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US ARMENIANS SEEK UNEXPECTED VOTE ON 'GENOCIDE' BILL
Hurriyet
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=us-armenians-seek-surprise-vote-on-genocide-bill-2010-12-15
Dec 15 2010
Turkey
The largest and most influential U.S. Armenian group has launched
a grassroots campaign to urge the House of Representatives to pass
an "Armenian genocide" resolution before the term of the current
Congress expires.
Though Armenian groups have lobbied for such a resolution many times
before, typically ahead of April 24, the date when some countries
commemorate the alleged genocide, the Armenian National Committee of
America, or ANCA, is now hoping to push one through before the end
of the year, when one of its congressional champions will lose her
leadership post.
"There's just a slight chance to pass the bill now, but the Armenians
are trying their chances," one Washington-based analyst told the
Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "This looks more like a year-end
fundraising effort."
ANCA's move came shortly after some Armenian-American celebrities
launched similar campaigns to urge the current House speaker, the
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, to bring the bill recognizing Armenian claims
of genocide to a House floor vote before stepping down.
When the new Congress takes office Jan. 3, Pelosi, a strong supporter
of the Armenian cause, will have to cede her post to the present
Republican minority leader, John Boehner. The Republicans regained
control of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress,
with a major victory in congressional midterm elections held Nov. 2.
ANCA said in a statement late Tuesday that the U.S. Armenian community
is "united in a common commitment to U.S. recognition of the Armenian
genocide, an end to Turkey's denials and a truthful and just resolution
of this still-unpunished crime against the Armenian nation."
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed
in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this,
saying that deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
"Tens of thousands of Armenian Americans have joined
genocide-prevention advocates in making the case for the adoption of
this human-rights measure," ANCA said in its statement, calling on its
supporters to send messages to Pelosi and individual House members
urging approval of the resolution. "The Armenian-American response
has been unprecedented in size, scope and depth, bringing together
young and old, from first-generation families to fifth-generation
descendents of the first Armenian immigrants."
ANCA also praised Armenian-American celebrities for their efforts to
generate support for the resolution. TV celebrity Kim Kardashian last
week sent a message to millions of her fans on the social-networking
website Twitter, asking Pelosi to schedule a vote on the bill. Rock
musician Serj Tankian made a similar move.
"We applaud Kim Kardashian, Serj Tankian and anti-genocide activists
from across the country for calling on Speaker Pelosi to schedule
a vote on the Armenian genocide resolution," said Aram Hamparian,
ANCA's executive director.
Turkey has repeatedly warned that its bilateral relationship with the
United States would deteriorate in a major and lasting way if the U.S.
administration or Congress adopts a measure recognizing the Armenian
genocide claims. The House Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly passed
the current measure in March, and the House leadership took the bill
to its agenda in September.
Despite unseating Pelosi from her leadership post, the Republican
takeover of the House will not necessarily bring relief to Turkey,
many analysts have warned. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a staunch supporter
of Israel, is expected to become the new chairwoman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee after the new Congress opens. She and other
pro-Israeli lawmakers may seek measures against Turkey in response
to Ankara's deteriorating ties with Tel Aviv, the analysts say.
The new Congress elected Nov. 2 will take office Jan. 3. Any
congressional sessions held between Nov. 2 and the new year are called
"lame duck" sessions. Under contemporary conditions, any meeting of
Congress that occurs between a congressional election in November
and the following Jan. 3 is a lame duck session. The significant
characteristic of such a duck session is that its participants are
the sitting members of the existing Congress, not those who will be
entitled to sit in the new Congress.
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=us-armenians-seek-surprise-vote-on-genocide-bill-2010-12-15
Dec 15 2010
Turkey
The largest and most influential U.S. Armenian group has launched
a grassroots campaign to urge the House of Representatives to pass
an "Armenian genocide" resolution before the term of the current
Congress expires.
Though Armenian groups have lobbied for such a resolution many times
before, typically ahead of April 24, the date when some countries
commemorate the alleged genocide, the Armenian National Committee of
America, or ANCA, is now hoping to push one through before the end
of the year, when one of its congressional champions will lose her
leadership post.
"There's just a slight chance to pass the bill now, but the Armenians
are trying their chances," one Washington-based analyst told the
Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "This looks more like a year-end
fundraising effort."
ANCA's move came shortly after some Armenian-American celebrities
launched similar campaigns to urge the current House speaker, the
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, to bring the bill recognizing Armenian claims
of genocide to a House floor vote before stepping down.
When the new Congress takes office Jan. 3, Pelosi, a strong supporter
of the Armenian cause, will have to cede her post to the present
Republican minority leader, John Boehner. The Republicans regained
control of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress,
with a major victory in congressional midterm elections held Nov. 2.
ANCA said in a statement late Tuesday that the U.S. Armenian community
is "united in a common commitment to U.S. recognition of the Armenian
genocide, an end to Turkey's denials and a truthful and just resolution
of this still-unpunished crime against the Armenian nation."
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed
in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies this,
saying that deaths were the result of civil strife that erupted when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
"Tens of thousands of Armenian Americans have joined
genocide-prevention advocates in making the case for the adoption of
this human-rights measure," ANCA said in its statement, calling on its
supporters to send messages to Pelosi and individual House members
urging approval of the resolution. "The Armenian-American response
has been unprecedented in size, scope and depth, bringing together
young and old, from first-generation families to fifth-generation
descendents of the first Armenian immigrants."
ANCA also praised Armenian-American celebrities for their efforts to
generate support for the resolution. TV celebrity Kim Kardashian last
week sent a message to millions of her fans on the social-networking
website Twitter, asking Pelosi to schedule a vote on the bill. Rock
musician Serj Tankian made a similar move.
"We applaud Kim Kardashian, Serj Tankian and anti-genocide activists
from across the country for calling on Speaker Pelosi to schedule
a vote on the Armenian genocide resolution," said Aram Hamparian,
ANCA's executive director.
Turkey has repeatedly warned that its bilateral relationship with the
United States would deteriorate in a major and lasting way if the U.S.
administration or Congress adopts a measure recognizing the Armenian
genocide claims. The House Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly passed
the current measure in March, and the House leadership took the bill
to its agenda in September.
Despite unseating Pelosi from her leadership post, the Republican
takeover of the House will not necessarily bring relief to Turkey,
many analysts have warned. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a staunch supporter
of Israel, is expected to become the new chairwoman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee after the new Congress opens. She and other
pro-Israeli lawmakers may seek measures against Turkey in response
to Ankara's deteriorating ties with Tel Aviv, the analysts say.
The new Congress elected Nov. 2 will take office Jan. 3. Any
congressional sessions held between Nov. 2 and the new year are called
"lame duck" sessions. Under contemporary conditions, any meeting of
Congress that occurs between a congressional election in November
and the following Jan. 3 is a lame duck session. The significant
characteristic of such a duck session is that its participants are
the sitting members of the existing Congress, not those who will be
entitled to sit in the new Congress.
From: A. Papazian