March 05, 2010

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly approved (23 to 22) a resolution that labeled the killings of Armenians in WWI by the Turks as genocide. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease. Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognized internationally as genocide. Currently, more than 20 countries have done so. However, Turkey is very opposed to the label. Turkey accepts that atrocities were committed but they say that they were part of the war, and that there was no systematic attempt to destroy Christian Armenians.

The House committee resolution, in addition to labeling the atrocities as genocide, calls on President Obama to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the genocide and to label the WWI killings as such in his annual statement on the issue. The Armenian government welcomed the vote, calling it "an important step towards the prevention of crimes against humanity." However, not surprisingly, Turkey is not too happy about the vote. The government of Turkey -- which is considered a key American ally and fellow NATO member -- had lobbied Congress not to vote on the issue. The Turkish president responded angrily to the vote and said it was "an injustice to history" to make such a decision with "political concerns in mind". He said, "Turkey will not be responsible for the negative results that this event may lead to." (Yikes, that sounds kind of menacing...). The prime minister of Turkey said his country has been accused of a crime it did not commit. He added that the resolution would harm US-Turkish relations. Turkey has recalled their ambassador from Washington for consultations and they say they are considering other responses. The Foreign Minister of Turkey said they were determined to continue their efforts to normalize relations with Armenia. However, he said the ratification by parliament of peace accords signed last October are now in jeopardy (in October last year, Turkey and Armenia signed a peace accord normalizing relations between them after a century of hostility).

The White House had urged against the vote. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the House committee not to vote on the grounds that it would damage reconciliation efforts between Turkey and Armenia. During Obama's campaign in 2008, he promised to brand the mass killings of Armenians as genocide. Hillary Clinton acknowledged the Obama administration's change of opinion on the issue, saying that circumstances have "changed in very significant ways." Turkey and the Obama administration are hoping the issue will not come to the House floor for a full vote. This is what happened two years with a similar resolution. In 2007, the resolution passed the committee stage, but was shelved after pressure from George W. Bush's administration. Hillary Clinton said, "We do not believe that the full Congress will or should act upon the resolution, and we have made that clear to all the parties involved." (Full Story)