America switches its allegiance to Armenia

A ceremony to mark the 80th anniversay of the Armenian holocaust. Armenia says 1.5 million of its people were killed by the Turks in 1915-18. (AP)

WASHINGTON - Some 88 years after one and a half million Armenians were slaughtered in Turkey in World War I, members of the Armenian community in the United States feel for the first time that it is possible American Congress will finally recognize the genocide they experienced.

A draft resolution that explicitly notes that what happened to the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the years 1915-1918 was a case of genocide has already won the endorsement of the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee and is currently in the process of obtaining

preliminary endorsement from the Senate. While there were attempts in the past to win recognition of the Armenian genocide from American lawmakers, all were shot down by the administration and congress, which were consistently more attentive to Turkish rather than Armenian interests. Now, however, members of the Armenian diaspora believe their chances have improved, not because support for the Armenian cause has grown, but because of the anti-Turkish wave now sweeping over the United States since the war against Iraq.

House Resolution 193 was already approved in late May by the House Judiciary Committee with no opposition or reservations. In order to bypass the obstacles faced by attempts to pass similar resolutions in the past, the resolution was not presented as relating exclusively to the Armenians, but rather as a resolution marking the 15th anniversary of American implementation of the UN Genocide Convention.

The resolution cites a number of cases of genocide in the 20th century, such as the murder of the Herero in Namibia by the Germans in 1904, the death of 5 million Ukrainians during World War II, the murder of the Hutu by the Tutsi and the Tutsi by the Hutu in Rwanda, the slaughter of civilians in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge, the murder of 2 million people by the Muslim Front in Sudan and the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.

Among this list can be found, for the first time in an official American document, the genocide of the Armenian people, which is expressly described as an attempt by the Ottoman Turks to liquidate the Christian Armenian population. The resolution discusses mass deportation, abductions, torture, mass murder and starvation that occurred in two waves in 1915-1918 and 1920-1932, when 1.5 million out of a total of 2 million Armenians who lived within the borders of the Ottoman Empire were murdered. The resolution also notes that the slaughter ended when the Turkish republic was established.

"The language of the resolution reflects the effort to learn the lesson from genocides in the past in order to prevent them from occurring again," says Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), an organization of Armenians in the United States that has been working to get the resolution approved. He says that placing the Armenian genocide in the same list with other cases of genocide throughout the world underscores the acceptance of the case of the Armenian people as genocide. "Only that recognition can help us learn the lesson. If we deny what had taken place, we will not be able to move forward and make sure these tragedies don't happen again."

The legislative process is a long one. After the approval in the House Judiciary Committee, the supporters of the resolution must bring it for a vote before the House plenary and gain a majority. A similar process must be followed through in the Senate, where the resolution is currently in more preliminary stages and has not yet been debated in committee. Last year, the Armenians' attempt to gain recognition for their genocide failed after the Senate recessed before the draft resolution passed all the approval stages.

There are numerous obstacles awaiting them this time too. One of the principal ones is presented by the American administration, which has made it clear it opposes recognition of the Armenian genocide. In a letter sent to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State, Legislative Affairs Paul V. Kelly explained that the mention of the Armenian genocide in the resolution could complicate matters for the United States where its international interests are concerned. "We oppose HR 193's reference to the `Armenian Genocide.' Were this wording adopted, it could complicate our efforts to bring peace and stability to the Caucasus and hamper ongoing attempts to bring about Turkish-Armenian reconciliation," writes Kelly to the committee chair. He underscored the direction the administration favors is one of direct communication between the Turkish and Armenian governments, adding, "Declarations such as this one, however, hinder rather than encourage that kind of dialogue."

The Turks have been exerting pressure on the administration and Congress in an attempt to prevent the endorsement of the resolution or at least to change its wording. The Armenians maintain that Turkish representatives in the United States have been trying in the last few months to create a semblance of an attempt at reconciliation by inviting members of the American Armenian community to meet with an official representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The Armenians in the United States maintain that the goal of the invitation was to create the feeling that there was some form of communication between the two sides and to prove that Turkey was trying to stretch out its hand to the Armenians, and that consequently there was no justification for a resolution that would define their actions against the Armenians during World War I as genocide.

But unlike in previous years, when the Turks managed without difficulty to remove the matter from the American public agenda, this time the reality is different. "In the past we had difficulties making our voice heard, because there was an almost automatic backing of Turkey. The latest events gave us the opportunity to be heard by the administration and by Congress, and they were responsive," says Hamparian. By the "latest events," he is referring to the refusal by Turkey to allow the stationing of 62,000 American troops on Turkish soil on the eve of the war in Iraq, a step that considerably disrupted the American war plan and prevented it from establishing an effective northern front against Saddam Hussein.

