New Congress, New Hope: Genocide Recognition resolution to appear before US lawmakers
January 29, 2007
ArmeniaNow
By John Hughes
ArmeniaNow reporter
A resolution is expected to be introduced Tuesday (January 30) to the United States Congress that would, again, call on the US to officially recognize the killing and displacement of early-20th century Armenians in Turkey as genocide.
(Disputed by Turkey as war collateral, Armenians claim up to 1.5 million casualties between 1915-18.)
The bill (HR316) will be jointly introduced by four members of the Armenian Caucus, representing states where Congressional districts are heavily influenced by the Armenian Diaspora: California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan. As of Friday, 137 members of Congress supported the resolution (from a total of 435).
The United States has consistently rejected similar resolutions before every Congress in recent memory. Needing to remain cordial relations with Turkey for its strategic military value, the US has refused efforts by its strong Armenian Diaspora to make Genocide recognition part of its policy. (John Evans, the latest US Ambassador to Armenia was dismissed early from his post, because, as was widely perceived, he used the word “genocide” in a speech before a Diaspora audience. The White House denies that Evans was dismissed for that reason.)
Still, lobbyists in Yerevan and Washington, D.C., are optimistic that the resolution – unchanged since it was introduced before the last Congress -- might be more popularly received than in previous years.
In Yerevan Monday, Armenian Assembly of America Country Director Arpi Vartanian told ArmeniaNow that a recent shift in general public perception and the recent election of a Democrat-led congress would seem to favor support of this resolution. Coming, too, only a week after the internationally-reported death of Turkish-Armenian journalist and Genocide recognition activist Hrant Dink, the resolution has relevance outside the Armenian community.
“My hope is that Hrant’s murder will not have been in vain,” Vartanian said. “If it results in Genocide recognition, in the abolition of (Turkey’s) Article 301, in freedom of speech, it will not have been in vain. The adoption of this resolution would be one positive that could come out of this tragedy.”
Hopes of the Assembly and other lobbying groups ride, too, on the recent political shift in America that installed an Armenia-friendly Democrat as Speaker of the House.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (California) has backed previous genocide recognition resolutions and has pledged to use her influence as the third most powerful member of the US Government to support a change in policy. “Her position is known,” Vartanian said, “and I’m sure it carries weight.”
Similar optimism has been sounded from Armenian-Americans’ other strong political action group.
The Armenian National Committee of America (www.anca.org) has said: “With the recent changes in Washington, DC, we have the best opportunity in years to defeat Turkey’s Armenian Genocide denial campaign” and urges its supporters to “strike while the iron is hot”.
The Assembly Country Director also acknowledges that, relatively recently, influential publications such as the Boston Globe and The New York Times newspapers no longer qualify their language when using the word “genocide” to refer to the deaths or displacement of Armenians during the reign of the Ottoman Turks.
“Each year (recognition) becomes more of a possibility,” Vartanian said, citing worldwide awareness of genocide in general, brought to the forefront by situations such as the current crisis in Darfur.
The political reality is that should the Genocide Recognition resolution reach the stage of lawmaking, it would likely be vetoed by the current administration (though the resolution itself is a bi-partisan effort).
Against that awareness, Vartanian – who says she is “eternally optimistic” – says there is no need to wait in anticipation of a Democrat in the White House before pushing the issue.
“President Bush has to listen,” Vartanian says. “He has to take into account that this is an issue that just isn’t going away.
In the coming days the Assembly (www.aaainc.org) will be encouraging voters in the US to appeal to their representatives for support of the resolution. Assembly members are seeking support, too, from other communities including the large and influential Jewish Diaspora. Toward that effort, the Jewish Community of Armenia has attached a letter of support to the resolution.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
ArmeniaNow
By John Hughes
ArmeniaNow reporter
A resolution is expected to be introduced Tuesday (January 30) to the United States Congress that would, again, call on the US to officially recognize the killing and displacement of early-20th century Armenians in Turkey as genocide.
(Disputed by Turkey as war collateral, Armenians claim up to 1.5 million casualties between 1915-18.)
The bill (HR316) will be jointly introduced by four members of the Armenian Caucus, representing states where Congressional districts are heavily influenced by the Armenian Diaspora: California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan. As of Friday, 137 members of Congress supported the resolution (from a total of 435).
The United States has consistently rejected similar resolutions before every Congress in recent memory. Needing to remain cordial relations with Turkey for its strategic military value, the US has refused efforts by its strong Armenian Diaspora to make Genocide recognition part of its policy. (John Evans, the latest US Ambassador to Armenia was dismissed early from his post, because, as was widely perceived, he used the word “genocide” in a speech before a Diaspora audience. The White House denies that Evans was dismissed for that reason.)
Still, lobbyists in Yerevan and Washington, D.C., are optimistic that the resolution – unchanged since it was introduced before the last Congress -- might be more popularly received than in previous years.
In Yerevan Monday, Armenian Assembly of America Country Director Arpi Vartanian told ArmeniaNow that a recent shift in general public perception and the recent election of a Democrat-led congress would seem to favor support of this resolution. Coming, too, only a week after the internationally-reported death of Turkish-Armenian journalist and Genocide recognition activist Hrant Dink, the resolution has relevance outside the Armenian community.
“My hope is that Hrant’s murder will not have been in vain,” Vartanian said. “If it results in Genocide recognition, in the abolition of (Turkey’s) Article 301, in freedom of speech, it will not have been in vain. The adoption of this resolution would be one positive that could come out of this tragedy.”
Hopes of the Assembly and other lobbying groups ride, too, on the recent political shift in America that installed an Armenia-friendly Democrat as Speaker of the House.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (California) has backed previous genocide recognition resolutions and has pledged to use her influence as the third most powerful member of the US Government to support a change in policy. “Her position is known,” Vartanian said, “and I’m sure it carries weight.”
Similar optimism has been sounded from Armenian-Americans’ other strong political action group.
The Armenian National Committee of America (www.anca.org) has said: “With the recent changes in Washington, DC, we have the best opportunity in years to defeat Turkey’s Armenian Genocide denial campaign” and urges its supporters to “strike while the iron is hot”.
The Assembly Country Director also acknowledges that, relatively recently, influential publications such as the Boston Globe and The New York Times newspapers no longer qualify their language when using the word “genocide” to refer to the deaths or displacement of Armenians during the reign of the Ottoman Turks.
“Each year (recognition) becomes more of a possibility,” Vartanian said, citing worldwide awareness of genocide in general, brought to the forefront by situations such as the current crisis in Darfur.
The political reality is that should the Genocide Recognition resolution reach the stage of lawmaking, it would likely be vetoed by the current administration (though the resolution itself is a bi-partisan effort).
Against that awareness, Vartanian – who says she is “eternally optimistic” – says there is no need to wait in anticipation of a Democrat in the White House before pushing the issue.
“President Bush has to listen,” Vartanian says. “He has to take into account that this is an issue that just isn’t going away.
In the coming days the Assembly (www.aaainc.org) will be encouraging voters in the US to appeal to their representatives for support of the resolution. Assembly members are seeking support, too, from other communities including the large and influential Jewish Diaspora. Toward that effort, the Jewish Community of Armenia has attached a letter of support to the resolution.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:54 PM
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