Rep. Berman denounced Turkish Caucus efforts to question Armenian Genocide

April 15, 2010 - 12:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Howard Berman, Chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, denounced efforts by his Colleagues in the Turkish Caucus to question the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide, rejecting the flawed national security and economic arguments put forth by these legislators to block the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252) by the full U.S. House of Representatives, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“Chairman Berman expertly takes apart each Turkish Caucus excuse to delay, derail, and ultimately defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We look to the House leadership, first and foremost Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, to follow Chairman Berman’s lead in both scheduling this genocide-prevention measure for a vote and in working energetically with their colleagues to secure its adoption.”

In a strongly worded response to a Congressional Turkish Caucus letter urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to block floor consideration of the measure, Chairman Berman took “strong exception” to their references to the “so-called Armenian Genocide Resolution,” stating that the assertion, “flies in the face of the overwhelming weight of unimpeachable historical evidence and the virtually unanimous opinion of genocide scholars.”

Chairman Berman also rejected the flawed national security arguments against the Armenian Genocide Resolution, stating, “I believe that U.S.-Turkish security relations are founded on mutual interests and that Turkey is not about to discard the immense benefits it derives from bilateral security relations for the sake of ‘punishing’ the US for a non-binding resolution, however much it may resent that resolution.” He went on to argue that the Turkish response to the passage of previous genocide legislation has been “limited and short-lived, at most.”

The Chairman also disputed the effect of Congressional Genocide affirmation on Turkey-Armenia relations, arguing that the Turkey-Armenia Protocols “have been gathering dust in the Turkish parliament” due to Turkish preconditions on the process.

The Chairman’s letter coincided with bilateral meetings held between President Barack Obama and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, and also between the Armenian President and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Both foreign leaders are in Washington DC as part of a major multilateral Nuclear Summit. At a presentation at George Mason University’s Center for Global Islamic Studies, Prime Minister Erdogan once again denied the Armenian Genocide and encouraged the U.S. Congress not to adopt Armenian Genocide legislation. Meanwhile, across town, at a ceremony honoring President Woodrow Wilson, celebrated for his commitment to ensuring that the core territorial and security elements of Armenia’s historic viability be restored, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan made reference to “Wilsonian Armenia” and stressed that the Turkey-Armenia protocols could not be used to question the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian Genocide resolution

The resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.252) was formally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich (R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill). On March 4, 2010 it was adopted with a 22-21 vote by the House Committee on Foreign Relations. A similar resolution was introduced in the Senate.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.