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US CONGRESS STEPS BACK ON ANTI-TURKEY BILL
Daily Sabah, Turkey
June 17 2014
Ragıp Soylu
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Foreign Affairs yesterday decided to postpone a scheduled markup on
an anti-Turkey bill related to confiscated Christian properties in
Turkey after receiving pressure from the Turkish government over the
ill-timing of the proposed act.
Congressional sources said that the hearing and decision on the
"Turkey Christian Churches Accountability Act" will be rescheduled due
to the abduction of Turkish diplomats in Mosul by the extremist group
the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The bill was originally
expected to be considered by the committee on June 18.
H.R.4 347, if passed, would mandate that Secretary of State John Kerry
provide an annual report to monitor U.S. efforts to survey and secure
unreturned Christian properties in Turkey and Northern Cyprus, which
the bill designates as "occupied by the Turkish military." Speaking
to Daily Sabah, Turkish officials welcomed the postponement and said
that proposing the bill in the first place was a mistake. "Such an
attempt in this critical time was not a right thing to do. We must
focus on common strategic interests and topics such as the ISIS threat
in the region," a source stated. The sponsor of the bill was a senior
member of the Republican Party Ed Royce, who is also the chairman of
the committee. Royce was the former chairman of the Armenian-American
Friendship Group in the U.S. Congress.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/06/17/us-congress-steps-back-on-antiturkey-bill
From: A. Papazian
Daily Sabah, Turkey
June 17 2014
Ragıp Soylu
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Foreign Affairs yesterday decided to postpone a scheduled markup on
an anti-Turkey bill related to confiscated Christian properties in
Turkey after receiving pressure from the Turkish government over the
ill-timing of the proposed act.
Congressional sources said that the hearing and decision on the
"Turkey Christian Churches Accountability Act" will be rescheduled due
to the abduction of Turkish diplomats in Mosul by the extremist group
the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The bill was originally
expected to be considered by the committee on June 18.
H.R.4 347, if passed, would mandate that Secretary of State John Kerry
provide an annual report to monitor U.S. efforts to survey and secure
unreturned Christian properties in Turkey and Northern Cyprus, which
the bill designates as "occupied by the Turkish military." Speaking
to Daily Sabah, Turkish officials welcomed the postponement and said
that proposing the bill in the first place was a mistake. "Such an
attempt in this critical time was not a right thing to do. We must
focus on common strategic interests and topics such as the ISIS threat
in the region," a source stated. The sponsor of the bill was a senior
member of the Republican Party Ed Royce, who is also the chairman of
the committee. Royce was the former chairman of the Armenian-American
Friendship Group in the U.S. Congress.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/06/17/us-congress-steps-back-on-antiturkey-bill
From: A. Papazian