33 replies to this topic

[Yervant1]

The Hill, DC

Oct 29 2019

 

 

House votes to recognize Armenian genocide

 

By Juliegrace Brufke

 

The House passed a resolution on Tuesday officially recognizing and rebuking the Ottoman Empire's genocide against the Armenian people and rejecting any efforts to enlist the U.S. government in denying that the genocide took place.

 

Proponents of the long-delayed measure, which passed in a 405-11 vote, argue that it's a necessary and overdue step in providing justice for Armenians. Three lawmakers voted present.

 

The resolution was introduced by Rep. Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffJudge schedules hearing for ex-Trump aide who refused to appear in inquiryTop Republicans say impeachment resolution is too little too lateEx-Trump official's refusal to testify escalates impeachment tensionsMORE (D-Calif.), a vice chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus.

 

 

“Many American politicians, diplomats and institutions have rightly recognized these atrocities as a genocide, including America's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morgenthau, and Ronald Reagan," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot EngelEliot Lance EngelFormer White House official won't testify, lawyer saysThis week: House to vote on Turkey sanctions billHouse leaders threaten contempt if former White House official defies subpoenaMORE (D-N.Y.) said on the floor ahead of the vote.

 

"Only by shining a light on the darkest parts of our history can we learn not to repeat them and properly acknowledging what occurred is a necessary step in achieving some measure of justice for the victims,” he added.

 

The bill emphasizes the position of the House that U.S. policy will "(1) commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance; (2) reject efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide; and (3) encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the United States role in the humanitarian relief effort, and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity."

 

“Genocides, whenever and wherever they occur, cannot be ignored, whether they took place in the 20th century by the Ottoman Turks or mid-20th century by the Third Reich and in Darfur," Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), a co-chair of the Armenian Caucus who helped lead the efforts on the measure, said on the House floor.

 

The resolution comes amid U.S. tensions with Turkey following Ankara's military incursion into northern Syria after the Trump administration pulled troops from the area earlier this month. Turkey does not recognize the murder of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide.

 

Bilirakis said it is time Congress address the injustices committed by the Ottoman Empire, saying he believes Turkey’s “current actions against our Kurdish allies is extremely concerning and we cannot stand by and let egregious human rights violations happen.”

 

"Today we end a century of international silence that will not be another period of indifference or international ignorance to the lives lost to systematic murder,” he said.

 

The House later passed a bill to place additional sanctions on Turkey on Tuesday in the wake of their incursion against U.S.-allied Kurdish troops.

 

https://thehill.com/...menian-genocide

[Yervant1]

The Turkish government apparatus is in full force denial mode as usual. Your turn is coming from within!

Anadolu Agency, Turkey

Oct 30 2019

 

 

Turkey rejects US resolution on Armenian claims

 

Resolution 'devoid of any historical or legal basis,’ says Foreign Ministry

 

Sena Güler  

 

 

Turkey rejects a resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Armenian claims, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

 

“We reject the resolution H.R. 296 entitled ‘Affirming the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide’ that is adopted today by the U.S. House of Representatives as expressing the sense of the latter,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to 1915 events.

 

Earlier, the House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide, with lawmakers voting 405-11.

 

“The resolution, which has apparently been drafted and issued for domestic consumption, is devoid of any historical or legal basis,” the ministry said.

 

Noting that the resolution is not legally binding and a “meaningless political step,” the ministry said it only addresses to the Armenian lobby and anti-Turkey groups.

 

‘Resolution null and void’

 

 

“Ruined big game w/#OperationPeaceSpring,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also wrote on Twitter following the approval of the resolution.

 

“Those whose projects were frustrated turn to antiquated resolutions. Circles believing that they will take revenge this way are mistaken. This shameful decision of those exploiting history in politics is null&void for our Government&people,” he added.

 

Turkey's position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

 

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

 

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to examine the issue.

 

https://www.aa.com.t...-claims/1630189

 

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

 

What is written in Armenian Genocide Resolution H.Res. 296?

