US House Foreign Affairs Committee decision – a message to Turkey

March 5, 2010 - 16:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Yesterday’s vote disproved opinion of some experts who maintained that Armenia-Turkey rapprochement hampers the process of international recognition of Genocide, said the chairman of RA NA committee on science, education, culture, youth and sports affairs Artak Davtyan.

Commenting on US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passage of Genocide resolution, he noted that Turkey might use the situation to drag out Protocols ratification. “US House Foreign Affairs Committee decision is a message to Turkey,” he emphasized, adding that Turkey can’t become a democratic state until it comes to terms with its past.

He didn’t rule out the possibility of resolution being discussed at US Congress. “As a democratic state and protector of human rights, US must recognize the Armenian Genocide,” Davtyan stressed, venturing a supposition that the resolution can be accepted in some 2 years.

On March 4, US House Foreign Affairs Committee's passed a resolution recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The resolution was passed by a vote of 23-22.

The Armenian Genocide resolution

The resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.252) was formally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich (R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill). On March 4, 2010 it was adopted with a 22-21 vote by the House Committee on Foreign Relations. A similar resolution was introduced in the Senate.