Today.Az » World news » Armenian 'genocide' bill to test US-Turkish ties again
09 February 2010 [16:55] - Today.Az
A fresh Armenian “genocide” resolution to be taken up by a U.S. congressional panel early next month could once again put Turkey’s relationship with the United States into jeopardy.
Howard Berman, the powerful Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, said Feb. 5 that he intends to call a committee vote on the resolution March 4.
The resolution would call on President Barack Obama to ensure that U.S. policy formally refers to the World War I-era killings of Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire as “genocide” and to use that term when he delivers his annual message on the issue in April – something Obama avoided doing last year.
If the resolution is endorsed by the committee, it will next head toward a House floor vote. The same panel passed similar bills in 2000, 2005 and 2007, but the measures never came to a floor vote. In all three cases, the administrations of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush strongly lobbied against the resolutions.
Although such congressional bills are non-binding, Turkey has been warning that any formal U.S. “genocide” recognition, either by Congress or the administration, would cause a major and lasting deterioration of relations with the United States. Turkish diplomats are now emphasizing that this policy remains in place.
/Hurriyet Daily News/
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