 

 

 

 

 18:09, 29 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The US House Rules Committee has cleared the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res. 296) for vote of the full House of Representatives. For the first time in more than 30 years, the US House of Representatives is set to hold the up-or-down vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) on Tuesday, October 29th.

 

Armenpress presents the full text of the Resolution:

“Affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide.

Whereas the United States has a proud history of recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide, the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, and providing relief to the survivors of the campaign of genocide against Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians;

Whereas the Honorable Henry Morgenthau, United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916, organized and led protests by officials of many countries against what he described as the empire’s “campaign of race extermination”, and was instructed on July 16, 1915, by United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing that the “Department approves your procedure … to stop Armenian persecution”;

Whereas President Woodrow Wilson encouraged the formation of the Near East Relief, chartered by an Act of Congress, which raised $116,000,000 (over $2,500,000,000 in 2019 dollars) between 1915 and 1930, and the Senate adopted resolutions condemning these massacres;

Whereas Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide” in 1944, and who was the earliest proponent of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, invoked the Armenian case as a definitive example of genocide in the 20th century;

Whereas, as displayed in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Adolf Hitler, on ordering his military commanders to attack Poland without provocation in 1939, dismissed objections by saying “[w]ho, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”, setting the stage for the Holocaust;

Whereas the United States has officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, through the United States Government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s Proclamation No. 4838 on April 22, 1981, and by House Joint Resolution 148, adopted on April 8, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247, adopted on September 10, 1984; and

Whereas the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–441) establishes that atrocities prevention represents a United States national interest, and affirms that it is the policy of the United States to pursue a United States Government-wide strategy to identify, prevent, and respond to the risk of atrocities by “strengthening diplomatic response and the effective use of foreign assistance to support appropriate transitional justice measures, including criminal accountability, for past atrocities”: Now, therefore, be it

 

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that it is the policy of the United States to—

(1) commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance;

(2) reject efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide; and

(3) encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the United States role in the humanitarian relief effort, and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity”.

 

 

https://armenpress.a...ys7RJGBHVwKeKy4

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

 

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan salutes US House recognition of Armenian Genocide

 

 

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 08:36, 30 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has commended the US Congress after the House of Representatives voted to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“ I salute the US Congress historic vote recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Resolution 296 is a bold step towards serving truth and historical justice that also offers comfort to millions of descendants of the Armenian Genocide survivors,” he tweeted.

“My heartfelt congratulations to my Armenian compatriots all over the world and admiration to generations of Armenian-Americans, whose selfless activism and perseverance were the driving force and the inspiration behind today’s historic vote. Never again!” he added.

On October 29 the US House of Representatives adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) by a vote of 405 to 11 with 3 voting present.

The Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) establishes, as a matter of U.S. policy, 1) the rejection of Armenian Genocide denial, 2) ongoing official U.S. government recognition and remembrance of this crime, and 3) support for education about the Armenian Genocide in order to help prevent modern-day atrocities. 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.a...6y_F-emcpRjOcUM

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

 

“Senate resolution is next” – Serj Tankian thanks US House for Armenian Genocide recognition

 

 

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 10:05, 30 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian has expressed gratitude to the US House of Representatives for recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

“Thank you to the House of Representatives in the US for properly characterizing US history and the Armenian genocide in the memory of my grandparents and all their relatives who perished. Genocide should never be used for political expediency or to sell a despot more helicopters. This will make more difficult for Turkey to further play the US State Dept on this issue though I’m sure they will try. It is important that there are economic sanctions tied to Turkeys illegal incursion into Syria as well. Senate resolution is next”, Tankian said on Facebook.

On October 29 the US House of Representatives adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) by a vote of 405 to 11 with 3 voting present.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.a...CRH4Nj_Ymi60tW0

[Yervant1]

Finally the US used the Armenian Genocide as a stick and stuck to it!

