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Armenian
Genocide Resolution Causes Outrage in Turkey |
Posted:
10.15.07
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Despite opposition by Turkish leaders and President Bush, the
U.S. House of Representatives is moving forward on a resolution
calling the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a
"genocide."
Printer-friendly versions: PDF
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The House Foreign Affairs
Committee approved the resolution on October 10. It will be voted
on by the entire House of Representatives by mid-November. |
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Turkey's
Reaction |
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 The
subject of the Armenian killings in the early 1900s is highly political
and heated in Turkey.
Citizens staged protests against the U.S. measure in the streets
of Turkey's major cities and the country's leaders have publicly
rejected the House panel vote.
After recalling its ambassador from the United States, the government
of Turkey issued a statement of protest.
"The United States of America legitimized the Armenian genocide
claim, which has swung over Turkey's head like a stick,"
said Turkish Vice-President Erkan Onsel.
"The U.S. has made it clear once again that it targets Turkey."
The Turkish armed forces chief went one step further, telling
the newspaper Milliyet that "we could not explain this to
our public. The U.S., in that respect, has shot itself in the
foot."
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The debate
over 'genocide' |
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The resolution refers to a period of time from 1915 to 1917 when
as many as 1.5 million Armenians were massacred in the final years
of the Turkish- run Ottoman Empire.
The overwhelming majority of historians call the event as a genocide,
which is defined as "violent crimes committed against groups
with the intent to destroy the existence of the group."
However, Turkey only acknowledges a smaller number of deaths
occurred, and denies that they constitute genocide because they
occurred during a time of unrest and fighting between populations
 of
the Ottoman Empire.
The Turkish government has spent millions of dollars on a public
relations campaign portraying the Armenian genocide as false,
including full page ads in major U.S. newspapers saying the resolution
is a biased interpretation of the tragic events.
But according to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents
a district with a large number of Armenian Americans, a resolution
declaring the killings genocide is 90 years overdue.
"While that may have been a long time ago, genocide is taking
place now in Darfur, it did within recent memory in Rwanda, so
as long as there is genocide there is need to speak out against
it," Pelosi said.
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History of
the killings |
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Starting in the fifteenth century, most of modern Armenia was
part of the vast Ottoman Empire ruled by Muslim Turks.
In 1908, a group called the Young Turks took over government of
the Ottoman Empire in a revolution supported by the Armenian population.
The Young Turk government initially promised improvements in
the treatment of ethnic minorities, but after gaining power the
group turned on the Armenians.
 In
1915, during the early stages of World War I, Turkey was facing
the threat of attack by both Russia and England. Claiming the
Armenian population might instigate an internal rebellion, the
government began to round up, kill, torture and deport Armenians,
according to a U.S. Library of Congress study.
After the attacks, many of the survivors fled the area and migrated
to other countries, particularly eastward to Russia.
The Ottoman government was defeated in World War I. But by 1917,
fewer than 200,000 of the roughly three million Armenians living
in Turkey before the war remained, the study found.
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Relations
with the U.S. |
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Both President Bush and the U.S. secretary of defense made public
statements encouraging Congress not to pass the resolution because
of potential damage to diplomatic relations.
The U.S. military uses Turkey as a key supply route for troops
in Iraq, and Turkey has remained America's strongest Muslim ally,
causing the country to lose face within the rest of the Muslim
world.
 At
the same time, Turkey has been threatening to invade the relatively
stable northern region of Iraq, known as Kurdistan, to fight Kurdish
terrorists who have crossed into Turkey and have planned sporadic
terrorist attacks.
With emotions running high, diplomats worry that action in the
U.S. House could jeopardize American efforts to keep Turkey out
of Iraq
"I don't think that anybody who's ever visited Turkey can
be in any doubt that Turks, at all levels, of all levels of education
and all parts of the country, view this kind of a resolution as
criticism," Mark Parris, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey
told the NewsHour.
"All of them believe this will be a major setback, because
it is perceived as a major insult to Turkish credibility, honor
by a long-standing ally."
In 1915, during the early stages of World War I, Turkey was facing
the threat of attack by both Russia and England. Claiming the
Armenian population might instigate an internal rebellion, the
government began to round up, kill, torture and deport Armenians,
according to a U.S. Library of Congress study.
After the attacks, many of the survivors fled the area and migrated
to other countries, particularly eastward to Russia.
The Ottoman government was defeated in World War I. But by 1917,
fewer than 200,000 of the roughly three million Armenians living
in Turkey before the war remained, the study found.
--
Compiled by Talea Miller for NewsHour Extra
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