PELOSI URGED TO RALLY HR252 DESPITE STATE DEPARTMENT OBJECTIONS

GENOCIDE RECOGNITION VOTE: PELOSI URGED TO RALLY HR252 DESPITE STATE DEPARTMENT OBJECTIONS

By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
20.12.10 | 16:27

Genocide

US House of Representatives poised to take a vote on HR252

The US House of Representatives might be voting on House Resolution
252 condemning the Armenian Genocide as the Democrats yield the House
majority to the Republicans beginning next month.

In early December the Armenian National Committee of Armenia (ANCA)
called upon Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to put to full House
vote the Bill on Recognition of the Armenian Genocide (HR252) before
the current Congress’s term of office expires.

HR252 drafted by Adam Schiff and other pro-Armenian congressmen was
approved in April by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, however
was not put on the agenda for a full House vote, as the White House
administration feared harming relations with Turkey.

The resolution calls on the US President to “make sure that the United
States’ foreign policy reflects the true perception of human rights,
ethnic purges and genocide recorded in the protocols of the United
States in relation to the Armenian Genocide”, and during his annual
address on April 24 (the Commemoration Day of the Armenian Genocide
victims) to “characterize precisely the systematic and deliberate
annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide”.

The ANCA office as well as show-business stars of Armenian descent
have made an appeal to Nancy Pelosi to hold a full House vote this
week before the lame-duck session ends this week.

Turkish Hurriyet Daily News reports that the Armenian, Jewish,
Kurdish and Syrian lobbies of the United States might join hands
against Turkey.

Along with the worsening of Turkish-Jewish relations, the newspaper
takes into account also the Erdogan administration’s anti-American
policy on Iran and Syria, as well as the attempt to make friends with
such radical groups as Hamas and Hezbollah.

In that highlight the newspaper points out that Turkey cannot rely
on the Republicans in the US Congress as before, because of their
absolute support to Israel.

“The feverish haste of the Armenian lobby in the US demonstrates their
hope to have the Genocide Resolution approved by the US Congress
this time around. They, most probably, have a big advantage,” the
newspaper writes.

However, as Hurriet Daily believes, a likely force-majeure aimed at
preventing the HR252 approval for “global strategic reasons” will
prevail despite the anti-Turkish sentiments in the USA.

It is known that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu had a
telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
asking her to halt the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
at the US Congress.

Earlier Ankara was threatening to shut down the strategically
important airbase in Incirlik if the US Congress recognized the
Armenian Genocide.

In response, Los-Angeles-based descendants of Armenians who lost
their property during the Genocide, brought an action against the
Turkish government and two banks demanding monetary compensation of
$63 million.

According to three claimants their ancestors in Ottoman Turkey
possessed a 122 hectare premise, where the Incirlik airbase is
currently located.

Chapman University Professor, lawyer Michael Bazyler says the grounded
chance to bring an action came up last week, when the Ninth District
Court of Los-Angeles reconsidered its verdict and ruled that the
descendants of those Armenians who were killed in Ottoman Turkey can
count on compensation from insurance companies.

One way or another, as reported by Anadolu Turkish news agency,
Secretary of State Clinton assured Davutoglu that the US position on
the issue did not change and that all means would be taken to block
the bill.

Deputy Secretary of State Philip Crowley openly stated on December
17 that the State Department is categorically against the potential
congressional voting on the Genocide bill.