 

 

Armenpress.am

 

US House passage of Armenian Genocide resolution can have chain reaction worldwide, says expert

 

 

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 10:11, 30 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The US House of Representatives’ recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a “historic and very important” step, Ruben Safrastyan – the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences told ARMENPRESS.

He said this move can have a chain reaction and other countries which haven’t yet recognized it will begin discussing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in their parliaments.

He said it is no secret that the United States has big influence all over the world.

“Here, the important thing is that the US President did not interfere, did not try to halt the process. We had seen that such things happened until now. This means that the American political class has reached consent over this issue. Initially we knew that the Republicans were against this issue entering agenda, then they were unable to stop it, and then they too voted in favor,” Safrastyan said.

Asked why the US government reached the consent at this particular time, Safrastyan said the issue is obviously a rebuke of Turkey’s policies.

“There is great disappointment from Turkey’s policy regarding the Middle Eastern developments among the American political class. Turkey’s actions are viewed as treason in allied relations. I think this is why the American political class had the desire to punish Turkey, and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide became one of these sanctions,” he said.

On October 29 the US House of Representatives adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) by a vote of 405 to 11 with 3 voting present.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.a...JgfB1_1ziAryLRw

 

 

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

 

Members of Parliament salute US House passage of Armenian Genocide resolution

 

 

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 10:37, 30 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Ruling My Step bloc lawmaker Artak Manukyan highlighted the US House recognition of the Armenian Genocide, calling the move a “very important step”.

He saluted the US House passage of H.Res.296 at parliamentary committee debates today in parliament.

“Before starting the debates I would like to salute the adoption of the resolution in the US House of Representatives. This is a very important step, and it must contribute to the internationalization of genocide issues,” Manukyan said.

Vladimir Vardanyan, MP from the same faction who also serves as Chair of the State-Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, said the adoption is perhaps a belated but necessary step by the United States.

On October 29 the US House of Representatives adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) by a vote of 405 to 11 with 3 voting present.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.a...akG2o0joau3xX7U

[onjig]

LAaaaaaaaaavvvvvvv Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee```

[MosJan]

The U.S. has used the Armenian genocide as a political tool. It’s time for that to change.

 

 

Khatchig Mouradian is a lecturer in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies at Columbia University. His book “The Resistance Network: The Armenian Genocide and Humanitarianism in Ottoman Syria during WWI” is forthcoming in 2020.

The Armenian genocide is casting its shadow on the halls of Congress once again this week, as lawmakers in the House of Representatives consider a resolution recognizing the crime. The resolution would acknowledge the uprooting, dispossession and destruction of an entire nation during World War I, encourage public understanding and commemoration of what happened, and reject the denial of genocide.

The measure is a long time coming. Yet, for Armenian American descendants of genocide survivors, it engenders an acrid feeling of deja vu.

Over the past two decades, similar resolutions have been repeatedly introduced and passed committee three times, but have never reached the floor, collapsing under pressure from successive administrations. This has been the case under Bill Clinton in 2000, George W. Bush in 2007 and Barack Obama in 2010.

 

 

https://www.washingt...xWi5ltnn69w_Hfg

[MosJan]

http://medianews.sit...F-O0uuopq2JvOg0

 

 

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

Shine, China

Oct 30 2019

 

 

Armenian deaths genocide

 

AFP

 

The US House of Representatives passed a historic resolution recognizing mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide.

 

 

People visit the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial in the Armenian capital Yerevan yesterday.

 

Armenia rejoiced but Turkey was furious on Wednesday after the US House of Representatives passed a historic resolution recognizing mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide.

 

With tensions already high over Turkey’s assault on Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria, US lawmakers voted 405 to 11 on Tuesday in support of the measure to “commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance.”

 

The move was a first for the US Congress, where similar measures with such direct language have been introduced for decades but never passed.

 

The resolution says that the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 amounted to genocide, a claim recognized by some 30 countries.

