USA Turkish Times - Turkey stops US Senate measure, for now

Turkey stops US Senate measure, for now

Acting on concerns by Ankara and the Washington administration over a reference to the "Armenian genocide" in a proposed congressional resolution on Turkey, a senior Republican senator has moved to temporarily stop the passage at a Senate panel of themeasure, which urges the Turks, among other things, to establish normal relations with Armenia. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled on Tuesday to vote on the resolution introduced by Sen. Joe Biden, the committee's Democratic chairman. However, after opposition by Richard Lugar, the panel's ranking Republican senator, it was delayed for at least two weeks.

The non-binding measure condemns Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's murder and calls on Turkey to abolish a penal code article blamed for restricting freedom of expression and to launch diplomatic, political and trade ties with Armenia. Turkey indeed prefers if the resolution does not pass the Senate at all, but is particularly concerned over a reference to the Armenian genocide in the measure's background section. Ankara fears that a Senate approval of the original text may act as a precedent for future congressional action.

Although President George W. Bush's administration, which has strongly condemned Dink's assassination, would like to see Turkey repeal the Turkish Penal Code's (TCK) controversial Article 301 and set up good relations with Armenia, it also shares Ankara's worries over the resolution's reference to the Armenian genocide. Therefore, the administration is seeking to persuade the panel's senators to drop that reference, diplomats said. As a result, Sen Lugar, who is generally known for his support for Turkey, raised an objection to the resolution's language when the measure came to the Tuesday vote. According to committee rules, Biden said that the vote would be delayed until the panel's next business meeting, which may take place in two or three weeks' time. Lugar and Biden are expected to sit together and seek to agree on a joint text before that gathering. The measure, if passed by the panel, will move to the Senate floor.

Turkish diplomats were apparently relieved by the temporary delay. "We really appreciate Sen. Lugar's very responsible move," said one diplomat. U.S. Armenians voiced dismay over the delay, but said they would continue to actively pursue the original resolution's passage. "We are troubled that Senator Lugar – apparently acting at the request of the administration – has delayed the U.S. Senate's tribute to the life and memory of Hrant Dink," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), according to an ANCA statement. "We look forward to the panel, at the next opportunity, rejecting any efforts to block or water down this measure, and passing it in the form it was introduced," he said."It is unfortunate that the committee deferred action on this important resolution," said Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to ANCA.

Dink, editor of the Turkish-Armenian daily Agos, was shot dead in front of his office in Istanbul on Jan. 19. A teenager, who has confessed to killing Dink, and a group of ultranationalists have been arrested for the crime. Dink received a suspended six-month sentence under Article 301 in 2005 for insulting "Turkish identity." Turkey's government says it is working to amend Article 301, but that the legislation will not be abolished altogether. Turkey officially recognized Armenia when the latter gained its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. But Ankara refuses to establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan and open the border, saying Armenia has been keeping the Nagorno-Karabakh region inside Azerbaijan and another 20 percent of Azeri territory under its occupation.

The most important Armenian-related resolution pending in Congress is a measure introduced in the House of Representatives in late January, calling on the recognition of World War I-era killings of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as genocide. It may enter the House agenda in late March or April.

ÜMİT ENGİNSOY
WASHINGTON - Turkish Daily News

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