Turkey seeks to avert genocide vote in US Congress

[David]

AP


ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's foreign minister said Wednesday he hopes the Obama administration will try to prevent a U.S. congressional panel from recognizing the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish reporters during a visit to Egypt that he expects "the U.S. administration to give the necessary message" to the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

"If it passes, then the Obama administration should try to prevent it from being voted by Congress," Anatolia quoted Davutoglu as saying.

The House committee is set to consider the issue Thursday. A "yes" vote would allow the resolution to be considered by the full House. Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were victims of genocide by Ottoman Turks. Turkey denies that.

Past U.S. administrations have blocked similar resolutions through public cajoling about U.S. national security interests and behind-the-scenes lobbying. The Obama administration, however, has not taken any public position on the issue so far.

Turkey warned this week that recognition of the killings as genocide would not only damage ties with its longtime U.S. ally but also hurt U.S.-led efforts to end a century of enmity between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, is a key supply route for U.S. troops in Iraq and part of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Turkey and Armenia last year took steps to normalize ties by establishing diplomatic relations and reopening their shared border. The agreements still need to be ratified by both countries' parliaments, and it is unclear how they would resolve the bitter dispute over the Armenian deaths.

Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians were killed around World War I, but denies that the deaths constituted genocide. Turkey says the death toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Davutoglu did not respond to a question on what actions Turkey would take should the resolution be approved.

In 2007, when the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee passed such a resolution, Turkey promptly recalled its ambassador, and U.S. officials feared the Turks might cut off American access to a Turkish air base essential to operations in Iraq. After intensive lobbying by top Bush administration officials, the resolution was not considered by the full House.

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON – Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the United States, angrily withdrew its U.S. ambassador Thursday after a congressional committee approved a resolution branding the World War I-era killing of Armenians a genocide.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the resolution, which Turkey sees as a historical affront, over the objections of President Barack Obama. The 23-22 vote sends the measure to the full House, where prospects for passage are uncertain.

"I declare such a decision that was taken with political concerns in mind to be an injustice to history and to the science of history," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in the capital, Ankara.

"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative results that this event may lead to."

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

The reconciliation agreement reached in October between Turkey and Armenia calls for a panel to discuss "the historical dimension" of the killings. Turkey says U.S. lawmakers should stay out of the issue.

The committee's vote is awkward for Obama, who pledged as a presidential candidate to recognize the Armenian deaths as a genocide. The administration reversed course, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton acknowledged Thursday.

"Circumstances have changed in very significant ways," Clinton told reporters traveling with her in Costa Rica.

She said the United States supports a Swiss effort to resolve the historical dispute.

"We think that is the appropriate way to manage the problems that have stood in the way of normalization between the two countries," Clinton said.

Clinton said that the Obama administration is concerned the resolution could harm the talks between Turkey and Armenia.

"We do not believe that the full Congress will or should act upon that resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved," she said.

Turkey, a NATO ally with a pivotal role for U.S. interests in the Middle East and Afghanistan, has warned that the resolution's approval could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation and set back negotiations aimed at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey also currently holds one of the rotating seats on the United Nations' Security Council that will have to approve sanctions against Iran.

"I believe that Turkey values its relations with the United States at least as much as we value our relations with Turkey," the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., said in urging his colleagues to pass the measure.

In April, Obama failed to brand the killings genocide in an annual White House statement on the day marking Armenian remembrance. Obama said that while he had not changed his personal views, he did not want to upset promising talks between Turkey and Armenia on improving relations and opening their border. Turkey sealed the border in 1993 to protest Armenia's war with neighboring Azerbaijan.

The White House reiterated that Obama's views of the killings had not changed.

White House spokesman Mike Hammer said Obama had thanked Turkey on Wednesday for efforts to resolve the dispute and urged Turkey to quickly ratify the deal reached in October with Armenia that would open the border between the two countries.

The deal must be approved by the Turkish parliament, and Turkish lawmakers have warned that the committee's vote could stall progress.

Armenian American groups have sought congressional affirmation of the killings as genocide for decades.

The Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar genocide measure in 2007, but it was not brought to the House floor for a vote following intensive pressure by then-President George W. Bush.

Following the 2007 committee vote, Turkey promptly recalled its ambassador, and U.S. officials feared the Turks might cut off American access to a Turkish air base essential to operations in Iraq.

[David]

AP


ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey warned the Obama administration on Friday of negative diplomatic consequences if it doesn't impede a U.S. resolution branding the World War I-era killing of Armenians genocide.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the U.S., would assess what measures it would take, adding that the issue was a matter of "honor" for his country.

A U.S. congressional committee approved the measure Thursday. The 23-22 vote sends the measure to the full House of Representatives, where prospects for passage are uncertain. Minutes after the vote, Turkey withdrew its ambassador to the U.S.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

President Barack Obama's administration had been silent about the resolution until shortly before the vote when it said it opposed its passage. Turkey wants stronger action to block the resolution.

"The picture shows that the U.S. administration did not put enough weight behind the issue," Davutoglu told reporters. "We are seriously disturbed by the result."

"We expect the U.S. administration to, as of now, display more effective efforts. Otherwise the picture ahead will not be a positive one," he said. He complained of a lack of "strategic vision" in Washington.

The measure was approved at a time when Washington is expected to press Turkey to back sanctions against Iran to be approved in the U.N. Security Council, where Turkey currently holds a seat. Turkish cooperation also is important to U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also at stake are defense contracts. Turkey is an important market for U.S. defense companies, many of which had lobbied against the measure.

"We have had good cooperation with the U.S. administration at all levels," Davutoglu said. "We would expect our contributions not to be sacrificed to domestic political games."

Davutoglu said the U.S. ambassador had been called to the Foreign Ministry for talks. The ambassador, James Jeffrey, told reporters the Obama administration was opposed to the measure being voted in the full House.

The foreign minister said Turkey was determined to press ahead with efforts to normalize ties with Armenia, but said Turkey would not be "pressured" into taking any decisions.

He added that the vote had put the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with Armenia at risk.

Last year, Turkey and Armenia agreed to normalize ties by establishing diplomatic relations and reopen their shared border, but the agreements have yet to be approved by their parliaments.

Turkey has been dragging its feet, fearful of upsetting ally Azerbaijan, which balks at any suggestion of the reopening of the border until its own dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh is settled. The region in Azerbaijan has been under Armenian control.

Armenian-American groups have sought congressional affirmation of the killings as genocide for decades and welcomed Thursday's vote.

The genocide issue is one of many obstacles to Turkey's membership in the European Union. Turkey has been struggling to block similar genocide bills in parliaments across the globe.

The U.S. congressional vote came at a time when relations with the United States — strained by Turkey's refusal to allow its territory to be used for the invasion of Iraq — had recently improved. Turkey was the first Muslim country Obama visited after taking office.

Davutoglu expressed dismay at the voting process, which was televised live in Turkey, in which the chairman of the committee extended the voting session when the "no" were ahead and appeared to abruptly close the session as soon as the "yes" votes had it.

"The lack of seriousness of the situation shows that such an issue cannot be decided by parliaments," Davutoglu said, reiterating a Turkish proposal for the establishment of committees of historians to settle the issue.

Turkish politicians also criticized the vote.

Murat Mercan, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party who traveled to Washington to lobby U.S. congress members, said Obama intervened too late.

Sukru Elekdag, an opposition party lawmaker said the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with Armenia was now uncertain.

"If (the agreements) come to the (Turkish) Foreign Affairs Committee they may be rejected there," he said.

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An interesting movie on the subject is "Ararat". The pictures of some of the Armenian ruins are stark.