European Forum

Turkey demands end of 'genocide' vote

Turkey has reacted angrily to a U.S. congressional panel's resolution branding the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide."

Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations after the House Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly approved the resolution on 4 March. In a written statement, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the resolution accused Turkey "of a crime that it has not committed." He also expressed serious concerns that the nonbinding resolution would harm Turkish-U.S. ties and efforts by Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia to bury a century of hostility.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey would press ahead with those efforts, stemming from an October 2009 accord aimed at normalizing bilateral relations. But he also said parliamentary ratification of that agreement was now at risk. "Rapprochement needs political will," Davutoglu said. "This is hard to reach, but if we work together it's not an unreachable goal." Murat Mercan was part of a Turkish parliamentary delegation that went to Washington to try to persuade members of the House of Representatives committee to reject the resolution. Giving his reaction after the vote, he warned that Ankara doesn't "bluff."

The White House had also urged the U.S. lawmakers not to pass the resolution, saying it would offend NATO member Turkey at a time when relations with Ankara are crucial for U.S. Middle East policy.

Armenia content
Armenia, however, described the vote as a boost for human rights. In Yerevan, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said the vote was "another proof of the devotion of the American people to universal human values" and was "an important step toward the prevention of crimes against humanity." Armenian-American groups have sought congressional affirmation of the killings as genocide for decades and welcomed the 4 March vote -- despite expressing disappointment at the Obama administration's efforts to block the measure. The Armenian Assembly of America told reporters it was satisfied with the vote, which it said came "in the face of extreme tactics."

Kenneth Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, criticized the "incredible pressure from the Turkish government" on U.S. lawmakers. He told reporters that the committee's vote showed that "Turkey doesn't get a vote or a veto in the U.S. Congress." "We are very gratified that the House Foreign Affairs Committee chose to prevent Turkey from imposing a gag rule on U.S. foreign policy," Hachikian said, "and decided to stand up for peace and justice and to bring forward the truth of the Armenian genocide."

In Turkey, ally Azerbaijan –the executive secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party, Ali Ahmadov,– expressed regret and denounced a "falsification of history."

The resolution now goes to the full House of Representatives, where it is unclear whether it will pass.

Diplomatic measures
In 2007, Ankara recalled its ambassador after the U.S. committee approved a similar bill. Then President George W. Bush warned against passage and the measure never came to a vote on the House floor. The ambassador returned to his post after one week. Also this time Ankara has urged the U.S. administration to block the resolution.

Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians as an act of genocide and has campaigned for them to be recognized as such internationally. But successive Turkish governments have refused to do so. Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed in 1915 during the war and the break-up of the Ottoman Empire but argues that many Turks were casualties, too. It also argues that the death toll has been inflated and says there was no systematic attempt to exterminate the empire's largest remaining Christian community.

Sources: Hurriyet  Daily; RFE/RL; Volkskrant (Dutch)