HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE OVERWHELMINGLY ADOPTS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LEGISLATION
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House International Relations Committee Overwhelmingly Adopts Armenian
Genocide Legislation
-International Relations Committee Chairman and Ranking Democrat Lead
Strong Bipartisan Majority in Approving H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195
-Passage Comes Despite the Strident Opposition from Turkish Embassy,
The Livingston Group, and American Turkish Council
WASHINGTON, DC--Following almost three hours of remarks by a bipartisan
group of 24 Members of Congress, the House International Relations
Committee, today, voted in favor of two measures calling for proper US
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and urging Turkey to end its
decades long denial of this crime against humanity, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The votes clear yet
another hurdle toward full House recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
"We are very gratified by the House International Relations
Committee's broad bipartisan support for today's action towards US
recognition of the Armenian Genocide," stated ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian. "The Armenian American community deeply appreciates the
leadership of Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff
(D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and the support
of all our friends on the panel. As we work to build on the
Committee's favorable action, we look to Speaker Hastert to honor his
pledge and to schedule a full floor vote on Armenian Genocide
legislation at the earliest opportunity."
Rep. Adam Schiff, a lead cosponsor of H.Res.316 and author of
H.Con.Res.195 opened the Committee's discourse on both resolutions.
Commenting on Turkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide, Rep.
Schiff stated, "Ankara's behavior is as inexplicable as it is
shameful. Turkey bears responsibility for its decades of denial and for
compounding the suffering of the Armenian people by attempting to blame
the victims for the crime." Rep. Schiff also recognized three
Armenian Genocide survivors--Mrs. Rose Baboyan, Yeretzgeen Sirarpi
Khoyan and Mrs. Lusazine Tatarian--whose presence at the hearing was
arranged by the ANC Washington DC chapter.
In his concluding remarks, Chairman Hyde responded to arguments that
passage of the Genocide resolutions could potentially harm US--Turkey
relations. While noting that, "I very much believe the [US-Turkey]
relationship is of great importance to us," Rep. Hyde stated, "I
don't believe that these resolutions will harm that relationship.
They merely recognize the fact that the authorities of the Ottoman
Empire deliberately slaughtered the majority of the Armenian community
in that Empire." Rep. Hyde went on to note that "denial of that
fact cannot be justified on the basis of expediency or fear that
speaking the truth will do us harm."
In all, twenty-four Members of the International Relations Committee
spoke on the measures, with twenty-one voicing support for
Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide and three speaking
against. The speakers represented a broad bi-partisan spectrum of the
Committee, with 15 democrats and 9 Republicans voicing their positions
on the issue. Both H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195 were adopted by
overwhelming margins of 40 to 7 and 35 to 11, respectively. The
complete vote tallies will be provided on the Armenian National
Committee of America website-www.anca.org.
Following passage of the measures, Representatives Radanovich, Schiff,
Pallone and Knollenberg hailed the Committee's overwhelming approval
of the legislation. Rep. Radanovich noted, "The US National Archives
is replete with thousands of pages documenting the premeditated
extermination of the Armenian people. As the Armenian Genocide was
being committed, the United States launched an unprecedented
diplomatic, political, and humanitarian struggle to end the carnage and
protect the survivors." Rep. Radanovich continued, noting that "I
appreciate the bipartisan support for this resolution [H.Res.316],
which properly acknowledges the Armenian Genocide, reaffirms the proud
and groundbreaking chapter in US history to halt the Genocide, and
renews our commitment to preventing other occurrences of man's
inhumanity to man."
"This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,"
stated Rep. Schiff. "We are working to ensure our country recognizes
this terrible tragedy while some of the victims are still alive,
including the three brave survivors here today."
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone stated "Today
the House International Relations Committee moved this Congress one
step closer to finally recognizing the atrocious acts inflicted by the
Ottoman Turks on the Armenian people. It is now up to Speaker Hastert
to realize the importance of this legislation, and finally allow a
floor vote. I continue to believe that if the entire House has an
opportunity to vote on recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the truth
will win out and American recognition will finally occur."
