Turkey (And Rep. Ilhan Omar) Unhappy Over Armenian Genocide Resolution
[guest post by Dana]
I would expect nothing less from Turkey:
Turkey has summoned the U.S. ambassador after lawmakers in Washington voted to recognize Ottoman-era mass killings of Armenians as a genocide and called for sanctions against Ankara.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution recognizing the genocide — which Ankara denies — and passed a bill aiming to impose fresh sanctions on Turkey over its military operation against Syrian Kurdish forces.
In response, the Turkish government on Wednesday morning summoned David Satterfield, the U.S. representative in Ankara, the state news agency Anadolu reported.
The Turkish foreign ministry rejected the genocide recognition as “meaningless” and “devoid of any historical or legal basis” in a statement issued late Tuesday, suggesting that lawmakers had approved the resolution to “take vengeance” against Turkey over its incursion into Syria.
“Undoubtedly, this resolution will negatively affect the image of the U.S. before the public opinion of Turkey as it also brings the dignity of the U.S. House of Representatives into disrepute,” the statement added.
Turkey continues to deny that a genocide took place:
The Armenian genocide — the massacre and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks in 1915 — is a sensitive issue in Turkey.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians in the Ottoman Empire died during World War I, but denies that the killings were systematic and firmly rejects the label genocide.
And speaking of expecting nothing less, Rep. Ilhan Omar was the only Democrat to vote “present” on the Armenian genocide resolution. When criticized for her decision, her office took the opportunity to politicize that which she claims should not be politicized:
I believe accountability for human rights violations — especially ethnic cleansing and genocide — is paramount. But accountability and recognition of genocide should not be used as cudgel in a political fight. It should be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics. A true acknowledgment of historical crimes against humanity must include both the heinous genocides of the 20th century, along with earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide, which took the lives of hundreds of millions of indigenous people in this country. For this reason, I voted ‘present’ on final passage of H.Res. 296, the resolution Affirming the Unites States record on the Armenian Genocide.
Omar's office has sent this statement to CNN explaining her present vote: pic.twitter.com/Gpj198jx0p
— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) October 29, 2019
Because the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians and Christian minorities on its own, doesn’t constitute a genocide on its own, I guess. However, when you consider both Omar’s “present” vote and vote against sanctioning Turkey after its military actions against the Kurdish forces in light of her affinity for Turkey’s President Erdogan, it all makes sense, unpleasant as it may be.
And about that “academic consensus” blather, how does Omar not understand that by acknowledging and recognizing that one genocide took place, does not negate that others have taken place as well:
The mention of an “academic consensus” being necessary for recognition is perplexing, given the consensus among historians that the genocide is historical fact. To dispute the existence of this consensus is shameful and akin to denial. For Omar to invoke a “whataboutist” argument, as she does in mentioning Native Americans, similarly discounts the matter that she was expected to consider exclusively when the resolution was on the House floor. Genocide-denial tactics used by Turkey include attacking the motivations of the truth teller. Omar does the same thing by framing this bill as a political cudgel (which it’s not — H.Res. 296 was introduced in April). An acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide does not preclude an acknowledgment of any other genocides, and Omar could have voiced her opinion on the atrocities she cites after voting to recognize the one that her colleagues resoundingly voted in favor or formally recognizing.
Omar’s decision, as well as the decision of eleven Republicans to oppose the bill, fails to live up to the role of a witness of justice. There is no justice without recognition, and opposing measures that aim to affirm the U.S.’ stance as a protector of the persecuted is dishonorable. Victims of genocide die two deaths. Once at the hands of their persecutor, and again when the genocide is denied.
P.S. Shame on the 11 Republicans who voted against the resolution.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
Good morning.
Dana (05f22b) — 10/31/2019 @ 5:50 amVoting against the resolution is Greg Pence of Indiana. He is the VP’s brother.
Seems like this is as noteworthy as Ilhan Omar’s “present”.
Appalled (1a17de) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:05 amIlhan Omar is a Muslim. Her first loyalty is to Islam. At all times during the Armenian genocide, from 1914 to 1923, the Sultan of Turkey was the Caliph, the religious leader of all the Muslims. To condemn the Armenian genocide is to condemn Islam. “Some people did something” squared.
The eleven Trumpablicans are self-explanatory once named, see e.g. is Vice President Ass-wipe’s brother.
nk (dbc370) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:16 amsee e.g.
nk (dbc370) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:18 amisVice President Ass-wipe’s brother.And does anyone else appreciate the irony of Omar and Trump being on the same side? Erdogan’s butt sure makes for strange bedfellows.
nk (dbc370) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:24 amKim K’s not going next time koonye wants to hoodwink his greatness.
urbanleftbehind (76fec8) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:36 amThese are the Republicans who voted Nay:
Baird
Brady
Brooks (IN)
Bucshon
Cole
Foxx (NC)
Harris
Meadows
Pence
Rogers (AL)
Thornberry
None of them spoke against the Resolution. They just voted nay. Burgess of Texas complained that there were more pressing matters Congress has to attend to, and objected to consideration of the bill.
