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US SENATORS INTRODUCE 'ARMENIAN GENOCIDE' RESOLUTION
Today's Zaman
March 21 2012
Turkey
US Senators Robert Menendez and Mark Kirk officially introduced on
Monday a new resolution in the US Senate recognizing the mass killings
of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.
Senators Barbara Boxer, Michael Bennet, Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin,
Joseph Lieberman, Jack Reed, and Sheldon Whitehouse also joined as
original cosponsors, a powerful Armenian lobby group Armenian Assembly
of America (AAA) said in a press statement on Tuesday. It said Senator
Charles Schumer, Chair of the Democratic Policy Committee, has also
agreed to cosponsor the bill.
"It is time for the United States to join the nineteen nations
including Belgium, Canada, France, Italy and the European Union that
have formally recognized the actions carried out by the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923 as genocide," Menendez said, adding that
"the Armenian Genocide" is a historical fact and was one of the
incidents upon which the Genocide Convention was predicated.
"Only by accurately acknowledging the crimes of the past can we ever
hope to move forward in a legitimate manner and prevent such human
rights crimes from happening in the future," he said.
In January, Turkey cancelled all economic, political and military
meetings with its NATO partner France after the French National
Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a draft law outlawing
genocide denial.
Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the
charge of genocide is an insult to their nation. Ankara argues that
there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.
A spokesman for Senator Kirk said 1915 events are well-documented
and formally recognized by 11 NATO allies and the European Union as
genocide. He added that this resolution accurately characterizes the
events of 1915-1923 as a genocide, honors the memory of the victims,
and strengthens America's moral leadership on human rights and the
prevention of mass atrocities around the world.
AAA's Executive Director Bryan Ardouny said "we commend Senator
Menendez and Senator Kirk for introducing this important human rights
legislation," adding that his assembly also recognizes and appreciates
the support of those senators who joined as original cosponsors.
"We will continue our advocacy efforts to ensure additional cosponsors,
and urge its timely adoption," Ardouny added.
The bill will first be sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
where Senator Menendez serves as a Subcommittee Chairman. The Committee
is chaired by Senator John Kerry, who has a long record in support
of US affirmation of the "Armenian Genocide," the statement said.
In March in 2010, after the House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed
the proposed resolution, Turkey, which sees the measure as a historical
affront, withdrew its ambassador from Washington.
US lawmakers then avoided a diplomatic clash with ally Turkey by
deciding not to take up the resolution. Supporters of the resolution
made a push for approval in the final days of Congress in late 2010,
despite opposition from the Obama administration. The measure was
opposed strongly by Turkey, and the administration feared it would
have damaged relations with the NATO ally.
A similar resolution that will most likely be introduced in the House
this year is unlikely to be passed after Republicans took control
of the chamber in 2011 because the new House speaker, John Boehner,
opposes it.
Today's Zaman
March 21 2012
Turkey
US Senators Robert Menendez and Mark Kirk officially introduced on
Monday a new resolution in the US Senate recognizing the mass killings
of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.
Senators Barbara Boxer, Michael Bennet, Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin,
Joseph Lieberman, Jack Reed, and Sheldon Whitehouse also joined as
original cosponsors, a powerful Armenian lobby group Armenian Assembly
of America (AAA) said in a press statement on Tuesday. It said Senator
Charles Schumer, Chair of the Democratic Policy Committee, has also
agreed to cosponsor the bill.
"It is time for the United States to join the nineteen nations
including Belgium, Canada, France, Italy and the European Union that
have formally recognized the actions carried out by the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923 as genocide," Menendez said, adding that
"the Armenian Genocide" is a historical fact and was one of the
incidents upon which the Genocide Convention was predicated.
"Only by accurately acknowledging the crimes of the past can we ever
hope to move forward in a legitimate manner and prevent such human
rights crimes from happening in the future," he said.
In January, Turkey cancelled all economic, political and military
meetings with its NATO partner France after the French National
Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a draft law outlawing
genocide denial.
Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the
charge of genocide is an insult to their nation. Ankara argues that
there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.
A spokesman for Senator Kirk said 1915 events are well-documented
and formally recognized by 11 NATO allies and the European Union as
genocide. He added that this resolution accurately characterizes the
events of 1915-1923 as a genocide, honors the memory of the victims,
and strengthens America's moral leadership on human rights and the
prevention of mass atrocities around the world.
AAA's Executive Director Bryan Ardouny said "we commend Senator
Menendez and Senator Kirk for introducing this important human rights
legislation," adding that his assembly also recognizes and appreciates
the support of those senators who joined as original cosponsors.
"We will continue our advocacy efforts to ensure additional cosponsors,
and urge its timely adoption," Ardouny added.
The bill will first be sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
where Senator Menendez serves as a Subcommittee Chairman. The Committee
is chaired by Senator John Kerry, who has a long record in support
of US affirmation of the "Armenian Genocide," the statement said.
In March in 2010, after the House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed
the proposed resolution, Turkey, which sees the measure as a historical
affront, withdrew its ambassador from Washington.
US lawmakers then avoided a diplomatic clash with ally Turkey by
deciding not to take up the resolution. Supporters of the resolution
made a push for approval in the final days of Congress in late 2010,
despite opposition from the Obama administration. The measure was
opposed strongly by Turkey, and the administration feared it would
have damaged relations with the NATO ally.
A similar resolution that will most likely be introduced in the House
this year is unlikely to be passed after Republicans took control
of the chamber in 2011 because the new House speaker, John Boehner,
opposes it.