Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Turkey's top general cancels U.S. trip to Protest Genocide Resolution
by Associated Press, 10/4/2000 11:39
Posted: Thursday, October 05, 2000 01:33 am CST

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkey's top general canceled a trip to the United States to protest a move in the U.S. Congress to label as genocide the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in Turkey.

Turkey admits that Armenians were killed during World War I, but says that the killings were not part of a planned genocide.

The private channel NTV said Wednesday that chief of staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu canceled talks later this month in Washington with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry H. Shelton.

Military officials were not available to comment on the report.

The International Relations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives approved the genocide resolution Tuesday. It now goes to the full House.

Turkey has warned that it will take measures against Armenia and the United States if the resolution is passed.

On Wednesday, Turkey stopped issuing tourist visas to Armenians trying to cross the border between the two countries, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

The Clinton administration opposes the resolution, which has become a sore point between the United States and Turkey, a close NATO ally.

The United States uses Incirlik air base in southern Turkey to patrol the no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

The nonbinding resolution would place the U.S. government on record as saying the Ottoman Empire killed or displaced 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923, when the Turkish republic was established.

Turkey insists the death toll is much lower and that people were killed as the empire tried to quell civil unrest.

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