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Whittier Daily News, CA
March 6 2010
Schiff's Armenian genocide bill takes first step towards passage
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/04/2010 05:51:47 PM PST
Congressman Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena (Courtesy Photo)A House committee
Thursday passed a local congressman's bill that would recognize the
mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide - and the
Turkish government immediately recalled its U.S. ambassador.
The bill by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, narrowly passed in the House
Foreign Affairs Committee by a 23-22 vote.
Schiff said the Turkish response was fully expected. He doesn't
believe, however, that opposition from the close U.S. ally is a reason
to oppose the bill.
"It usually boils down to the claim that now is just not a good time
for Turkish-U.S. relations," Schiff said. "But if we don't do it now,
when will be the right time?"
Hakan Tekin, the Turkish government's consulate general in Los
Angeles, said his government hopes the bill does not get any further
and jeopardize relations between the two countries.
"It will cause severe damage if it is adapted by the U.S. Congress,"
Tekin said.
Turkey has steadfastly claimed that the deaths of Armenians in the
break-up of the Ottoman Empire during World War I were part of a civil
war that brought casualties to both sides.
Armenians and most historians have characterized it as a concerted
government effort to eliminate Armenians from a new Turkish nation.
Schiff had introduced his bill previously and successfully got it
through a committee hearing in October 2007, which caused Turkey to
recall its ambassador at the time. But the bill did not have the votes
to get through the House, Schiff said.
He said he will lobby for support for it in the next few weeks but
will not call for a vote unless he is sure it will pass.
"If it were to be voted down, the Turkish government would claim it
meant Congress was denying that the genocide happened," Schiff said.
Local Armenian groups praised the vote. The Rev. Father Nareg
Pehlivanian of the Montebello Armenian Church said he believes more
and more members of Congress are determined to vote in favor of a
genocide resolution.
"This shows that Turkey cannot give orders to the United States,"
Pehlivanian said.
Raffi Hamparian, chairman of the Pasadena branch of the Armenian
National Committee, said he is encouraged by the vote and believes
that eventually Congress will approve the resolution.
"I think we've gotten passed the `he said,' `she said,' mentality,
where there's denial the genocide happened," said Hamparian. "I've got
faith that the U.S. Congress will do the right thing."
Read more: Schiff's Armenian genocide bill takes first step towards
passage - Whittier Daily News
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_14515284
March 6 2010
Schiff's Armenian genocide bill takes first step towards passage
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/04/2010 05:51:47 PM PST
Congressman Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena (Courtesy Photo)A House committee
Thursday passed a local congressman's bill that would recognize the
mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide - and the
Turkish government immediately recalled its U.S. ambassador.
The bill by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, narrowly passed in the House
Foreign Affairs Committee by a 23-22 vote.
Schiff said the Turkish response was fully expected. He doesn't
believe, however, that opposition from the close U.S. ally is a reason
to oppose the bill.
"It usually boils down to the claim that now is just not a good time
for Turkish-U.S. relations," Schiff said. "But if we don't do it now,
when will be the right time?"
Hakan Tekin, the Turkish government's consulate general in Los
Angeles, said his government hopes the bill does not get any further
and jeopardize relations between the two countries.
"It will cause severe damage if it is adapted by the U.S. Congress,"
Tekin said.
Turkey has steadfastly claimed that the deaths of Armenians in the
break-up of the Ottoman Empire during World War I were part of a civil
war that brought casualties to both sides.
Armenians and most historians have characterized it as a concerted
government effort to eliminate Armenians from a new Turkish nation.
Schiff had introduced his bill previously and successfully got it
through a committee hearing in October 2007, which caused Turkey to
recall its ambassador at the time. But the bill did not have the votes
to get through the House, Schiff said.
He said he will lobby for support for it in the next few weeks but
will not call for a vote unless he is sure it will pass.
"If it were to be voted down, the Turkish government would claim it
meant Congress was denying that the genocide happened," Schiff said.
Local Armenian groups praised the vote. The Rev. Father Nareg
Pehlivanian of the Montebello Armenian Church said he believes more
and more members of Congress are determined to vote in favor of a
genocide resolution.
"This shows that Turkey cannot give orders to the United States,"
Pehlivanian said.
Raffi Hamparian, chairman of the Pasadena branch of the Armenian
National Committee, said he is encouraged by the vote and believes
that eventually Congress will approve the resolution.
"I think we've gotten passed the `he said,' `she said,' mentality,
where there's denial the genocide happened," said Hamparian. "I've got
faith that the U.S. Congress will do the right thing."
Read more: Schiff's Armenian genocide bill takes first step towards
passage - Whittier Daily News
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_14515284