House Committee Calls Murder of Armenians 'Genocide'

House Committee Calls Murder of Armenians 'Genocide'

The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution Thursday, effectively accusing the Turks of the genocide of approximately 1.5 million Armenians during and after World War One. Turkey has consistently denied the existence of the genocide, and this declaration may be damaging to both American-Turkish relations and Armenian-Turkish relations.  It is unknown if the entire House will have an opportunity to vote on the resolution. Although both Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama had referred, in the past, to the actions of Turkey as genocide, the Obama administration made a late request for the resolution not to be voted on, presumably because of fear of Turkish reaction. Representatives voting on the measure noted being caught between foreign policy concerns and ethical concerns over allowing Turkey’s actions to go unnoticed. 

As someone with Armenian heritage, I have several family members who feel very strongly about the atrocities committed against Armenians around the time of World War One. In fact, fear of this mass murder was the very reason my family originally left Armenia for the United States. However, it is important to take into account the foreign policy ramifications of this decision by Congress. It is imperative that America retains a beneficial relationship with Turkey and that America promotes good relations between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey is a vital US ally in the Middle East, a part of the world where the United States can use every supporter it can get. Turkey and America also share economic ties, and American companies do federal contracting work for the Turkish government. It is possible that the vote Thursday could negatively impact these business agreements.

In the long run, I believe it more important to act ethically and condemn acts of genocide than to act in fear of risking foreign policy relationships. For too long, the American government ignored the Armenian genocide, and its treatment by America mirrors the treatment of modern genocides. The genocides in Darfur and Rwanda are and were dismissed by the American government, similarly to the ignoring of the Armenian genocide. It is extraordinarily important that Congress is willing and able to act to protect human rights around the world when lives of innocent civilians are threatened in a widespread fashion. As Americans, if we are going to say we stand for the ideals of liberty, of justice, of democracy, and of equality, we must act upon our beliefs; otherwise, they mean nothing.