 

Turkey strongly denies the accusation of genocide and says that both Armenians and Turks died as a result of World War I. It puts the death toll in the hundreds of thousands.

 

Ankara was swift to condemn the measure, summoning the American ambassador and calling the vote a “meaningless political step.”

 

“This step which was taken is worthless and we do not recognize it,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

 

“A country whose history is full of the stain of genocide and slavery neither has the right to say anything nor to lecture Turkey.”

 

Ties between Washington and NATO member Turkey have been strained by Ankara’s offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, which came after US forces withdrew. The House also passed a measure on Tuesday imposing sanctions on senior Turkish officials involved in the offensive.

 

International recognition of the killings as genocide has long been the top priority of Armenia’s foreign policy, supported by vigorous campaigning by Armenians around the world.

 

https://www.shine.cn...rld/1910314926/

[Yervant1]

NBC News

Oct 30 2019

 

 

Ilhan Omar faces blowback after voting 'present' on Armenian genocide resolution

Armenian advocacy groups expressed dismay that Omar did not back the measure, which overwhelmingly passed the House by a 405-to-11 margin.

 

Oct. 30, 2019, 5:30 PM UTC

By Daniel Arkin

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., faced criticism Wednesday after voting "present" on a House resolution to formally recognize the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as a genocide.

The measure, H.Res.296, passed the chamber by an overwhelming 405-to-11 margin, representing a forceful rebuke to Turkey following the NATO ally's recent incursion against the Kurds along the Turkish-Syrian border. Omar joined Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Az., and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, in voting "present" on the resolution.

In statements and interviews with NBC News, Armenian advocacy groups and political organizations expressed dismay that Omar did not back the measure.

Omar's "votes and actions ... do not represent the best of American or Muslim values," said Van Krikorian, the co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America. "Innocent people were and are being slaughtered, and there is a universal need to defend the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing, not to stand with or defer to the murderers."

Krikorian said his organization would request a meeting with the freshman Democrat to "clarify her views."

In the statement to CNN on Tuesday night, Omar said she believes "accountability for human rights violations—especially ethnic cleansing and genocide—is paramount."

 

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

 

She went on to say those goals "should not be used as a cudgel in a political fight. It should be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics," adding that a "true acknowledgement of historical crimes against humanity" would also include the transatlantic slave trade and mass killings of Native Americans.

Armenian groups and other critics voiced displeasure over that statement, however, with some accusing the congresswoman of parroting Turkish government talking points and effectively punting on what they consider an issue of grave importance.

Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, said he was especially troubled by the reference to "academic consensus," because in his mind the genocide of up to 1.5 million Armenians around World War I is a settled historical fact.

Turkey has long disputed the description of the killings as a genocide, insisting that the death toll has been inflated and the people who died were victims of a civil war.

"It worries us," Hamparian said in a phone interview, referring to Omar's statement and its implications. "It reminds us of talking points from Ankara."

The Armenian Council of America, a California-based group, went even further, accusing Omar of using "official genocide denialist rhetoric to justify her silence" and suggesting that the lawmaker, who regularly speaks out on issues of human rights, was behaving hypocritically in this case.

Omar also faced blowback from Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter, a Swiss-born Turkish activist who has been vocal in his criticisms of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Omar's local newspaper, the Star Tribune, published an article Wednesday morning that quoted some of her constituents in the Minneapolis and Twin Cities area criticizing her for the "present" vote.

Michele Byfield Angell, the parish council chair at St. Sahag Armenian Church in St. Paul, told the newspaper that she wished Omar had approved the resolution."

"If [she] is going to be representing our community here, she should hear us," Angell was quoted as saying. "If she’s voting present as acknowledging it but not doing anything about it, then what is she doing?"

https://www.nbcnews....lution-n1073991

[Yervant1]

ErDOGan's pet!

Jewish Press

Oct 30 2019

 

 

Erdogan Ally Ilhan Omar Abstains on Armenian Genocide Resolution

 

By David Israel

 

Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar meets with President Erdogan in New York, September 18, 2017

 

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 405-11, with three abstaining, to recognize as genocide the 1914 to 1923 Turkish mass murder of 1.5 million Armenians.

