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US TO VOTE ON ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE'
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/america s/8549117.stm
2010/03/04 11:29:02 GMT
A US Congressional committee is set to vote later on a resolution to
label as genocide the killing of Armenians by Turkish forces during
World War I.
The resolution is not binding, but if it is passed, it can go forward
for a vote in the House of Representatives.
In 2007, a similar resolution passed the committee stage, but
was shelved before a House vote after pressure from the Bush
administration.
Turkey has warned of consequences for US-Turkey ties if it is passed.
A Turkish parliamentary delegation has gone to Washington to try to
persuade members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee not to vote for
a resolution calling for the recognition of "the Armenian genocide".
The non-binding resolution calls on US President Barack Obama to ensure
that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the "genocide"
and to label the World War I killings as such in his annual statement
on the issue.
In 2007, the same committee passed a similar resolution on the issue,
and even though the Bush administration had lobbied hard against it,
Turkey was still furious, says the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington.
Tukey, a key Nato ally, recalled its ambassador from Washington and
threatened to withdraw its support for the war in Iraq.
This time, the government in Ankara is even more worried because
the Obama administration has not publicly come out against the move,
our correspondent says.
Both Mr Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have in the
past supported the resolution as senators.
Nationalist sentiment is intense in Turkey, and if the resolution
passes, there will be an emotional reaction, even by those who have
been arguing for reconciliation with Armenia, says the BBC's Jonathan
Head in Istanbul.
There will certainly be a gesture of disapproval by the Turkish
government, or maybe something stronger - a worrying possibility for
the Obama administration, which sees Turkey as a vital moderate Muslim
ally, our correspondent adds.
Historic deal
In October last year, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord
normalising relations between them after a century of hostility.
Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide,
but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were
deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They
were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.
Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised
internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so.
Turkish officials accept that atrocities were committed but argue
they were part of the war and that there was no systematic attempt
to destroy the Christian Armenian people.
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/america s/8549117.stm
2010/03/04 11:29:02 GMT
A US Congressional committee is set to vote later on a resolution to
label as genocide the killing of Armenians by Turkish forces during
World War I.
The resolution is not binding, but if it is passed, it can go forward
for a vote in the House of Representatives.
In 2007, a similar resolution passed the committee stage, but
was shelved before a House vote after pressure from the Bush
administration.
Turkey has warned of consequences for US-Turkey ties if it is passed.
A Turkish parliamentary delegation has gone to Washington to try to
persuade members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee not to vote for
a resolution calling for the recognition of "the Armenian genocide".
The non-binding resolution calls on US President Barack Obama to ensure
that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the "genocide"
and to label the World War I killings as such in his annual statement
on the issue.
In 2007, the same committee passed a similar resolution on the issue,
and even though the Bush administration had lobbied hard against it,
Turkey was still furious, says the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington.
Tukey, a key Nato ally, recalled its ambassador from Washington and
threatened to withdraw its support for the war in Iraq.
This time, the government in Ankara is even more worried because
the Obama administration has not publicly come out against the move,
our correspondent says.
Both Mr Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have in the
past supported the resolution as senators.
Nationalist sentiment is intense in Turkey, and if the resolution
passes, there will be an emotional reaction, even by those who have
been arguing for reconciliation with Armenia, says the BBC's Jonathan
Head in Istanbul.
There will certainly be a gesture of disapproval by the Turkish
government, or maybe something stronger - a worrying possibility for
the Obama administration, which sees Turkey as a vital moderate Muslim
ally, our correspondent adds.
Historic deal
In October last year, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord
normalising relations between them after a century of hostility.
Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide,
but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were
deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They
were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.
Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised
internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so.
Turkish officials accept that atrocities were committed but argue
they were part of the war and that there was no systematic attempt
to destroy the Christian Armenian people.