The disappointment of the strategic planners in Washington at the decision by the Turkish parliament not to allow the posting of American troops in Turkey was profound, especially in view of the pronounced effort the United States made on the eve of the war to appease the Turks. The American administration prepared a huge aid package to the tune of billions of dollars, exerted considerable pressure on Europe to accept Turkey into the European Union and expressed willingness to help in the matter of Cyprus. "Turkey should admit that it had made a mistake in not allowing U.S. troops," said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz after the war was over, giving the signal for the administration's cold shoulder toward the Turks.

The Turkish government was well aware of the danger involved in the loss of American support and launched an international campaign to rehabilitate its relations with the United States. "My country is your faithful ally and friend," wrote Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an article in the Wall Street Journal after the war. After that, he sent Deputy Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal for a visit to Washington, where he met with all branches of government and visited all the newspaper offices in order to reiterate the friendship Turkey has for the United States and the importance of it as a stable ally in such a troublesome region.

But despite this, the Turks fear the crisis in relations with the United States could pave the way for a change in the declared position of the United States toward the Armenian issue. "I hope they will not take advantage of what happened to pass an anti-Turkish resolution in Congress," said Tuluy Tanch, the minister-counselor in the Turkish Embassy in Washington, adding, "It is true that the vote of the Turkish parliament raised negative feelings with some members of Congress, but it should be seen as a Turkish democratic act, not as an act of Turkish hostility toward the U.S."

The Turks have a different version of the events of 1915, which they describe as a "tragedy." Turkish spokesmen explain that during the war, Armenians from southern Turkey joined forces with the Russian army and attacked the Turkish army using terror tactics, causing the Ottoman government to take steps against them, including deportation. "Unfortunately, and we aware of it, this was not an easy task, and there were many casualties as a result of the war, the climate and the transportation difficulties," says Tanch.

The Turkish government's official approach is also at variance with the number of Armenians who perished and claims that 1.5 million is a fantastic and impossible figure because at that time, there were not that many Armenians living in the Ottoman empire. They also claim that in trials held by Britain after the war in Malta, in which Turks were convicted of murdering Armenians, genocide was never proved. "It is unfair to call it genocide. We see it as a terrible result of war circumstances," states the Turkish diplomat.

For now, the two communities in America continue to maintain hostile relations. About 1.5 million Armenians live in the United States, many of whom came immediately following the massacre of Armenians in Turkey. Others, who settled in the Middle East after the slaughter, arrived in the United States in a second wave of immigration after the war in Lebanon and the Iranian revolution, with a third wave of immigrants arriving after the independence of Armenia in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union. The issue of recognition of the Armenian genocide and the Turkish war crimes stands at the head of the Armenian immigrants' priorities and prevents any rapprochement with the Turkish community, which is considered less organized, but which also refuses to relinquish its version of the events.

Both sides have their eyes on the American Jewish community in the hope of winning support for its struggle over public opinion and American decision makers. The Turkish government maintains close ties with Jewish organizations and in the past year, Prime Minister Erdogan (before taking office) and Deputy Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ziyal found time for closed meetings with representatives of the community. The Armenians, who do not have broad ties with the Jewish community, are fighting for two main goals - to guarantee the security of their homeland and preserve the memory of the genocide.

Even as an American History major in college, I find it fascinating that the leftist college professors never seem to be able to touch an these vital important issues in world history.

Very interesting to see finally US recognition of the history of the Armenian genocide.

"It is true that the vote of the Turkish parliament raised negative feelings with some members of Congress, but it should be seen as a Turkish democratic act, not as an act of Turkish hostility toward the U.S."

Says the turks. Same can be said for this resolution. Not hostility, just factual resolution and a democratic act.

Tough noogies for the Turks. Time for them to face their past.

I good friend from many years ago, Sam Bogosian, born in the US, but of Armenian stock, told me about the events back then.
It was odd to see the big guy tears well up so strongly. I'll never forget either, Sam.

Now, however, members of the Armenian diaspora believe their chances have improved, not because support for the Armenian cause has grown, but because of the anti-Turkish wave now sweeping over the United States since the war against Iraq.

Hmm, "anti-Turkish wave"? More like a ripple.

Rather, I think it has more to do with not kowtowing to Turkey anymore. Besides, appeasing those who commit genocide by tacitly aiding in covering it up is probably losing its appeal on Capitol Hill.

Personally, I think it's about damn time. It's not like anyone who knows anything about Turkey and Armenia didn't know about the genocide. Almost a century later, Congress may actually accept the mass murder of over a million and a half Armenians as fact. Bravo.

What is truely interesting is to see the population of US Military bases all over the former Soviet Republics - and interestingly enough all of the countries are sitting on new sources of oil!

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