House Panel OKs Resolution on Armenian Deaths

A divided congressional panel Tuesday approved a resolution that would characterize as genocide the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the early decades of the 1900s, despite warnings by the Clinton administration and the Turkish government that the measure could damage U.S. security interests.

The House International Relations Committee sent the measure to the House floor by a 24-11 vote.

The measure urges the U.S. president to use the word “genocide” when discussing “the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians.”

Turkey disputes that there was any organized plan to kill Armenians during the region’s tumult beginning in 1915. Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer phoned President Clinton earlier this week to express his concern about the resolution.

Thirteen former top U.S. officials, including former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr., sent a letter to lawmakers warning: “The potential for damage to U.S. interests in a vital region dramatically outweighs . . . any acknowledgment of past atrocities during World War I and its aftermath.”

GOP leaders have promised to bring the resolution to the House floor to help Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale), who is facing a tough reelection campaign in a district with many Armenian Americans.

The measure has drawn support from Rogan’s foe, state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).