Casts Dark Shadow on Armenian Interests
By Harut Sassounian / www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Nearly all congressional candidates nationwide who
supported Armenian -American issues were victorious during the November 4
elections. The outcome was similarly positive for other candidates running in
state and local races. Consequently, the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) announced that over 95% of its endorsed candidates had been successful. Although both Republicans and Democrats have
traditionally supported Armenian-American issues, there are some dark clouds
looming over Armenian lobbying efforts in Washington due to major changes in
the new Congress, which take effect in January 2015, during the critical
Centennial Year of the Armenian Genocide.
Several key pro-Armenian Democratic Senators will lose
their leadership positions as a result of the new Republican majority. For
example, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), rated A+ on Armenian issues by ANCA, will
no longer Chair the Foreign Relations Committee. He will be replaced by Sen.
Robert Corker (R-TN), rated D+ by ANCA, one of five Republican Senators who
voted against the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the Foreign Relations
Committee last April. In addition, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV),
rated A by ANCA, will become Minority Leader. He will be replaced by Sen. Mitch
McConnell (R-KY), rated C+ and endorsed for reelection by ANCA. Sen. McConnell
has voted positively on some Armenian issues.
The picture is not any brighter on the House side, in
terms of the position of its top leadership on Armenian-American issues.
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who saw a major surge in his party’s majority, had
announced during a recent visit to Ankara that the House of Representatives
will not deal with the Armenian Genocide issue. No wonder ANCA gave him a C
rating. A glimmer of hope is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), rated
B- and endorsed by ANCA for reelection, who has maintained close contacts with
his Armenian constituents. Fortunately, Cong. Ed Royce (R-CA), rated A+ and
endorsed by ANCA, will still Chair the important Foreign Affairs Committee.
It is not surprising that the Turkish media has been
gloating over the congressional election results. “Republicans favor Turkey on
Armenian issue,” was one of the headlines in Sabah, a Turkish newspaper.
Reporter Ragip Soylu wrote: “Some changes within the Senate will help Turkey’s
distasteful experience with Congress.” The “removal” of Sen. Menendez from
chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee “will help Turkey’s
uncomfortable and weak position in the Senate.” The reporter went on to call
the continued Republican control of the House “more good news for Turkey as
House Speaker John Boehner has already promised to not bring up the Armenian
issue to the executive agenda of the chamber. ‘Congress won’t get involved in
this issue. We don’t write history, we are not historians,’ he reportedly said
during his visit to Ankara in April 2014.”
In another Sabah article, Ilnur Cevik confidently wrote:
“Turkey’s fortunes are not so bad,” in the face of “the likely problems posed
by the advent of the 100th year since the 1915 incidents regarding the
Armenians during Ottoman times.” Cevik described Republicans not as “combative”
on the Armenian issue as Democrats “who are dying to appease the Armenian lobby
in the U.S. and thus would be more receptive to a tough worded motion regarding
Armenians, especially in 2015 when the 100th year of the events during World
War I when Armenians living under Ottoman rule were killed and the Armenians
called this controversially a genocide.”
Another Turkish publication, “World Bulletin,” cheerfully
headlined its report: “Republican Victory in US Congress Benefits Turkey.” The
article pointed out that “a Democrat-led Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee
would have been a nightmare for Turkish-American relations, as it would have
come out with bills on Armenian claims of genocide during the 1915 incidents in
eastern Turkey.” Soner Cagaptay, Director of Turkish Research Program at
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, confirmed the pro-Turkish
orientation of the new Senate, as “it has been Republicans in the Senate who
have blocked bills on genocide claims against Turkey.” Another Turkish analyst,
Kadir Ustun, observed that the chance of passing a Congressional Resolution on
the Armenian Genocide “is now lower than ever, as the Republicans are in
control of Congress.”
It is now incumbent upon Armenian-Americans who have
strong ties with Republican Congressional leaders to convince them to uphold
Armenian initiatives, while exposing Turkey’s support for ISIS terrorists who
threaten US national interests in the Middle East.
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