Harman flip-flops on Armenian genocide resolution
In the long, unhappy life of the congressional resolution to officially recognize and commemorate the Armenian genocide, there have been many moments (from the Armenian point of view, which I broadly share) of parliamentary treachery -- then-House speaker Dennis Hastert withdrawing the resolution at the last minute in 2000, both presidents George Bush vowing as candidates to officially recognize the genocide then dropping the pledge once in the White House, and so on.
Now we can add to that list ... hawkish South Bay Democrat Jane Harman! Even though Harman is one the bill's 226 co-sponsors, she nonetheless wrote a letter to House Foreign Relations Committee Chair Tom Lantos Wednesday urging him to withdraw it from consideration, and announcing that she will oppose the very resolution she affixed her name to. Excerpt:
My father was a refugee to the United States from Nazi Germany. I understand the consquences of ethnic and racial persecution, and am comitted to fighting and condemning acts of genocide wherever they occur. That is why I agreed to cosponsor H. Res. 106. I am convinced that a terrible crime was committed against the Armenian people. That crime should be recognized and condemned.
However, following a visit to Turkey earlier this year that included meetings with Prime Minister Erdogan, the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch and colleagues of murdered journalist Hrant Dink, I have great concern that this is the wrong time for the Congress to consider this measure.
Due to my security focus in the House, I have made 18 trips to the Middle East region over the past 14 years and am persuaded that Turkey plays a critically important role in moderating extremist forces there. Given the nature of the threat, I believe it is imperative to nurture that role -- however valid from the historical perspective, we should avoid taking steps that would embarrass or isolate the Turkish leadership.
In other words, the Turks are wrong, but they're just too important to piss off. Jane'll fight tomorrow's genocide, but would rather not talk about yesterday's. Still, the Foreign Affairs Committee has scheduled a vote for next Wednesday, and Democrats are predicting the bill will pass the House.
I wrote about the bizarre politics of saying "genocide" back in April.
This latest example of the powerful and immoral Turkish Lobby only amplifies the notion that justice must prevail. First it was Dennis Haster, then it was Dick Gephart, and now we have Jane Harman -- apply enough pressure, offer money or other "gifts" and for the right price some politicians will sell their souls. Bribery and prostitution go hand-in-hand, and if Jane Harman thinks her constituents won't remember her folly when the re-election time will come, she's gravely mistaken.
Ben Sul
Los Angeles, CA
Posted by: Ben Sul | October 05, 2007 at 06:28 PM
I don't think it's a good political move for her, she must be getting paid top dollars by the Turkish lobby. She now joins the very small crew of deniers that are crawling like cockroaches in CA.
Posted by: Artin Vetekian | October 05, 2007 at 06:30 PM
In my view, all the members of congress/senate and the president who are against recognizing the history of Armenian Genocide are in the same boat as the president of Iran and his views about the holocaust. How can we Americans criticize the president of Iran for his remarks when our own president is playing realpolitiks with another genocide?
Posted by: Chris | October 05, 2007 at 06:34 PM
One more amoral politician so what's new. politics is full of them. but moral people will not forget her treachery and most other republicans when it's time for their reelection.
Posted by: John | October 05, 2007 at 07:10 PM
So basically they know it was a Genocide? but they refuse to acknowledge it because of there ally? it definitely is justified? that Turkeys president makes absurd threats against the US concerning the Armenian Genocide resolution but it is not important that almost 1 million Armenians in the USA want them to recognize it backed up by many references like the person who invented the word 'genocide', and many other dedicated historians or writers like Robert Fisk. It is a fact and should be recognized a 'friend' should not stop this. Also a ally does not make threats.
Posted by: Narek | October 05, 2007 at 07:41 PM
I agree with Jane Harman! it is wrong time for the Congress to consider this measure! United States waited more than 90 years to discuss the atrocities against the Armenians by American (good) friends, Turkey.
Turkey used the same tactic against France when the Genocide resolution was adopted by French Parliament last year. Guess what! The French legislators were more courageous than Americans like Harman not bowing to Turkish threat..
Posted by: Harry Istepanian | October 06, 2007 at 03:51 AM
Janes Harman's twisted views on the Armenian genocide represent
the typical American foreign policy attitude, from the end of World War II, to nowadays Blackwater USA, on issues of human rights, and global crimes and mayhem. If they have been committed by our own allies [our own S.O.B's in un-diplomatic parlance] they are OK. They are just unortunate events of an era of turmoil, or of the era of Cold War when brutish U.S. allies, such as Augusto Pinochet, Alfredo Stroenner, Papa Doc Duvalier, Anastasio Somoza, Ferdinald Markos, Mobutu Sese Seko, Jorge Videla, Rios Mont, Samuel Doe, and on our subject Turkey, itself, committed crimes with impunity because it served our own purpose.
Turkey has been sensored for decades by the European Union for for torture, deaths and prosecution of its own people. It is a felony in Turkey to just utter a world that is insulting to the Turkish State, and a famous Armenian scholar who has written about the genocide has been gunned down. Plus, the harsh prosecution, torture, and imprisonment of many Kourdish activists is a matter of record at the U.N. and the European Court of Human Rights in Stramburg, France.
