Turkey 'extremely concerned' over growing congressional support to Armenian Genocide Resolution

PanARMENIAN.Net - Top Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul have lobbied against the Armenian Genocide Resolution passage in visits to the U.S. capital since February, Gul has warned that the resolution's approval in Congress could hurt Turkish-U.S. ties beyond repair, including a disruption of security arrangements.



So far House leaders, including backers of the bill, have declined to actively push for the resolution's passage before the Turkish elections, but any time starting September will be ripe for this effort. Turkish officials and their lobbyists here are now working to prevent other lawmakers from backing the genocide bill and urging some House members to withdraw their signatures from the list of supporters. But so far such efforts could not stop the Armenians reaching the 200 figure, the Turkish Daily News reports.



A similar resolution is also pending in the Senate, Congress' upper chamber, with 31 senators out of a total of 100 backing the measure. But still Armenian efforts focus on moving on the House front first. Before last year's congressional elections in which the Democrats won a landslide victory, Pelosi had pledged to work for the passage of the genocide measure. But after the elections, she has adopted a responsible position, Turkish diplomats said.



Meanwhile, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.106, continues to gain momentum toward passage with the total number of Members cosponsoring the human rights measure reaching 202. "This overwhelming support for the resolution is evidence that Members of Congress and their constituents believe that recognizing the Armenian Genocide, which claimed more than a million and a half lives, is a moral imperative," stated resolution lead sponsor Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).