From Jihad Watch:
Turkish lobbyists succeed in getting Pelosi Congress not to consider Armenian Genocide resolution
"[Pelosi's] decision to not move this legislation forward during her four years as Speaker represents a failure of Congressional leadership on human rights and, sadly, a setback to America's standing in the struggle to end the cycle of genocide."
More Islamic supremacist evasion of responsibility. An update on this story. "Blue Dog 'disappointed' controversial genocide resolution didn't come to floor," by Bridget Johnson for The Hill, December 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):
The 111th Congress adjourned Wednesday without bringing up the latest incarnation of legislation that would have recognized the 1915 killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
Lobbying groups were on alert over the weekend on reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would bring the resolution to the floor in the final days of the lame-duck session.
But lawmakers went home for the holidays without passing Rep. Adam Schiff's (D-Calif.) resolution, angering Armenian groups and leaving Turkish groups breathing a sigh of relief.
"[Pelosi's] decision to not move this legislation forward during her four years as Speaker represents a failure of Congressional leadership on human rights and, sadly, a setback to America's standing in the struggle to end the cycle of genocide," Ken Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, said in a statement....
Schiff's resolution, which "calls upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide," passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4 by a slim margin, 23-22.
A similar resolution was approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2007. Just like this time around, the White House came out against the resolution, fearing it would damage relations with Turkey, and Pelosi did not bring the measure to the floor.
Schiff said that he and co-sponsors had launched a "full-press effort" to get the resolution to the floor in the past weeks.
"We believed that Turkey's burgeoning alliance with Iran, its support for Hamas, and its insincere promise to seek reconciliation with modern Armenia would finally serve to offset Turkey's shameful campaign of denial," Schiff said in a statement....
Schiff's resolution would have called upon Obama to "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide" in his annual message.
"Coming in the wake of President Obama's string of broken promises to recognize the Armenian Genocide, Speaker Pelosi's refusal to schedule a vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution represents a major breach of trust with Armenian American voters," Hachikian said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent Obama a letter Monday asking him to prevent the vote, warning that it could damage ties between the two countries.
"We cannot allow the resolution to hang over Turkish-U.S. ties like a Sword of Damocles," said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who also urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday to keep the resolution from passing.
Yes. We can't allow the truth to get in the way of our love.
Posted by Robert on December 24, 2010 6:09 AM
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