Sponsors of a long-debated congressional resolution to officially recognize the Armenian genocide cleared a key hurdle by a one-vote margin Thursday, but face a tough battle ahead to bring the measure before the House.Well, there's something to be said about righting wrongs (or at least acknowledging them), even if they've long since passed. And it takes some guts to do that when there is potential detriment to one's political or economic standing today.
The resolution passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee 23 to 22 over opposition from members of both parties who warned it could damage U.S. relations with Turkey, an important ally.
The Turkish government reacted immediately, recalling its ambassador, Namik Tan, in protest, and warning that the resolution's adoption "could adversely affect our cooperation." The United States has been seeking Turkey's support for new sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program.
Panel Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) pressed for the vote, even after receiving a call from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressing concern it could "impede progress on normalization of relations" between Turkey and Armenia, according to an administration spokesman.
But Berman said that the United States, as a leader in promoting human rights, had a "moral responsibility" to pass the resolution. "Perhaps there will be consequences. . . . But I believe that Turkey values its relations with the United States as much as we value our relations with Turkey."
The vote came in a packed meeting attended by three elderly genocide survivors, who support the measure. Pointing to the survivors -- ages 97, 98 and 105 -- Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.) said, "They're here for justice. How long can they wait?"
Now if only Uncle Sam and the US Congress could recognize genocide happening today. Maybe they'll pass a meaningless resolution on North Korea in the year 2106.
Dude, where did your sidewiki comment go?
ReplyDeleteI like the one below. It makes me laugh when I feel low. Ive edited the name out for privacy reasons.
Leading
WHAT THIS BLOG IS
The XXXXXXXX is a blog where people come to talk about the different kinds of Asian penis and why white guys in Korea are so bitter. It’s run by XXXXXXXX, an off-line employee of VANK and a 12-year-resident of Itaewon, the nicest part of Korea adjacent to a US military base.
The blog represents the author's own prejudiced understanding of Korean issues while also serving to promote the existing stereotypes about the country and people who live there.
While there are only occasionally risque photo's of Asian women, not once has he ever posted photos of his own wife, although copies are circulated surreptitiously amongst blog commenters by email.
WHAT THIS BLOG IS NOT
This blog is NOT representative leading 5 blog identity of Korea.
ABOUT XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX (a.k.a. me, or The XXXXXX) is a 34-year-old (as of 2009) employee of VANK, the representative leading top-5 information agency of Korea, which is proud 5000 year history.
A native sycophant and a graduate of XXXXXXXX University, XXXXXX has worn Hanbok since wearing a grass-skirt after first arriving in Korea, working mostly as an English teacher, including stints as a pedophile, drug dealer and tank driver.
When he’s not at work, XXXXXXX can usually be found dressed like a freak in XXXXXXXX-dong taking photos of the same building over and over again.
I guess you didn't see this on "60 Minutes": Patriarch Bartholomew Feels "Crucified"
ReplyDeleteLeader of 300 Million Orthodox Christians Talks to 60 Minutes About The Hardships He And His Followers Face in Turkey
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/17/60minutes/main5990390.shtml It seems that the genocide in Turkey is still ongoing as soon a major religion will be wiped off the face of the Earth because of them and their current policy.
Inseoulent wrote:
ReplyDeleteDude, where did your sidewiki comment go?
I have my "Who is Kushibo?" thing on the right. Were you talking about something else?
And where the hell did you get that one? And is the second one supposed to be a swipe (an inaccurate and unfair swipe, I might add) at The Marmot? My clues being wearing a hanbok and taking pictures of buildings, and not much else.
John from Taejŏn wrote:
ReplyDeleteI guess you didn't see this on "60 Minutes"
No, I didn't, but when I get a chance, I'd like to see it. I hope I didn't sound like I was being dismissive, because I wasn't. I think recognizing this kind of thing is important, and insofar as this is happening again, it should be stopped. What the US can do, however, is somewhat limited, unfortunately.
My interest in the Armenian situation, beyond it being a "recent" but largely ignored historic atrocity (like the Irish potato famine), is the parallels to American treatment of Japanese-Americans, Japanese treatment of Koreans and other Asians, and North Korean treatment of its people today.