The eleven who voted against the resolution were all Republicans: 4 from Indiana, 2 each from North Carolina and Texas, and one each from Alabama, Maryland, and Oklahoma. The three who voted “present” were a Republican from Arizona, a Democrat from Texas, and Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota.

There are many reasons politicians vote in a surprising fashion. In the case of the Armenian genocide, the Turkish government has been waging war on these resolutions across the western world for decades. Unlike Germany, which has fully embraced history’s verdict on its responsibility for the Jewish Holocaust, the Turks are invested in wiping out the memory of their mass murders. The Turks use lobbying, political pressure, bribery, economic threats – so someone should check why 11 Republicans refused on Tuesday to embrace the Armenian genocide resolution.

But the abstention vote of Rep. Ilhan Omar stands out because she has gone into considerable length to justify it, and because, not surprisingly, she’s good friends with Turkish president and Sultan wannabe Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Indeed, some rightwing news sources have dubbed her a Turkish agent.

For the record, President Trump’s National Security Advisor and convicted felon Michael Flynn also admitted to being a Turkish foreign agent.

Omar said on Tuesday, mixing chutzpa with self-righteousness after her shameful vote, that genocide “should not be used as cudgel in a political fight.”

She explained, in her special, terrifying dialect of newspeek: “I believe accountability for human rights violations – especially ethnic cleansing and genocide – is paramount. But accountability and recognition of genocide should not be used as cudgel in a political fight. It should be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics.”

She also preached: “A true acknowledgement of historical crimes against humanity must include both the heinous genocides of the 20th century, along with earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide, which took the lives of hundreds of millions of indigenous people in this country.”

So, here’s a taste of what the academics are saying:

The Armenian Genocide is considered to have been the first modern genocide, because, like the Jewish Holocaust, it was planned and executed by the full power of the state.

The official starting date of the Armenian Holocaust is April 24, 1915, when the Turks rounded up, arrested, and deported from Istanbul an estimated 270 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders to the Ankara area in the hinterland, where the majority of them were executed.

The genocide proceeded in two phases: the wholesale murder of able-bodied Armenian men in massacres; followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm on death marches into the Syrian desert, without food and water, where they were subjected to rape and massacres.

The Armenian genocide featured mass burning, mass drowning, and killings by doctors – serving as a preview of the 1939-1945 Holocaust. There is no consensus on exactly how many Armenians were murdered, but there is a general agreement among western historians that between 800,000 and 1,500,000 perished.

As of 2019, 32 countries (including, this week, the US) have acknowledged the Armenian Holocaust perpetrated by the Turks, including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. 49 of the 50 US states have recognized the Holocaust – only Mississippi has not, but the full Mississippi House delegation (3 Republicans and 1 Democrat) voted Yea on Tuesday’s resolution.

Speaking of votes and acknowledgement, Omar is the only member of “The Squad” who did not support the genocide vote. Say what you will about Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – they supported the resolution.

According to Conservative Review, Rep. Omar on Sept. 18, 2017 met with Erdogan in New York City, where he attended the UN General Assembly. In a since-deleted interview with Tusmo Times, a local newspaper serving the Somali American community in Minnesota, Omar reportedly said that she met with Erdogan for about an hour and they discussed issues concerning Omar’s native Somalia and Somalis living in Minnesota.

Remember Omar’s notorious “Benjamins” tweet, and her other tweet, about the dual loyalties of American Jews? Isn’t this delicious?

Omar said she discussed with Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials investment and trade between Turkey and Somalia, and the meeting ended with Erdogan asking Omar to voice her support for Turkey.

Now you know why the representative from Minnesota voted the way she did.

