TURKS SHOCKED AS CLOSE TO MAJORITY IN CONGRESS COSPONSORS
GENOCIDE BILL
02-07-2007 14:35:00 | USA | Articles and Analyses
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The news last week, that the number of cosponsors of the
congressional Armenian Genocide resolution reached 200, sent
shudders throughout the Turkish world. The Turkish government
and its compliant mass media would probably get even more
hysterical in the coming days as the number of House members
supporting the resolution will reach for the first time the
magical number of 218 -- the majority of the House of
Representatives. In an article titled, "Risk rising for
genocide bill's passage in U.S. Congress," published in the
June 22 issue of the Turkish Daily News, journalist Umit
Enginsoy wrote: "The chances" of the approval of the Armenian
Genocide resolution "are rising dangerously after pro-Armenian
groups secured the backing of 200 lawmakers in the 435-member
chamber of Congress. This is a record figure ever obtained by
the Armenians and is rapidly approaching 218...¯. Turkish
efforts to prevent the bill's passage first in the Foreign
Affairs committee and then on the House floor have so far been
successful but the number of the measure's backers is increasing
in a threatening way and it may only be a matter of weeks before
the Armenians manage to obtain the majority figure of 218,
analysts said."
Enginsoy then proceeded to present an accurate estimation
of the prospects for the approval of the resolution as follows:
"The figure of 218 lawmakers supporting the genocide measure's
passage will mean a psychological threshold. If or when the
Armenians reach that number, Speaker Pelosi herself will likely
be compelled to obey the will of the majority and bring the
resolution to a floor vote, analysts said...¯. At this pace, the
resolution may reach the House floor agenda any time after early
September, when Congress returns to work after summer recess..¯.
Turkish officials and their lobbyists are now working to prevent
other lawmakers from backing the genocide bill and urging some
House members to withdraw their signatures from the list of
supporters. But so far such efforts could not stop the Armenians
reaching the 200 figure."
Enginsoy's article would have been even more alarming had
he known that on the day his report was published, nine
additional Congressmen would cosponsor the resolution, bringing
the total number of its supporters to 209 -- just nine short of
the required 218. Of course, "the analysts" that Enginsoy
consulted had grossly misjudged the rapid increase of the bill's
backers, when he reported that it would take several weeks for
the number of cosponsors to reach 218. It now appears that the
magic threshold would be reached within a matter of days, not
weeks! In sharp contrast to Erginsoy's straightforward
reporting, prominent Turkish commentator Mehmet Ali Birand tried
to deceive his readers rather than urging them face up to the
truth of the Armenian Genocide. In an article titled,
"Armenians work, we sleep," published in the June 21 issue of
the Turkish Daily News, Birand blamed Turkish officials for
doing nothing to block the congressional resolution. He wrote:
"I have repeated this theme for years. I have even used harsher
words to make it more effective. But not a word. Nobody cares.
We are in such ignorance that we knowingly lie to ourselves. I
refer to the sleepwalking state of Turkey in the face of the
activities of the Armenian lobby=80¯. Turkey is in a haze. There
is neither any activity nor a change of policy except for
persuasion talks with the House members. As Turkey continues to
sleepwalk, Armenians make it more decisive. Turkey's reputation
is being besmirched. We can continue settling for trying to
convince. Once it is too late, we should not knock on the White
House door in vain. We should not try to shut down the Incirlik
Air Base and cut off relations. We should quit threatening
Washington, as it will do no good. We should get ready for what
is to come in September."
In an attempt to look at the future, Birand observed: "What
will happen if the resolution does become a law? The decision by
the U.S. House of Representatives will serve as a precedent. It
will encourage the parliaments of other countries. The number of
parliaments accepting genocide claims will increase. Then it
will be time to pressure the governments. And we can keep on
sleeping." Birand is flat wrong in accusing Turkish leaders of
sleepwalking. On the contrary, Ankara officials have done
everything in their power to block the Armenian Genocide bill --
paying millions of dollars to hire powerful American lobbying
firms; dispatching delegations of parliamentarians and
high-ranking political and military leaders to Washington; and
threatening to undermine the American war effort in Iraq by
blocking access to military bases in Turkey and canceling
multi-billion dollar arms purchases from the United States. A
more honest analyst would have urged Turkish leaders to refrain
from lying and acknowledge the fact of the Armenian Genocide. By
taking such a step, Turkey would save itself much embarrassment,
avoid wasting millions of dollars on lobbying and acquire
political mileage and respectability in the international
community.