On the eve of a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on a resolution calling for formal recognition of the World War I-era killings of Armenians as 'genocide,' lobbying Turkish lawmakers still think the motion will fail to get an endorsement. A deputy from the opposition ranks, however, says the protocols between Turkey and Armenia are already dead.
Turkish lawmakers who are in Washington D.C. to lobby against the upcoming Armenian "genocide" resolution remain hopeful a U.S. House Committee will not give its endorsement to the motion Thursday.The House committee is scheduled to vote on the resolution urging President Barack Obama to ensure U.S. policy formally refers to the killings of Ottoman Armenians during World War I as “genocide.” If the bill passes the committee, it will then be prepared for a full legislative vote.
Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission head Murat Mercan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that he still sees some positive signals in Washington, making him hopeful ahead of the vote.
He said 24 House representatives had signed a letter urging committee head Howard Berman not to pass the resolution.
Mercan said the letter argues a successful passage would be detrimental to both Turkish-American and Turkish-Armenian relationships.
The Turkish deputy further said a statement released by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, or JINSA, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, opposing the resolution was a piece of good news for Turkey.
Last-minute lobbying
Turkish Parliament U.S. Caucus head Suat Kınıklıoğlu echoed Mercan, saying the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia was continuing despite the pending resolution from the committee.
When asked whether it was effective to visit Washington to lobby at the last minute, Kınıkoğlu said last-minute lobbying could be more effective than generally expected.
“Especially in the U.S. Congress, the members of congress change their minds many times at the very last minute. And we know that there are still committee members who have not made a clear decision over the issue. So we [still] have hope,” he told the Daily News.
“The vote will be a close call. Both Turkey and Armenia intensified their efforts. Every minute was important today [Wednesday]. We tried to contact the House representatives we have not been able to reach so far through the representatives we have already spoken with,” Kınıkoğlu added.
When asked whether the resolution could be a tool for the U.S. administration to pressure Turkey on the ratification of the diplomatic protocols signed by the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers in October, Kınıkoğlu agreed such there was such a possibility.
“Americans are not helping the normalization process with this attitude or this resolution. Turkey wants regional peace in the Caucasus region and the United States could have a great help in this. However, we are wasting time with these resolutions instead of working towards peace in the region,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source from the Turkish Embassy in Washington said the Turkish delegation's lobbying efforts continued throughout Wednesday. The same source also added that the vote will a closer call than expected and said: “It will be a tense hearing.”
‘Protocols dead’
Many Turkish officials, meanwhile, are increasingly pessimistic on the future of the protocols. Şükrü Elekdağ, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, believes the normalization process is “effectively dead.”
Elekdağ said the Armenian Constitutional Court’s decision linking the protocols to the country’s declaration of independence “fundamentally changed the spirit of the protocols.”
The ruling refers to Paragraph 11 of the Armenian Declaration of Independence which states, “The Republic of Armenia stands in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.”
Elekdağ said an article of the Armenian constitution suggests decisions made by the Armenian court are final and cannot be disputed. “Therefore, Armenia possesses a position that is irreversible now, and America has vowed that since Armenia cannot reverse its decision, we should utilize the pressure on Turkey to accept it.”
Kınıklıoğlu, however, still believes the normalization process will continue. “And in terms of Armenia withdrawing from Karabakh, this would definitely be welcoming news and a good reason to make progress for ratifying the protocols,” he said, referring to a disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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