ATAA addresses a letter to US President regarding Armenian Genocide resolution

March 23, 2010 - 21:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA) has sent a letter to United States President Barack Obama requesting that Obama make a public statement to that Genocide resolution is not brought to the floor of the General Assembly of the House of Representatives.

"As a leading voice of over a half million proud Americans of Turkish heritage and many more Americans who support the US-Turkish model partnership, the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA) urges that you continue to discourage a Congressional vote on House Resolution 252, which narrowly passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 23-22 on March 4, 2010," the ATAA said.

"That H.Res. 252 so narrowly passed out of HFAC indicates that Congress remains deeply divided on this measure and its underpinnings. By asking Chairman Berman not to promote the resolution, you have signalled your understanding that the resolution is misguided and incriminates a key ally, Turkey, and a key heritage community, the Turkish Americans. As has been demonstrated by the recall of the Turkish Ambassador, the mere commencement of a consideration of this matter by the US legislature is likely to severely disrupt US-Turkish relations, as well as derail the ratification of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols in which you have so wisely invested," the ATAA underlined.

"The United States and Turkey enjoy a model partnership, whose pillars include the fight against global terrorism, efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and the broader Balkans and Middle East, and democratic and economic development from Africa to Central Asia. The United States and Turkey are also important trade partners, as US exports to Turkey are more than 10 billion USD and create thousands of American jobs," the ATAA emphasized, The Anatolia News Agency reported.

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.