Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Turkey Happy Over Victory Against Genocide Bill
by Hande Culpan
Posted: Saturday, October 21, 2000 01:12 am CST

ANKARA, Oct 20 (AFP) - Turkey expressed pleasure Friday over the withdrawal from the US Congress of a draft resolution recognizing the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, saying the move had served to avert a possible storm in ties between Ankara and Washington.

The controversial resolution was pulled from the floor of the US House of Representatives early Friday after US President Bill Clinton asked the house not to pass the draft citing national security interests.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem hailed the abortion of the bill Friday, describing the move as a "turnback from a grave wrong." "The United States is important for us, but Turkey is very important for the United States as well. The US administration realized that its influence in the Middle East would be restricted if it had upset Turkey," Cem told the all-news NTV channel Friday.

Cem's remarks corresponded to the point Clinton stressed in its letter of warning to the full house: the importance of Turkish cooperation with Washington's "significant interests" in the Middle East, Central Asia, the Balkans and the Gulf.

"Consideration of the resolution at this sensitive time will not only negatively affect those interests, but could undermine efforts to encourage improved relations between Armenia and Turkey -- the very goal the Resolution's sponsors seek to advance," the president wrote in the letter.

The Turkish press also rejoiced over the resolution's withdrawal, describing the move as a victory for Ankara.

"Clinton puts the brakes on the genocide bill," cried the liberal Radikal daily on its front page.

The Islamist Zaman daily sufficed by saying: "Thank you Clinton".

The mass-circulation Hurriyet, meanwhile, said that Ankara's favorable moves to its southern neighbor Iraq, such as plans to open a second border gate and increase its diplomatic representation to ambassadorial level, had played a role in Washington's firm stance against the bill.

The draft resolution, which says that 1.5 Armenians were killed and another 500,000 were driven from their homes between 1915 and 1923 in the Ottoman Empire, had unleashed warnings from Turkey that its adoption would seriously damage ties with the US.

Among them were threats to keep US arms makers out of lucrative Turkish tenders and not to renew the mandate of US and British planes using a base in southern Turkey to enforce a no-fly zone in northern Iraq.

Earlier October, Ankara cancelled two planned high-level visits to the United States and toughened visa regulations for Armenians as a warning to US house to drop the resolution.

The moves came as part of a plan of counter-measures which, according to high-level officials, mainly targeted Armenia whom Turkey holds responsible for efforts in third countries to recognize the Armenian genocide.

"Unfortunately, Armenia and Armenians living abroad have a weakness regarding their national identity. They are trying to extract an enmity from history for it. They have to give up on this," Cem said on NTV.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia until Yerevan gives up on its international campaign for the recognition of genocide and resolves the dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey categorically rejects claims of genocide and maintains that some 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed in what was internal fighting between the two groups during the dissolution years of the Ottoman Empire.

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