It was the Benjamins, baby.

https://www.jewishpr...rjI2ySVJUdDFbf4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yervant1]

Panorama, Armenia

Oct 30 2019

 

 

Politics 16:05 30/10/2019 Armenia

Paylan: Only Turkish parliament can heal Armenian people's wounds

Istanbul-Armenian MP Garo Paylan representing the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has addressed the US House’s passage of a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

In a tweet on Wednesday Paylan stressed that after dozens of parliaments the US House voted overwhelmingly to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“Our grief has become the subject of discussions in others parliaments, since my country has been denying the Armenian people’s Medz Yeghern for 105 years,” the MP tweeted. “The only parliament that is able to heal the Armenian people’s wounds is the Turkish Majlis which I am a member of,” he stressed. 

https://www.panorama...liament/2189191

[Yervant1]

Let's see if the senate follows suit quickly or will wait another 100 years to do so!

 

 

Armenpress.am

 

Senate should recognize the Armenian Genocide now - US Senators

 

 

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 20:04, 30 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren commented on the US House passage of the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

“Last night's overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives—405 to 11—to recognize the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire is long overdue. It's time for the Senate to do the same. Acknowledging history is the first step towards not repeating it”, Senator Chris Van Hollen representing Maryland said on Twitter.

In her turn Elizabeth Warren representing Massachusetts said on Twitter: “I join the Armenian American community in MA and the rest of the Armenian diaspora in celebrating the House passage of a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. I cosponsored S.Res.150 to recognize this tragedy. The Senate should pass it now”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

 

https://armenpress.a...dboKb879wyHZngM

 

 

[Yervant1]

The Star Democrat, MD

Oct 31 2019

 

 

LETTER TO EDITOR

 

Harris and the Armenian Genocide

 

 

In 2012, I had the privilege of touring eastern Turkey, including its city of Bitlis, from where my mother’s family had emigrated in 1905 because of Turkish persecution of Armenians. My grandfather was born in Bitlis, and I wanted to walk the streets he had walked as a child.

 

In 1915, Ottoman Turks began a systematic elimination of Armenians, and when U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau protested to Talaat Pasha, one of the Empire’s three leaders, he said, “It is no use for you to argue ... We have already disposed of three quarters of the Armenians; there are none at all left in Bitlis, Van and Erzeroum.” Morgenthau then received a request from Talaat as recorded in his book, Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story, “I wish that you would get the American life insurance companies to send us a complete list of their Armenian policy holders. They are practically all dead now and have left no heirs to collect the money. It of course all escheats to the State. The Government is the beneficiary now. Will you do so?”

 

The Saroyans who arrived at Ellis Island driven by my great-grandmother Lucintak were among the lucky ones. Those relatives who remained disappeared amidst the blood that ran down the streets of Bitlis I walked on 100 years later.

 

For the past century, geopolitical politics and heavy lobbying by the Turkish government has prevented efforts begun by Ambassador Morgenthau to have the U.S. recognize the elimination of more than 1.5 million Armenians. It is historic, therefore, that the House of Representatives approved a resolution on Oct. 29 commemorating the Armenian genocide. Yet it is puzzling that while 405 representatives — including GOP leadership members Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Whip Steve Scalise and Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes — all voted in favor of the resolution, our congressman, Rep. Andy Harris, was one of 11 toeing the Turkish line. Perhaps his next step will be to finally get the list of genocide victim policy holders to the Turkish government so that President Erdogan can begin collection.

 

JEFF McGUINESS

St. Michaels

 

 https://www.stardem....fcb9fa431e.html

[Yervant1]

US Resolution 296, Cause of Joy or Skepticism?

Resolution 296, a remarkable achievement. The overwhelmingly positive vote is a statement in and of itself.  Held in the United Stated House of Representatives on October 29, 2019, saw —405 for and 11 against.
 
What is the significance of the House passing this Resolution? What factors must we consider when digesting this consequential vote? The preamble to this “Resolution Affirming the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide” acknowledges previous, long, official US engagement with the Genocide and goes on to make three specific commitments:
 

1. Commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance;
2. Reject efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide; and
3. Encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the United States role in the humanitarian relief effort, and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity.

