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Turkey condemns US Senate resolution on Armenian Genocide
by Joseph Earnest April 11, 2014
Newscast Media ANKARA— The Turkish government is upset and has condemned the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for adopting a resolution calling the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman troops in World War One a genocide.
For the first time in nearly a quarter century, a U.S. Senate committee
has adopted an Armenian Genocide Resolution, calling upon the Senate
to commemorate this crime and encouraging the President to ensure that
America's foreign policy reflects and reinforces the lessons, documented
in the U.S. record, of the still-unpunished genocide, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
"Today's vote affirms America's commitment to truth, deals a serious
setback to Turkey's campaign of genocide denial, and sends a clear
message to President Obama that he must end his Administration's
complicity in Ankara's cover-up of this crime," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA. "We thank Chairman Menendez for his
powerful leadership and express our thanks to each of the Senators who
cast their votes for this human rights measure."
With a vote of 12 to 5, the Committee voted to condemn and commemorate
the Armenian Genocide. Those who joined Senator Menendez in supporting
the measure were Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris
Coons (D-DE), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ed Markey
(D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Marco Rubio (R-FL),
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Tom Udall (D-NM). Those opposing the measure
were Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Bob Corker (R-TN), Jeff Flake
(R-AZ), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jim Risch (R-ID). Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
did not vote.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
spearheaded the effort to have this influential foreign policy panel
speak clearly regarding the Ottoman Turkish Government's centrally
planned and systematically carried out campaign of genocide from
1915-1923, which resulted in the deaths of over 1.5 million men, women
and children.
Senator Menendez announced the vote at the Armenian Genocide Observance
on Capitol Hill yesterday evening, where he told his colleagues and
attendees, "To me, to all men and women of good will, I would think
there is a simple statement - genocide is genocide, and you cannot call
it anything else but that and you need to have a recognition of that.
Next year when we mark a century - a hundred years ago that the
Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turkey, it seems to me that with most
of the survivors gone - but with a few left - it is incredibly important
for us to lead globally at this time." Add
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