[House Report 106-933]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-933
======================================================================
AFFIRMATION OF THE UNITED STATES RECORD ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
RESOLUTION
_______
October 4, 2000.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Gilman, from the Committee on International Relations, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 596]
The Committee on International Relations, to whom was
referred the resolution (H. Res. 596) calling upon the
President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United
States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing,
and genocide documented in the United States record relating to
the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment
and recommend that the resolution be agreed to.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Affirmation of the United
States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The House of Representatives finds the following:
(1) The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by
the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the
deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000
men, women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were
expelled from their homes, and which succeeded in the
elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in
their historic homeland.
(2) On May 24, 1915, the Allied Powers, England, France, and
Russia, jointly issued a statement explicitly charging for the
first time ever another government of committing ``a crime
against humanity''.
(3) This joint statement stated ``[i]n view of these new
crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization, the Allied
Governments announce publicly to the Sublime Porte that they
will hold personally responsible for these crimes all members
of the Ottoman Government, as well as those of their agents who
are implicated in such massacres''.
(4) The post-World War I Turkish Government indicted the top
leaders involved in the ``organization and execution'' of the
Armenian Genocide and in the ``massacre and destruction of the
Armenians''.
(5) In a series of courts-martial, officials of the Young
Turk Regime were tried and convicted, as charged, for
organizing and executing massacres against the Armenian people.
(6) The chief organizers of the Armenian Genocide, Minister
of War Enver, Minister of the Interior Talaat, and Minister of
the Navy Jemal were all condemned to death for their crimes,
however, the verdicts of the courts were not enforced.
(7) The Armenian Genocide and these domestic judicial
failures are documented with overwhelming evidence in the
national archives of Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain,
Russia, the United States, the Vatican and many other
countries, and this vast body of evidence attests to the same
facts, the same events, and the same consequences.
(8) The United States National Archives and Record
Administration holds extensive and thorough documentation on
the Armenian Genocide, especially in its holdings under Record
Group 59 of the United States Department of State, files 867.00
and 867.40, which are open and widely available to the public
and interested institutions.
(9) The national archives of Turkey should also include all
of the records pertaining to the indictment, trial, and
conviction of the Ottoman authorities responsible for the
Armenian Genocide.
(10) The Honorable Henry Morgenthau, United States Ambassador
to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916, organized and led
protests by officials of many countries, among them the allies
of the Ottoman Empire, against the Armenian Genocide.
(11) Ambassador Morgenthau explicitly described to the United
States Department of State the policy of the Government of the
Ottoman Empire as ``a campaign of race extermination'', and was
instructed on July 16, 1915, by United States Secretary of
State Robert Lansing that the ``Department approves your
procedure . . . to stop Armenian persecution''.
(12) Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 of February 9, 1916,
resolved that ``the President of the United States be
respectfully asked to designate a day on which the citizens of
this country may give expression to their sympathy by
contributing funds now being raised for the relief of the
Armenians'', who at the time were enduring ``starvation,
disease, and untold suffering''.
(13) President Wilson concurred and also encouraged the
formation of the organization known as Near East Relief,
chartered by an Act of Congress, which contributed some
$116,000,000 from 1915 to 1930 to aid the Armenian Genocide
survivors, including 132,000 orphans who became foster children
of the American people.
(14) Senate Resolution 359, dated May 11, 1920, stated in
part, ``the testimony adduced at the hearings conducted by the
sub-committee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations have
clearly established the truth of the reported massacres and
other atrocities from which the Armenian people have
suffered''.
(15) The resolution followed the April 13, 1920, report to
the Senate of the American Military Mission to Armenia led by
General James Harbord, that stated ``[m]utilation, violation,
torture, and death have left their haunting memories in a
hundred beautiful Armenian valleys, and the traveler in that
region is seldom free from the evidence of this most colossal
crime of all the ages''.
(16) Setting the stage for the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, on
ordering his military commanders to attack Poland without
provocation in 1939, dismissed objections by saying ``[w]ho,
after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?''.
(17) Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term ``genocide'' in
1944, and who was the earliest proponent of the Genocide
Convention, invoked the Armenian case as a definitive example
of genocide in the 20th century.
(18) Raphael Lemkin described the crime as ``the systematic
destruction of whole national, racial or religious groups. The
sort of thing Hitler did to the Jews and the Turks did to the
Armenians''.
(19) The first resolution on genocide adopted by the United
Nations at Lemkin's urging, the December 11, 1946, United
Nations General Assembly Resolution 96(1) and the United
Nations Genocide Convention itself recognized the Armenian
Genocide as the type of crime the United Nations intended to
prevent by codifying existing standards.
(20) In 1948 the United Nations War Crimes Commission invoked
the Armenian Genocide ``precisely . . . one of the types of
acts which the modern term `crimes against humanity' is
intended to cover'' as a precedent for the Nuremberg tribunals.