 
37 years of careful academic work of at the Zoryan Institute, documenting, analyzing, publishing, and teaching about the incontestability of the Armenian Genocide, we recognize that this Resolution is an important step towards bringing the United States on the right side of history. Yet, due to all the past disappointments in this regard, there is some reason for skepticism.
 
The overt political leverage, and aggressive behind-the-scenes influence of Turkey have been very effective up to now. So why did the House of Representatives pass such a Resolution at this time? When we know, as suggested by Samantha Power, in her new book, The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir, that candidate Obama promised to officially recognize the Genocide in 2008, but once president, was constrained from doing so by his cadre of advisors.
 
It has been suggested that the House vote is a reaction to Turkey’s recent assault on the Kurds in northern Syria, allies of the United States fighting ISIS. Moreover, could the passing of the Resolution be a message to President Trump, after his decision to bow down to Turkey and pull United States forces out of Syria, betraying the Kurds.
 
For one, could it be a slap on the wrist for Turkey, a NATO ally, over it’s $2 billion USD agreement with Russia for the delivery of the S-400 air defence system units in 2017. Or further, could it be a response to Turkey’s progression with its relationship with Russia through the movement of troops and trade? Lastly, despite displeasure in the legislative body from both parties, is it because President Trump did not hold the economic sanctions placed on Turkey for very long?
 
The fate of the Resolution will become clearer as it faces a vote in the Senate as S. Res. 150, and the subsequent confirmation by President Trump. The senate resolution has 20 co-sponsors, 18 Democrat and 2 Republican. These numbers do not suggest bi-partisan support, especially considering Republicans are a majority in the Senate. One can expect that Turkey will pull out all the stops as it threatens, pressures, and cajoles the US government and individual politicians and diplomats, with the assistance of paid lobbyists, as it has successfully done so often in the past. (Turkey is reported to have spent nearly $12 million on lobbying American officials during the first two years of the Trump presidency. Samantha Power, “A Belated Recognition of Genocide by the House,” The New York Times, Oct. 29, 2019.)
 
It is our hope that the Senate will follow suit when considering this Resolution, and act in the same overwhelmingly positive manner. Further, we hope our skepticism will prove to be misplaced.
 
The recognition of the  Armenian Genocide by the Senate would first and foremost stand for the truth, so clearly declared in July 1915 by Henry Morgenthau, the then representative of the State Department as the American Ambassador, when he wrote, “… from harrowing reports of eye witnesses it appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion” (Morgenthau, Henry, Jul. 16, 1915. W.H. Anderson, State Department).
 
This would, amongst other things, represent a step towards reconciliation with its own citizens, especially those of Armenian extraction, for whom neglect and/or denial of the Genocide has been extremely painful. Further, for the descendants of the survivors whose trauma and pain has been intergenerational, fuelled by continued neglect and/or denial. It is an ethical and moral issue, and political expediency should never be more important to Americans than upholding the truth. Last but not least, recognising the Armenian Genocide can only bring hope to humanity, that we are able to challenge the forces that commit such atrocities and hopefully be able to help prevent its occurrence, for they will know their acts will not denied.

[Yervant1]

AHVAL News

Nov 2 2019

 

 

Turkey may face reparation demands after U.S. recognises Armenian genocide - Turkish politician

 

2019-11-02

Armenians in the United States may seek a reparations ruling after the U.S. House of Representatives’ on Tuesday voted in favour of recognising the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire a century ago as genocide, a veteran Turkish politician said. 

The Armenian plaintiffs could seek to appeal against a previous ruling by a California court before the deadline on Nov. 9 after last Tuesday’s House ruling, said Cemil Çiçek, former speaker of the Turkish parliament and current member of Turkish presidency’s Higher Advisory Board.

The House vote on Tuesday came amid bipartisan anger in Congress over the Turkish offensive in northeast Syria against Syrian Kurdish forces that fought the Islamic State alongide U.S. forces.

