New genocide measure due in US Senate next week
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Turkish Daily News
Fresh pro-Armenian attack to further complicate Turkish efforts to stop resolutions
ÜMİT ENGİNSOY - WASHINGTON
A leading Democratic senator is planning to introduce next week a fresh Armenian genocide resolution in the U.S. Senate in a move that will further complicate matters for Turkey, which is already struggling to stop a similar measure pending in the House of Representatives.
Illinois Senator Richard Durbin's intention was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. A spokesperson at Durbin's office could not be reached, but both Turkish and Armenian sources confirmed that the move was expected to come at some point next week, most likely with a news conference.
Durbin, the Democratic Party's number two leader in the Senate, is known as a staunch supporter of the Armenian cause. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, another Democrat from Nevada, also supports the Armenians.
The Turkish Daily News was the first to report in the Turkish media last month that an Armenian genocide resolution would soon be introduced in the Senate, Congress' upper chamber.
The language of Durbin's resolution is expected to mirror the House measure, which calls for the recognition of World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The Senate measure comes at a time when Turkey - with the backing of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration, which also opposes any congressionalapproval of a genocide bill - is already lobbying fervently against the pending House resolution.
Over the past month Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and a Turkish parliamentary delegation have had talks with members of Congress and administration officials to prevent the House measure's passage. More visits are under way.
Both resolutions are non-binding. But even if one of them passes, it will mean a psychological victory for the Armenians, who are then believed to be willing to use that approved measure as a precedent for future demands, potentially including compensation and territorial claims.
Analysts view the planned Senate resolution as an effort to open a new front in the ongoing all-out war, with Turkey now having to fight in both congressional chambers. Still the analysts and Turkish diplomats say that the House resolution likely would be more difficult to stop.
If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who had pledged to support Armenian moves for genocide recognition before the new Congress was formed in nationwide elections last November, puts the House measure into a floor vote, it is almost certain that a vast majority of representatives will vote for it.
However, there are ways to stop a legislation in the Senate even after it reaches a floor vote.
Most importantly, in the Senate there is a mechanism called filibuster. It is the use of obstructive tactics by a senator to prevent the adoption of a generally favored measure. Such tactics include an exceptionally long speech, as one lasting for a day or days, or a series of such speeches to accomplish this purpose.
Although filibusters are rare, there are successful examples in the U.S. Senate's history, including one to stop another Armenian genocide measure almost two decades ago. Supporting Turkey's case, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd in 1990 reverted to filibuster, which eventually ended up with that resolution's rejection. At age 90 now, Byrd from West Virginia is the Senate's most senior member.
It is not clear if, when and how the new genocide resolutions would enter the House and Senate agendas.
The new Senate resolution on genocide recognition comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday moved to delay discussion of another measure. Acting on concerns by Ankara and the Washington administration over a reference to the "Armenian genocide," a senior Republican senator moved to temporarily stop the passage of the measure, which urges the Turks, among other things, to establishnormal relations with Armenia.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled on late Tuesday to vote on the resolution introduced by Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, the committee's Democratic chairman. But after opposition by Richard Lugar, the panel's ranking Republican senator from Indiana, it was delayed for at least two weeks.
The non-binding measure condemns Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's murder and calls on Turkey to abolish a penal code article blamed for restricting freedom of expression and to launch diplomatic, political and trade ties with Armenia.
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.
Turkish Daily News
Fresh pro-Armenian attack to further complicate Turkish efforts to stop resolutions
ÜMİT ENGİNSOY - WASHINGTON
A leading Democratic senator is planning to introduce next week a fresh Armenian genocide resolution in the U.S. Senate in a move that will further complicate matters for Turkey, which is already struggling to stop a similar measure pending in the House of Representatives.
Illinois Senator Richard Durbin's intention was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. A spokesperson at Durbin's office could not be reached, but both Turkish and Armenian sources confirmed that the move was expected to come at some point next week, most likely with a news conference.
Durbin, the Democratic Party's number two leader in the Senate, is known as a staunch supporter of the Armenian cause. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, another Democrat from Nevada, also supports the Armenians.
The Turkish Daily News was the first to report in the Turkish media last month that an Armenian genocide resolution would soon be introduced in the Senate, Congress' upper chamber.
The language of Durbin's resolution is expected to mirror the House measure, which calls for the recognition of World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The Senate measure comes at a time when Turkey - with the backing of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration, which also opposes any congressionalapproval of a genocide bill - is already lobbying fervently against the pending House resolution.
Over the past month Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and a Turkish parliamentary delegation have had talks with members of Congress and administration officials to prevent the House measure's passage. More visits are under way.
Both resolutions are non-binding. But even if one of them passes, it will mean a psychological victory for the Armenians, who are then believed to be willing to use that approved measure as a precedent for future demands, potentially including compensation and territorial claims.
Analysts view the planned Senate resolution as an effort to open a new front in the ongoing all-out war, with Turkey now having to fight in both congressional chambers. Still the analysts and Turkish diplomats say that the House resolution likely would be more difficult to stop.
If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who had pledged to support Armenian moves for genocide recognition before the new Congress was formed in nationwide elections last November, puts the House measure into a floor vote, it is almost certain that a vast majority of representatives will vote for it.
However, there are ways to stop a legislation in the Senate even after it reaches a floor vote.
Most importantly, in the Senate there is a mechanism called filibuster. It is the use of obstructive tactics by a senator to prevent the adoption of a generally favored measure. Such tactics include an exceptionally long speech, as one lasting for a day or days, or a series of such speeches to accomplish this purpose.
Although filibusters are rare, there are successful examples in the U.S. Senate's history, including one to stop another Armenian genocide measure almost two decades ago. Supporting Turkey's case, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd in 1990 reverted to filibuster, which eventually ended up with that resolution's rejection. At age 90 now, Byrd from West Virginia is the Senate's most senior member.
It is not clear if, when and how the new genocide resolutions would enter the House and Senate agendas.
The new Senate resolution on genocide recognition comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday moved to delay discussion of another measure. Acting on concerns by Ankara and the Washington administration over a reference to the "Armenian genocide," a senior Republican senator moved to temporarily stop the passage of the measure, which urges the Turks, among other things, to establishnormal relations with Armenia.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled on late Tuesday to vote on the resolution introduced by Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, the committee's Democratic chairman. But after opposition by Richard Lugar, the panel's ranking Republican senator from Indiana, it was delayed for at least two weeks.
The non-binding measure condemns Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's murder and calls on Turkey to abolish a penal code article blamed for restricting freedom of expression and to launch diplomatic, political and trade ties with Armenia.
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 6:26 PM
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