Turkey has failed for more than twenty years to become a member of the Europen Union -despite the full U.S. backing- because it is a repressive state. Even our new strong ally, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, made it clear before his election that Turkey doesn't belong to the European Union.
Jane Harman is a hypocrite if she mention that her father came from
Nazi Germany, and therefore she is somebody from a highly moral ground to oppose the U.S. House of Representative vote on the Armenian genocide. Her hypocritical stance on the issue is: I know what evil is because my father came from Nazi Germay, and that is why I initially supported the Armenian genocide resolution. But, after visiting Turkey, and were told that we have national interests there, I decided that we should give Turkey a pass.
In short, she slipped back to the Cold War era, and she sees now that crimes committed by our allies are OK. Now, she is begging other legislators to look the other way as well. I wonder
why she did not oppose the prosecution of Serbs who committed
genocide in Bosnia, and now rot in jails in Netherland. Because
the Serbs have traditionally been allies of Russia.
Is that a moral high ground to stand on a pile of 1.5 million of slaughterd Armenians and say: Our Friends did it; lets look the other way? Or it is corrupt moral servitude from those who would sell their conscience and soul to any brutal regime in the world for the price of their alliance? Nikos Retsos, retired academic.
Posted by: Nikos Retsos | October 06, 2007 at 07:06 AM
Right on !
Posted by: Art Vartanian | October 06, 2007 at 08:02 AM
The Turks murder 1.5 million innocent Armenian men, women and children and have neither acknowledged it or let alone be remorseful or even offer an opology yet we here in America have to deliberatly lie and recreate history so as not to insult the perpetrators of the worse crime against humanity, genocide? The message Ms. Harman sends is that genocide is acceptable as long as there is gain. Sorry, I don't subscribe to this at all. Would she ignore the Holocaust? By not acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, you are asking for history to repeat itself.
Posted by: J. T. | October 06, 2007 at 08:12 AM
no ecognize the armenian genocide this mines to suport the killers of nation.
Posted by: gagik | October 06, 2007 at 02:57 PM
Jane, Jane, Jane.
Turkey was a terrorist state and committe Genocide.
You agree that Turkey committed Geocide.
What's wrong with you? Turkey has bases we can use?
Oil lines through their territory?
Stand up for what is right, Jane.
It's about time Turkey was held accountable for killing over
1.5 Million of my relatives.
Posted by: John Bakalian | October 06, 2007 at 04:20 PM
Thomas Jefferson once said,
"For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead"
Way to go "Honorable" Congresswoman Jane Harman.
Posted by: Ani | October 06, 2007 at 04:51 PM
Money, money, money, $$$$$ it can buy anyone
Posted by: mike levy | October 06, 2007 at 06:08 PM
Please look at the names of people who wrote comments!They are all Armenians...No wonder articles are so biased. If you all belive it is true, why don't ask Armenia to cooperate so that historains from both sides can look at it rather than using it as a political instrument? You don't have to answer...You want money and land from Turkey...You can only see that in your dream...That will NEVER happen. What about the crimes that your ancestors committed during the same period????Your ancestors stabbed Ottoman Empire to which they were citizens of, sided with Russia with the hope of getting a piece of land and butchered people who are not Armenian.Who is going to pay the penalty for it? I guess it is you, since you are blaming TURKEY for a war that happened during Ottoman Empire where lots of people died from both sides. I guess you are trying to put a new definition to "genocide"- genocide is when you don't do anything but somebody comes and kills you in groups. Are you claiming Armenians at that time did nothing? If so then you don't even know your history. Rtaher than trying to poison other people's minds you should go and spend some time reading your own history. I pity you for your existence seems to flourish hatred, rather than understanding , humanity...What a waste of human life....
Posted by: Hanriette Sahin | October 06, 2007 at 09:05 PM
so i guess we should not be too concerned about the president of iran's view of the holocuast... what a howardly position she is taking... Turkey is not going to do anything, this is the perfect opportunity to pay them back for turning their backs on us during the iraq invasion ...poetic justice!
Posted by: john walker | October 06, 2007 at 09:28 PM
No wonder this Bill comes out from California, it looks like some one is getting paid by the California Armenian's Community. How can you say a genocide exists after 90 years have passed by. What was stopping the world from calling it a genocide then when the Ottoman's had no power, no money, and was cornered and circled by enemies. I laugh at this claim and wonder how much you each want to get paid off of this. Or is this a plan to take land from Turkey. By the way I think there is a possible genocide going on right now commited by Armenians in Azerbaijan.
Posted by: Ayhan | October 06, 2007 at 09:56 PM
Jane Harman...
How could you dishonor your word and all the victims of holocaust by blocking the recognition of another genocide? How could you sell your soul?
Did you know that Turkish govenment brought back the remains of Talaat pasha and gave a state funeral as a hero? That is equal to (as if) German government bringing back the remains of Dr. Mengela and giving a hero's funeral.
