Congressman Schiff disappointed at Rice's stance on Armenian Genocide issue

PanARMENIAN.Net - In a hearing yesterday before the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, lawmakers raised a series of concerns regarding past and current genocides. Specifically, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) raised pointed questions regarding the Administration's opposition to H. Res. 106, which he introduced in January, and that reaffirms the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and recalls the proud chapter of humanitarian intervention by the United States, reports the Armenian Assembly of America.



The bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by more than 180 Members of Congress, and is buoyed by the recent introduction of a similar bill in the Senate by Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator John Ensign (R-NV).



In a spirited exchange, Schiff asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice how the U.S., if unwilling to recognize the Armenian Genocide as such, has the "moral authority that we need to condemn the genocide in Darfur if we do not acknowledge those atrocities that occurred earlier..." Schiff continued, "Is there any doubt in your mind?"



"I think the historical circumstances require that we allow historical commissions to explore this issue and come to terms with their past," Rice answered.



"You come from academia, is there anything in your background or training that would leave you to believe that this murder of 1.5 million people was not a genocide?" he asked.



"Yes, I do come from academia, but now I am secretary of state," Rice explained. "I think that the Armenians and the Turks need to resolve their past before they can move forward."



"When Hrant Dink is murdered on his doorstep, when the Turkish government moves to bring him up on charges of "insulting Turkishness," I don't see Turkey as being a democracy that signifies progress," Schiff explained.



"I do think there is an evolution going on in Turkey," Rice replied.



"Like many historical tragedies, people need to deal with their past." Rice also added this: "Congressman, we have recognized the historical circumstances [and] we do recognize it in Presidential statements."



Schiff, in a second round of questioning, said "urging the Congress to ignore [the Armenian Genocide] or abide by Turkish Article 301" is not the solution. "We should encourage Turkey to acknowledge the undeniable facts of the Armenian Genocide." Schiff also noted that the U.S. does not support commissions to study Holocaust denial and that we should not get into the business of historical commissions.



"I was disappointed that Secretary of State Rice was unwilling to acknowledge the plain facts of the Armenian Genocide," Schiff told the Assembly. "We cannot maintain the moral force we need to take action against the genocide going on in Darfur, if the Administration continues to equivocate about the genocide against the Armenians."