October 26, 2007
U.S. and Turkey Thwart Armenian Genocide Bill
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 - With backing from more than half of the House this
summer,
proponents of a resolution condemning the Armenian genocide were confident
that they
would finally prevail in their quest for Congressional recognition.
Adding to their optimism, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a longtime backer of
the
resolution, which had been pushed mainly by her fellow Californians, and
was
committed to bringing it to a House vote.
But supporters of the measure were not prepared for the vehement
opposition of two
powerful governments - Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire,
which
historians say conducted the genocide, and the United States, which needs
Turkey's
help in Iraq. Their combined resistance caused the resolution to falter,
embarrassing
the speaker on a high-profile foreign policy front.
On Thursday, supporters surrendered, at least for now, telling Ms. Pelosi
they were
willing to wait until next year. "We believe that a large majority of our
colleagues
want to support a resolution recognizing the genocide on the House floor
and that
they will do so, provided the timing is more favorable," the four chief
sponsors said
in a letter to Ms. Pelosi.
The faltering of the push to denounce the genocide illustrates what can
happen when
domestic politics collide with international affairs and how treacherous
that can be
for Congressional leaders like Ms. Pelosi, who came under criticism this
year for a
trip to Syria. It also turned a near triumph into a disappointment for
those who
believe Congress has a responsibility to send a message on past
inhumanities to
prevent future ones.
"We certainly thought it would be a very tough fight, but it was a much
more lopsided
one than we expected," said Representative Adam B. Schiff, a California
Democrat and
a main sponsor of the bill. Once Democrats gained control of Congress in
January,
supporters of the measure mobilized, seeing a way clear to the final vote
that had
eluded them because of opposition first from the Clinton administration
and then from
the Bush White House.
Ms. Pelosi as well as Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the new
majority
leader, were dedicated proponents of the resolution that would put the
House on
record as defining the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in
1915 as
genocide. The crisis in Darfur, in Sudan, had raised public consciousness
about
genocide as well.
"This issue had a constituency, and there was a lot of momentum due to the
switch in
leadership and Darfur," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the
Armenian
National Committee of America.
It did not hurt that Armenians are an influential bloc in California, Ms.
Pelosi's
home, and that the resolution was a top priority of California House
members of both
parties, including Mr. Schiff and two other Democrats, Brad Sherman and
Anna G.
Eshoo. Ms. Eshoo is a lawmaker of Armenian heritage who is a close friend
of Ms.
Pelosi's.
Mr. Sherman said the speaker's decision to pledge a vote by the full House
was not
about personal relationships but about principle. "You don't have to have
a special
relationship with this speaker to get her to be in favor of recognizing
genocide," he
said.
While the backers of the resolution pressed ahead, the Turkish government
also went
to work, hiring a lobbying team to raise concerns about the potential
backlash in
Turkey if the resolution was approved, particularly when Turkey is a
staging ground
for the Iraq war.
The Turkish government has resisted the characterization of a genocide,
seeing the
deaths as among the many tragic losses in a time of brutal conflict. But
most of the
lobbying against the resolution centered on the need not to antagonize
Turkey at a
time when it was of crucial strategic value.
Among those carrying that message was Representative John P. Murtha, a
Pennsylvania
Democrat and a close ally of Ms. Pelosi's, who began warning her in
February against
the bill.
"I explained what the ramifications were from a military standpoint, but
she said she
felt compelled to do it," said Mr. Murtha, who welcomed Thursday's
decision. By
midsummer, the advocates had 225 sponsors, more than the minimum of 218
needed to
assure passage. But they refrained from pushing for a vote because Turkey
was having
its own national elections. Instead, they aimed for the fall.
Encouraged to consider the bill, the Foreign Affairs Committee approved it
on Oct.
10, but by a relatively narrow 27-to-21 vote, because lawmakers were well
aware that
the measure could reach the floor this year.
Mr. Bush and the Turkish government intensified their opposition and
within days,
co-sponsors of both parties began abandoning the resolution.
Ms. Pelosi said it was the responsibility of its backers to secure the
needed votes.
"This is the legislative process," she told reporters last week when asked
about the
furor. Its backers began reassessing their strategy and one result was the
letter to
the speaker on Thursday.
Even some of Ms. Pelosi's allies said the bill's withdrawal, while an
embarrassment,
may well have averted a larger problem for her had the proposal been
approved,
setting off problems with Turkey. Advocates of the bill predicted that
Congress would
eventually regret backing off in the face of a threatened backlash from an
ally.
"This sets a terrible example," Mr. Hamparian said.
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