You encourage United States bowing it's head to a perpetrator of one of the worst crimes against humanity. What a shame...
Posted by: Jacob | October 06, 2007 at 10:19 PM
can somebody remind me the result of the english courts held just after WW1 related to the genocide claims? I'm sure they had access to the whole ottoman arsiv, they tried to blow one last punch to the ottoman empire, an enemy. They arrest all the possible criminal oficers. Ohh, I remeber now, they could not make a case about the event just happened 1-5 years before. now 90 years later, we are discussing politics, not history...
Posted by: u c coskun | October 06, 2007 at 10:30 PM
As long as Armenian refuse to know it run all of Glendale, who want old eurpoe? My brother run verizon shop, my sister do luggage botique in Galleria, my papa own next-biggest taxi cab in 134-pacific.
All turkish hope to end local business, hopes of people, family relateions. Turkish killed all armenain like George W. Bush killed all iraqi to help rotten Kurd kill off Armenian and Turnk.
Posted by: Paulos | October 06, 2007 at 11:25 PM
The French parliament passed a likely resolution last year, and now all the liberal french newspapers are reporting about the damage that the french economy has to suffer because of the ties with turkey: turks stopped buying the french TGV but bought spanish highspeed trains, they stopped buying airbus but looked for bombardier and boing planes, they banned the french investors out of the nabucco pipeline-project and other projects worth billions in their country, stopped buying french militaria but looked for italien ones etc. France is the only economy in Europe which is not growing, unlike the flourishing economies of germany or italy.
germany and italy may also recognize the massacres as genocide, but turkey did not warn them before they passed a resolution, so they were not harmed by turkey.
here you can read a german article (by AFP) about how the french foreign minister trys to "normalise" the relations between the 2 countries.:
http://www.tah.de/afp/story.html?xF=afp//deutsch/journal/pol/071005100434.7ba0n1ae.xml
of course the united states would not suffer economically by a protest of the turkish state. but when turkey sees that the US dont ally with them anymore, they will work more together with middle eastern states, for example iran, ergo the iran economy will grow faster as they will be able to work together with europe through turkey, they will be more accepted in europe. in advantege of all anti-americans around the globe, from venezuela to north corea. if iran gains too much power, the influence of america will decrease.
the same things counts for the former soviet states. states like turkmenistan, azerbycan, kazakhstan, usbekistan (which are all full of oil or gas) have much influence on russia, and all the people there are from turkic origin, they even speak the same language as the turks in turkey. russia may also gain power when turkey decides to create stronger connections to his relatives in northwest-asia.
Posted by: LazioRoma | October 07, 2007 at 12:25 AM
Follow the logic if you can: Genocide was not committed: Armenians betrayed the Ottoman Empire: Armenians deserved what they got. This is the argument put forth by the Turkish Government and its apologists everywhere. Armenians were betrayed by the Ottoman Empire long before they started their rebellion. The massacres of Adana in 1895, for example, preceded the Genocide by 20 years, and resulted in 30,000+ Armenian deaths. With their relentless oppression of their Armenian subjects during their reign, the Ottomans had forfeited the Armenians' loyalty by the time their empire collapsed.
Posted by: Artin | October 07, 2007 at 02:19 AM
Why do the Turkish commenter's think the motivation behind this resolution is some sort of scheme to get their land or money. Turkeys own scholars admit that a genocide took place. Doesn't it make the Turkish people a little curious that it is a crime to speak of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey??? Why doesn't this nation recognize it will never go forward (i.e joining the EU) unless it admits to it's own historical acts. It's analogous to the U.S. having a state sponsored denial of the history of slavery in the South. It's ludicrous. Some of the grandparents of people living in Turkey today were responsible for the carrying out of these heinous acts, and therefore it makes these people extremely uncomfortable to think their own grandparents could have committed such despicable crimes against humanity. To these people I say that by denying that their forefathers murdered millions of Armenian's you are only making the burden on yourselves even heavier. You cannot stick you'r collective heads in the sand and hope these Armenian's will go away. They will not go away. They will only get stronger, because history and justice are on their side.
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Posted by: gabriel christou | October 07, 2007 at 04:24 AM
As Taner Akcam points out in "A Shameful Act : The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility" the Genocide of 1915 was the culmination of a long history of Turkish abuse.
There are many Turkish arguments denying the Genocide but my favorite is the one that goes like this: the Armenians were disloyal and deserved what they got and if they diaspora does not shut up about the genocide which never happened we will finish the job.
Well EU please let them in. I'd love to see their allies and assistants in the Genocide, Germany, overrun with Turks.
Posted by: Charles | October 07, 2007 at 10:20 AM
What Harman was simply trying to point out is that US national security interests are at stake. If you don't believe her, ask the Pentagon how much our soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan rely on Turkish logistical support. Will everyone who supports the resolution take a deep breath and think of the consequences? And before you think the Turks are just bluffing and won't close down Incerlik, would you like to accept responsibility in case you are WRONG?!?
Posted by: J. Barry | October 07, 2007 at 12:40 PM