Rep. Knollenberg echoed these remarks, noting that, "this legislation
will show the world that America is not going to forget this horrible
crime. The victims of the Genocide and their families deserve to have
the crime recognized for the atrocity that it was. The committee's
action today--and hopefully the approval of the full House soon--will
help make sure that this terrible offense is never forgotten."
H.Res.316, which was introduced by Representatives George Radanovich
(R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), calls upon the
President to ensure US foreign policy reflects appropriate
understanding of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution includes thirty
detailed findings from past US hearings, resolutions and Presidential
statements, as well as references to statements by international bodies
and organizations. As of today, a bipartisan group of over 140
Representatives have already pledged their support for the measure.
H.Con.Res.195, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff and cosponsored by over
eighty Representatives, was offered following direct negotiations with
House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL). The
Chairman agreed to Committee-level consideration of Armenian Genocide
legislation in return for Rep. Schiff tabling a planned June 8 Armenian
Genocide amendment to the House Foreign Relations Authorization bill.
The agreement addressed serious concerns on the part of the
Administration and Congressional leaders that the Schiff
Amendment--which had strong prospects of passing--would overshadow the
White House meeting, held that same day, between President Bush and
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. This measure calls on Turkey to abandon
its ongoing campaign of Armenian Genocide denial and to work with
Armenia to come to terms with its tragic history.
TURKISH GOVERNMENT/STATE DEPARTMENT OPPOSITION MOUNTS IN DAYS LEADING
UP TO COMMITTEE VOTE
The Turkish Ambassador Faruk Logoglu and his lobbyists--including the
Livingston Group--actively made the rounds to members of the
International Relations Committee, seeking to block any action on US
reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. As part of this effort, the
Livingston Group distributed a four-page genocide-denial document to
Congressional offices. During the mark up, former Congressmen
Livingston and Stephen Solarz and their team of lobbyists, were
actively seeking to defeat these measures.
Earlier this week, American Turkish Council Chairman, former National
Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft warned Speaker Dennis Hastert that
even the discussion of the Armenian Genocide on the floor of the US
House would be "counter-productive to the interests of the United
States." In his September 12 letter, Scowcroft, speaking on behalf of
the corporate members of the ATC, accused Congressional supporters of
Armenian Genocide legislation (H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195) of trying
to "pull Turkey away from the West." He stressed that: "The
careless use of genocide language provides and excuse to do so,
delivering a direct blow to American interests in the region."
The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) also urged
Committee members to oppose the measures, arguing that, "disputes
over history, such as the Ottoman Armenian Tragedy, should be resolved
by open and rigorous historical and legal scholarship, not political
resolutions." In an unusual development, the ATAA urged their
supporters to actually use the ANCA website and its powerful WebFax
capabilities to attempt the defeat of the measures. The ANCA blocked
all efforts along these lines.
Both the ATC and ATAA have come under scrutiny in recent weeks as the
result of a 10-page story in Vanity Fair detailing FBI whistleblower
Sibel Edmond's reports that it's officials were involved in illegal
efforts to defeat Armenian Genocide legislation in the fall of 2000.
According to the article by contributing editor David Rose, Edmonds
claimed FBI wiretaps--including those of the Turkish Embassy and
Turkish groups such as the American Turkish Council (ATC) and the
Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)--reveal that the
Turkish government and its allies boasted of bribing members of
Congress as part of an alleged deal to stop consideration of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution.
During the mark-up, lead opponent to the measure, Indiana Republican
Dan Burton, called attention to a September 15 letter to Committee
Chairman Hyde, expressing the State Department's opposition to the
measures. The letter noted that, "House floor debate on an Armenia
resolution could damage US-Turkish relations and could undermine
progress by Ankara and Yerevan as they begin quiet talks to address the
issue and look to the future."