Turkey Enraged by Genocide Bill

NATO ally says 'political games' will greatly injure relations

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 11, 2007 9:02 AM CDT

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Turkey Enraged by Genocide Bill — Members of the left-wing Workers' Party carry a huge Turkish flag during a protest against the U.S. and its passing of a bill describing World War I-era killings of Armenians as genocide, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. Despite intense lobbying by Turkish officials and opposition by U.S.... (Associated Press)

Turkey erupted today over a US bill that would officially recognize the 1915-1917 mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey as genocide. Turkey’s president said the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which passed the resolution 27-21, “sought to sacrifice big problems for small domestic political games.” He promised “serious trouble” for US-Turkish relations, reports the BBC. Turkey is a key US ally and staging ground for the Iraq war.

Armenian-American interest groups have long lobbied for such a resolution, but Turkey has always denied genocide took place. “27 Foolish Americans,” declared one Turkish newspaper headline. Another called it a “Bill of hatred.” The White House opposes the bill, fearing Turkey will withdraw logistics support for US troops, or follow through on a threat to invade Iraq’s Kurdish region to stop Kurdish separatists from mounting cross-border raids. (More Turkey stories.)

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