Taking a peek into the Congressional Record
March 14, 2007
Lawrance Journal-World
It being a slow news day, we take a peek in the Congressional Record to find out what our representatives have been up to.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore asked that his name be removed (PDF) as a cosponsor of House Resolution 106.
So what is House Resolution 106? (PDF)
Simply put, it calls upon the President to ensure his foreign policy reflects an awareness of issues surrounding the Armenian Genocide. Although the genocide happened in 1915 — killing an estimated 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire — it remains a contentious issue. Turkish officials — their country at the heart of the former empire — reject the “genocide” characterization, and have prosecuted writers (including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk) for raising the issue publicly.
The proposed resolution has been controversial, as well.
From today’s edition of The Journal of Turkish Weekly: The Turkish prime minister’s foreign policy advisor has said insulting the Turkish nation with a genocide that their ancesstors did not commit would be ‘indigestible,’ referring to the Armenian genocide resolution pending in the US Congress.
It’s tricky for the White House, according to MSNBC.com US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates have warned that a draft resolution to be considered by the House of Representatives on so-called Armenian genocide would result in serious damage to relations with Turkey if passed.
But Armenia is also watching the resolution closely, according to this Armenian news service: 218 votes are necessary for the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the U.S. Congress, which hopefully we can reach., Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Aram Hamparian told a press conference in Yerevan. He said, the U.S. legislature has such a system that neither the State Department, and moreover nor the Turkish Foreign Minister can influence on it.
“I would advise not to believe in what is written in Turkish press. More often Turkish media gives misinformation in order to show the public that it actively works for preventing the possible adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the U.S. Congress,” Hamparian stressed. He also said that until Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide, Armenia’s security will be under threat. “As to Turkey’s opinion that the United States needs Ankara’s assistance, it is a temporary phenomena. May happen that the U.S. will be able to find strategic allies in the region without Turkey.
[...]
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.
Lawrance Journal-World
It being a slow news day, we take a peek in the Congressional Record to find out what our representatives have been up to.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore asked that his name be removed (PDF) as a cosponsor of House Resolution 106.
So what is House Resolution 106? (PDF)
Simply put, it calls upon the President to ensure his foreign policy reflects an awareness of issues surrounding the Armenian Genocide. Although the genocide happened in 1915 — killing an estimated 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire — it remains a contentious issue. Turkish officials — their country at the heart of the former empire — reject the “genocide” characterization, and have prosecuted writers (including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk) for raising the issue publicly.
The proposed resolution has been controversial, as well.
From today’s edition of The Journal of Turkish Weekly: The Turkish prime minister’s foreign policy advisor has said insulting the Turkish nation with a genocide that their ancesstors did not commit would be ‘indigestible,’ referring to the Armenian genocide resolution pending in the US Congress.
It’s tricky for the White House, according to MSNBC.com US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defence Robert Gates have warned that a draft resolution to be considered by the House of Representatives on so-called Armenian genocide would result in serious damage to relations with Turkey if passed.
But Armenia is also watching the resolution closely, according to this Armenian news service: 218 votes are necessary for the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the U.S. Congress, which hopefully we can reach., Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Aram Hamparian told a press conference in Yerevan. He said, the U.S. legislature has such a system that neither the State Department, and moreover nor the Turkish Foreign Minister can influence on it.
“I would advise not to believe in what is written in Turkish press. More often Turkish media gives misinformation in order to show the public that it actively works for preventing the possible adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the U.S. Congress,” Hamparian stressed. He also said that until Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide, Armenia’s security will be under threat. “As to Turkey’s opinion that the United States needs Ankara’s assistance, it is a temporary phenomena. May happen that the U.S. will be able to find strategic allies in the region without Turkey.
[...]
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.
Labels: Turkey anti-Genocide Recognition PR, USA and the Armenian Genocide Recognition
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 11:10 AM
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