancredo said.
Turkey denies the killings were genocide. The slaughter of as many
as 1.5 million Armenians occurred in what is modern-day Turkey.
Tancredo spokesman T.Q. Houlton said the position change came after
Tancredo earlier this year opposed a measure urging Japan to apologize
for its wartime enslavement of woman as sex workers.
Tancredo now opposes the Armenian genocide resolution "for
consistency," Houlton said.
"We can't continue to go back to the dust bin of history to condemn
actions by empires that no longer even exist," Tancredo said.
Tancredo said the vote switch was not because of his presidential
run. Tancredo wasn't influenced by President Bush asking Republicans
to oppose the measure, Houlton said.
By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post, CO
Oct 11 2007
Washington - Rep. Tom Tancredo changed his position Wednesday on
whether the post-World War I massacre of Armenians should be called
genocide.
Tancredo, a Littleton Republican who is running for president, voted
to oppose passing a resolution out of the Foreign Relations Committee
and sending it to the House floor.
He supported the same resolution when a vote was held in committee
in 2005. Republican leadership never allowed a full House vote.
"This has got to be an issue that these two friends of ours, Turkey
and Armenia, take care of," Tancredo said.
Turkey denies the killings were genocide. The slaughter of as many
as 1.5 million Armenians occurred in what is modern-day Turkey.
Tancredo spokesman T.Q. Houlton said the position change came after
Tancredo earlier this year opposed a measure urging Japan to apologize
for its wartime enslavement of woman as sex workers.
Tancredo now opposes the Armenian genocide resolution "for
consistency," Houlton said.
"We can't continue to go back to the dust bin of history to condemn
actions by empires that no longer even exist," Tancredo said.
Tancredo said the vote switch was not because of his presidential
run. Tancredo wasn't influenced by President Bush asking Republicans
to oppose the measure, Houlton said.