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Hurriyet, Turkey
March 5 2010
US Armenians hail committee vote on 'genocide' resolution
Friday, March 5, 2010
Ã`mit ENGÄ°NSOY
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Armenian-American groups have welcomed the passage of the Armenian
`genocide' resolution by a House committee, saying their next
objective will be the resolution's swift endorsement in a House floor
vote.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
narrowly passed the resolution late Thursday despite last-minute
objections by President Barack Obama's administration.
The 23-22 decision sends the measure to the full House, but it is not
clear yet if or when the resolution could see a floor vote.
The non-binding resolution calls on Obama to ensure that U.S. policy
formally refers to the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire as `genocide' and to use that term when he delivers his
annual message on the issue in April ` something he avoided doing in
2009.
`The committee's message was simple, yet powerful: Turkey doesn't get
a vote or a veto in the U.S. Congress,' Ken Hachikian, chairman of the
Armenian National Committee of America, the largest U.S. Armenian
group, said shortly after the vote.
The committee vote is `setting the stage for [House] Speaker [Nancy]
Pelosi and the full U.S. House to properly commemorate the Armenian
genocide,' Hachikian said.
Victory message
`It's clear to me why we won this battle, despite millions of dollars
in Turkish lobbying, Ankara's hysterical threats and a last-minute
attack by [Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton and the Obama
administration,' Hachikian said in a separate message to
Armenian-Americans.
`We won because of you and dedicated people like you around the
country. Your time and energy, along with your faith and financial
support, made the difference,' he said.
`Truth prevailed today, and the cause of genocide affirmation and
prevention has been furthered,' said Bryan Ardouny, the executive
director of the Armenian Assembly of America, another major
Armenian-American organization. `We commend the leadership of
[committee] chairman Howard Berman and all those who supported the
bill's passage.'
The Armenians' narrow victory came shortly after Clinton warned that
the resolution could harm an ongoing normalization process between
Turkey and Armenia.
`We do not believe that the full Congress will or should act upon that
resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,'
the secretary of state said.
Similar `genocide' resolutions passed the same committee in 2000, 2005
and 2007, but none of them could reach a House floor vote because of
extensive pressure from former presidents Bill Clinton and George W.
Bush.
March 5 2010
US Armenians hail committee vote on 'genocide' resolution
Friday, March 5, 2010
Ã`mit ENGÄ°NSOY
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Armenian-American groups have welcomed the passage of the Armenian
`genocide' resolution by a House committee, saying their next
objective will be the resolution's swift endorsement in a House floor
vote.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
narrowly passed the resolution late Thursday despite last-minute
objections by President Barack Obama's administration.
The 23-22 decision sends the measure to the full House, but it is not
clear yet if or when the resolution could see a floor vote.
The non-binding resolution calls on Obama to ensure that U.S. policy
formally refers to the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire as `genocide' and to use that term when he delivers his
annual message on the issue in April ` something he avoided doing in
2009.
`The committee's message was simple, yet powerful: Turkey doesn't get
a vote or a veto in the U.S. Congress,' Ken Hachikian, chairman of the
Armenian National Committee of America, the largest U.S. Armenian
group, said shortly after the vote.
The committee vote is `setting the stage for [House] Speaker [Nancy]
Pelosi and the full U.S. House to properly commemorate the Armenian
genocide,' Hachikian said.
Victory message
`It's clear to me why we won this battle, despite millions of dollars
in Turkish lobbying, Ankara's hysterical threats and a last-minute
attack by [Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton and the Obama
administration,' Hachikian said in a separate message to
Armenian-Americans.
`We won because of you and dedicated people like you around the
country. Your time and energy, along with your faith and financial
support, made the difference,' he said.
`Truth prevailed today, and the cause of genocide affirmation and
prevention has been furthered,' said Bryan Ardouny, the executive
director of the Armenian Assembly of America, another major
Armenian-American organization. `We commend the leadership of
[committee] chairman Howard Berman and all those who supported the
bill's passage.'
The Armenians' narrow victory came shortly after Clinton warned that
the resolution could harm an ongoing normalization process between
Turkey and Armenia.
`We do not believe that the full Congress will or should act upon that
resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,'
the secretary of state said.
Similar `genocide' resolutions passed the same committee in 2000, 2005
and 2007, but none of them could reach a House floor vote because of
extensive pressure from former presidents Bill Clinton and George W.
Bush.