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  • House might make history

    Fresno Bee (California)
    September 16, 2005, Friday FINAL EDITION

    House might make history Armenian genocide measures pass by wide
    margins.

    by Michael Doyle Bee Washington Bureau

    DA
    History returned with a vengeance Thursday as a House committee
    approved the latest versions of an Armenian genocide resolution.

    With San Joaquin Valley lawmakers and residents looking on
    approvingly, the House International Relations Committee approved the
    two politically charged Armenian measures by wide margins. It's the
    first time in five years the panel has taken up the resolutions that
    incite international controversy.

    "I think it's great," said Mariposa Republican George Radanovich,
    lead author of one of the two Armenian genocide measures. "This is a
    good message to send to Turkey."

    But with the Bush administration strongly opposed, and the government
    of Turkey lumbering out its big lobbying guns, the Armenian genocide
    resolutions still face an uncertain future.

    "These resolutions could undermine efforts to rebuild a partnership
    between the United States and Turkey in pursuit of America's broad
    national security interests," Assistant Secretary of State Matthew
    Reynolds cautioned in a letter Thursday.

    The White House and congressional Republican leaders can still veto
    the Armenian genocide measures in several ways. House Speaker Dennis
    Hastert can simply refuse to let them reach the House floor, as he
    did in October 2000 to block an earlier Radanovich effort.
    Conceivably, Republican leaders could also bring them up under a
    procedure that would require a two-thirds vote to pass.

    "As it stands now, it's tough," Radanovich conceded.

    Both resolutions would put the House of Representatives on record as
    affirming that the Ottoman Empire engaged in attempted genocide
    between 1915 and 1923. Countless Armenians died; Turkish officials
    now estimate hundreds of thousands perished in a wider war, while
    Armenians contend as many as 1.5 million were killed in a targeted
    campaign.

    Approved by a 40-7 margin, Radanovich's resolution spells out in 11
    pages the evidence demonstrating why the 1915-23 catastrophe deserves
    the name genocide. This characterization is the fundamental purpose
    of the resolution, which would not have the force of law even if
    passed by the House.

    The committee also approved by a 35-11 vote a related resolution
    authored by Pasadena Democrat Adam Schiff, which goes on to urge the
    Turkish government to acknowledge that a genocide occurred.

    "This is a step toward righting an historical injustice," Schiff
    said.

    Turkish officials and their allies retort that history is ambiguous,
    with Turkish Ambassador Faruk Logoglu urging lawmakers in a letter
    Thursday to "not let our as-yet unreconciled views of a specific era
    dictate our present or our future." The Turkish government has
    proposed that a joint study commission with historians from both
    countries examine the evidence.

    "I'm afraid the resolution will perpetuate a standoff," Florida
    Democrat Robert Wexler said. "It is time for all parties to place a
    greater emphasis on bringing Armenian and Turkish groups together."

    Schiff and Radanovich both represent districts with sizable Armenian
    American populations, where politically active constituents have long
    pressed the genocide resolutions. Merced Democrat Dennis Cardoza, a
    member of the International Relations Committee, also supported the
    resolutions that were a deeply personal issue for some in the packed
    hearing room.

    Part-time Fresno resident Paul Jamushian, for one, described himself
    as a "genocide son."

    His mother was slashed and left for dead at age 4, he said, and his
    father was smuggled to safety dressed as a little girl. Now retired,
    and alternating his time between Washington and Fresno, Jamushian
    listened avidly to the debate that started midmorning and, after a
    break, carried on into the afternoon.

    "I'm a very strong believer in this, because of what happened to my
    family," Jamushian said.
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