050421 - Hillary Clinton and Sen. John Kerry are among thpeople who have cosigned a letter to Bush urging him e to properly refer to the Armenian allegations

Hillary Clinton and Sen. John Kerry are among the people who have cosigned a letter to Bush urging him to properly refer to the Armenian allegations as Œgenocide¹
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Turks living in the United States are preparing to hold a commemoration meeting in Washington on April 24 in memory of Turks who were killed by Armenians during World War I, in response to the Armenian diaspora, which mounted a lobbying campaign to gain international recognition of an alleged genocide as April 24, the 90th anniversary of the alleged genocide, approaches.
The influential Armenian diaspora has gained visible success in their lobbying campaign to win support for a resolution upholding Armenian allegations that was expected to be introduced in the U.S. Congress yesterday. A similar resolution was pushed forward in the House of Representatives in 2000 but was withdrawn after the Bill Clinton administration intervened.
While 175 members of the 438-member House of Representatives co-signed a letter to President George W. Bush urging him to refer to the Armenian allegations as ?genocide,? 32 members of the 100-member Senate including renowned names such as Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton, the spouse of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in the last elections. It is the first time that the number of members of the House of Representatives who support such a proposal has reached 175, amounting to 40 percent of total seats. Yet observers in Washington told NTV that Bush is not expected to use the word ?genocide? for describing the tragic events of 1915 in his annual April 24 statement.
Armenians claim that 1.5 million Armenians were killed as part of a genocide campaign in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, but Turkey categorically denies the charges.

Kocharian calls Turkish reaction ?aggressive'
Not only the Armenian diaspora but also the Armenian administration, with whom Turkey does not maintain diplomatic relations, has stepped up pressure in the international community as April 24 approaches.
Speaking at an international conference in Yerevan titled ?Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenges: Genocide and Human Rights,? Armenian President Robert Kocharian said ?Armenians have been recalling the past not with hatred but with grief,? the Anatolia news agency reported. Characterizing Turkey's acknowledgement of Armenian allegations as ?genocide? as a vital condition for Turkish-Armenian relations, he described Turkey's reactions to Armenia's allegations as ?aggressive.?
Juan Mendez, the U.N. secretary-general's special advisor on genocide, also participated in the conference in Yerevan.
Nevertheless, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök, voicing Turkey's desire to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations, said Armenia should first obey the rules of international law and carry out good neighborly actions. ?Those alleging a genocide have no ground for their allegations,? he said.
Comment of Jean Eckian.
At the beginning of the week, Turkish the Prime Minister Recep T Erdogan telephoned with his counterpart israëlien, Ariel Sharon, so that this one requires of President G.W Bush, not to pronounce the word Genocide, April 24.
Thank you to prevent me, if you wish pictures of the French Commemoration and the visit of President Kocharian in Paris.Turks to protest Armenian campaign in Washington Turks to protest Armenian campaign in Washington
Thursday, April 21, 2005
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