I don’t like Omar and nk’s explanation may be right. (Though Tlaib and the rest of the squad voted Yea — so diversity of opinion is permitted.)
Don’t tell JVW, but Gabbard missed the vote.
Appalled (1a17de) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:51 amSamatha Poweer wrote an Op-ed that was published Op-ed yesterday in the New York Times that said this was the first time since 1984 that such a resolution had been passed. She didn’t think it was retaliation against Turkey; rather an obstacle was removed.
She says that the U.S. should tell the truth (also about violations of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and other nuclear treaties?) and that being bullied into not doing so only leads to more bullying.
She said a U.S. Ambassador to Armenia had been recalled in 2005 because he mentioned the word genocide in a speech in Armenia.
Sammy Finkelman (b1f8c4) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:55 amSome explanation from Jim Baird on his no:
Via the Indychannel.com, which noted that 4 Indiana Republicans voted Nay.
Appalled (1a17de) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:55 amTlaib has big Kurd and Chaldean communities in her district, so not good to support the old tyrant.
urbanleftbehind (76fec8) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:58 amPence explains (via Newsweek, so YMMV)
Appalled (1a17de) — 10/31/2019 @ 6:59 amIndiana is also the host state of CAIR (Plainfield, IN just west of Indy on 465). Or Eli Lilly, Rolls Royce Engine or Sales force nudged them hard.
urbanleftbehind (76fec8) — 10/31/2019 @ 7:00 amFoxx is consistent in her opposition to the Armeninan resolution. Here is this from 2007:
https://www.tc-america.org/in-congress/congresswoman-virginia-foxx-to-young-turks-72.htm
Appalled (1a17de) — 10/31/2019 @ 7:20 amAnd we keep forgetting that Erdogan is an Islamist. The same ilk as the “people who did something”. Omar’s soul brother, so the agals that bind are not only historical.
nk (dbc370) — 10/31/2019 @ 7:26 amAppalled: “[T]heir ventures are not to one bottom trusted,/Nor to one place.” — Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice 😉
nk (dbc370) — 10/31/2019 @ 7:48 am13 – But were their hearts free and was time on their side?
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/31/2019 @ 7:54 amIlhan Omar is an embarrassment, and not a particularly gifted one, and I assume she will be voted out in due course. It’s fun to read Samantha Power pronounce upon the matter, though, given how the administration she served under played footsie with Iran, Bashar Assad’s away-game recruitment agents.
Have said it before and will say it again: Turkish governments have done themselves a disservice by declining to so much as discuss what was inflicted upon Armenian (and Assyrian, and Pontic Greek) Ottoman subjects. That’s always been a curious position when the Turkish Republic hanged a few of the organisers and participants after the war, and it’s fairly well known that some of the worst atrocities were committed by Kurdish irregulars. Given what also happened to ethnic Turks and Muslims elsewhere in the crumbling empire they’ve been staring at a solution (i.e. mutual recognition of pre- and post-WWI massacres and genocides) for decades now.
What will irk the Turks, rightly, is that this measure is mostly a rhetorical blast in lieu of the US actually doing anything about the Turkish-backed invasion of northern Syria, which, also rightly, Turks have concluded is hardly the big deal it has been made out to be.
JP (7a537c) — 10/31/2019 @ 10:07 amPaul gosar is a neo-nazi.
asset (e98dd4) — 10/31/2019 @ 12:53 pmCongresscritters fussing over Ottoman era issues… ‘lemme check my watch– right; it’s nearly 2020– well into the 21st century.
What is wrong with these people?
Expect Congressman Buck Rogers to deal w/old style gun and mass shooting legislation… in the 25th Century.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/31/2019 @ 1:05 pmWhen exactly will we go from gun to laser blasters though…thats the key question.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/31/2019 @ 1:25 pmToo bad Paul Gosar (DDS mind you) wasn’t Beto’s dentist, he’d a left him a chimuelo!
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/31/2019 @ 1:26 pmGood news – Dead Isis leader Al bakerbbqudaddy quit smoking today
mg (8cbc69) — 10/31/2019 @ 4:05 pmhttps://www.meforum.org/59727/did-turkey-know-where-baghdadi-was-hiding
And later a blood sample.
He apparently couldn’t take poictures, but he was extensively debriefed on the building. All of the ISIS members traveled to Idlib thrugh Turkey. The informer was actually in Turlkey custody and released. It is clear the United states didn’ take Turkey into its confidence except maybe to tell Turkey that Ismael al-Ethawi was an American agent. He might have been first turned by Iraq, although perhaps that was another person.
Sammy Finkelman (102c75) — 11/4/2019 @ 11:34 am