Çiçek told Ahmet Taşgetiren, a columnist for Karar newspaper, that the U.S. Congress’ move might have wider repercussions. 

“Armenians of Turkish origin have been filing reparation cases against Turkey for a while,” Taşgetiren quoted Çiçek as saying on Friday. 

“The latest decision of the U.S. House of Representatives’ on genocide in one way has fulfilled the demands of the Armenians in the political dimension. Moreover, the number of votes in favour (405 to 11) could encourage Armenians. The courts from now on might not justify their decisions by saying the matter should be left to politics,” he said.

Çiçek was referring to a decision of the United States Court of Appeals on Aug. 9 to deny the appeal of two lawsuits brought by several Armenian-Americans demanding compensation from the Republic of Turkey and two of its banks for confiscating their properties shortly after the period when the Armenian genocide took place. The decision of the court can be appealed until Nov. 9, the politician said.

The first lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Alex Bakalian, Anais Haroutunian, and Rita Mahdessian seeking $65 million from Turkey’s central bank and state-owned Ziraat Bank. The second lawsuit was filed by David Davoyan and Hrayr Turabian against the Republic of Turkey, the Central Bank of Turkey, and Ziraat Bank.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in 2013 dismissed the two lawsuits declaring that “under the political question doctrine which says certain questions—in this case, determining whether Turkey’s actions were genocide—should be handled by the executive branch, not the courts.” 

The court in August rejected the appeal against its previous decision, saying that the two Armenian lawsuits were time-barred.

“The Armenians right now may seek to ensure a ruling from the higher court in favour of reparations by thinking that the current climate in the United States right now can have results to their advantage,” Çiçek said. “Such a reparations decision can create problems for Turkey which it might struggle to overcome for 100 years,” he said. 

https://ahvalnews.co...enocide-turkish

[MosJan]

 

 

Zartonk Media
2 hrs ·
BREAKING NEWS: State Department Opposes Turkey Sanctions, Genocide Resolution.
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An unnamed state department official has announced that, the Trump Administration is in opposition to the Turkey sanctions (H.R.4695) and the ‪Armenian‬ ‪Genocide‬ Resolution (S.Res.150), arguing that the two initiatives risk further straining relations with a key NATO ally, a senior State Department official said.
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The administration is concerned that the sanctions -- passed 403-16 in the House last week in response to the Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria -- will tie its hands and cut off options to resolve U.S. concerns about Turkey’s actions, said the official, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. The official wouldn’t say whether President Donald Trump intends to veto the bill.
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The measure, H.R. 4695, would sanction senior Turkish officials and prohibit them from entering the U.S. It would also bar the transfer of U.S. defense materiel to Turkey for use in Syria, and it would require the Pentagon and State Department to submit plans to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State.
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House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat, said during debate on the measure that Trump gave Erdogan “the green light to launch a military invasion of northern Syria” that resulted in “slaughtering our Syrian Kurdish partners who fought alongside the United States” against Islamic State. The administration has denied that Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces gave a go-ahead signal to Ankara.
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The same day the House passed the sanctions bill, it also approved a resolution condemning the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians early in the last century by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of the Republic of Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government vehemently opposed the resolution and summoned U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield to express its disapproval.
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According to the administration official, the decision to pass the genocide resolution just as the House was condemning Turkey over the Syria incursion is unfortunate timing and may result in legislation that’s seen as punitive rather than principled. The Trump White House had previously held off making statements about the initiatives, but past administrations had been similarly wary of genocide resolutions, arguing it would only impede reconciliation. Turkey has warned for years that such resolutions could lead to a breakdown in relations.
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The official said the U.S. position hadn’t changed, and it mourns the 1.5 million Armenians deported and massacred at the end of the Ottoman Empire. The U.S. already commemorates Meds Yeghern, what it calls one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century, and welcomes efforts by Armenia and Turkey to reckon with their history, the official said.
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H/T Bloomberg