(21) The Commission stated that ``[t]he provisions of Article
230 of the Peace Treaty of Sevres were obviously intended to
cover, in conformity with the Allied note of 1915 . . .,
offenses which had been committed on Turkish territory against
persons of Turkish citizenship, though of Armenian or Greek
race. This article constitutes therefore a precedent for
Article 6c and 5c of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters, and
offers an example of one of the categories of `crimes against
humanity' as understood by these enactments''.
(22) The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted in
1985 a report entitled ``Study of the Question of the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide'', which
stated ``[t]he Nazi aberration has unfortunately not been the
only case of genocide in the twentieth century. Among other
examples which can be cited as qualifying are . . . the Ottoman
massacre of Armenians in 1915-1916''.
(23) This report also explained that ``[a]t least 1 million,
and possibly well over half of the Armenian population, are
reliably estimated to have been killed or death marched by
independent authorities and eye-witnesses. This is corroborated
by reports in United States, German and British archives and of
contemporary diplomats in the Ottoman Empire, including those
of its ally Germany''.
(24) The tragedy of the Armenian Genocide has been
acknowledged by countries and international bodies such as
Argentina, Belgium, Canada, the Council of Europe, Cyprus, the
European Parliament, France, Great Britain, Greece, Lebanon,
Russia, the United Nations, the United States, and Uruguay.
(25) The United States Holocaust Memorial Council, an
independent Federal agency, unanimously resolved on April 30,
1981, that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum would
include the Armenian Genocide in the Museum and has since done
so.
(26) President Reagan in proclamation number 4838, dated
April 22, 1981, stated in part ``like the genocide of the
Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians, which
followed it--and like too many other persecutions of too many
other people--the lessons of the holocaust must never be
forgotten''.
(27) President Bush, in 1988, speaking of the Armenian
Genocide, stated ``we must consciously and conscientiously
recognize the genocides of the past--the enormous tragedies
that have darkened this century and that haunt us still. We
must not only commemorate the courage of the victims and of
their survivors, but we must also remind ourselves that
civilization cannot be taken for granted. . . . We must all be
vigilant against this most heinous crime against humanity''.
(28) President Bush, in 1988, stated further ``[t]he United
States must acknowledge the attempted genocide of the Armenian
people in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, based on the
testimony of survivors, scholars, and indeed our own
representatives at the time, if we are to insure that such
horrors are not repeated''.
(29) President Clinton, on August 13, 1992, stated ``[t]he
Genocide of 1915, years of communist dictatorship, and the
devastating earthquake of 1988 have caused great suffering in
Armenia during this century''.
(30) Reviewing an aberrant 1982 expression (later retracted)
by the United States Department of State asserting that the
facts of the Armenian Genocide may be ambiguous, the United
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1993,
after a review of documents pertaining to the policy record of
the United States, noted that the assertion on ambiguity in the
United States record about the Armenian Genocide ``contradicted
longstanding United States policy and was eventually
retracted''.
(31) Despite the international recognition and affirmation of
the Armenian Genocide, the failure of the domestic and
international authorities to punish those responsible for the
Armenian Genocide is a reason why similar genocides have
recurred and may recur in the future, and that a proper
judicial and firm response, holding the guilty accountable and
requiring the prompt enforcement of verdicts would have spared
humanity needless suffering.
(32) In a commendable letter on April 9, 1999, Ambassador
Stuart Eizenstat, then Under Secretary of State for Economic,
Business, and Agricultural Affairs, pledged that the
administration would raise with the Republic of Turkey the
issue of the recovery of Armenian assets from the genocide
period held by the Imperial Ottoman Bank.
(33) It is important that the President ensure that the
foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to
human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the
United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the
consequences of the failure to enforce the judgments of the
Turkish courts against the responsible officials.
SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
The House of Representatives--
(1) calls upon the President to ensure that the foreign
policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding
and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights,
ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States
record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences
of the failure to enforce the judgments of the Turkish courts
against the responsible officials;
(2) calls upon the President in the President's annual
message commemorating the Armenian Genocide issued on or about
April 24 to characterize the systematic and deliberate
annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide and to recall
the proud history of United States intervention in opposition
to the Armenian Genocide; and
(3) calls upon the President in the President's annual
message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to state that the
modern day Republic of Turkey did not conduct the Armenian
Genocide, which was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.
Background and Purpose
H. Res. 596, the ``Affirmation of the United States Record
on the Armenian Genocide Resolution,'' was introduced on
September 27, 2000 by Mr. Radanovich (for himself and Mr.
Bonior). The resolution calls upon the President to ensure that
the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to
human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the
United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide. It
relates facts and statements that would serve to support the
conclusion that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of ethnic
Armenians over a period of several years starting in 1915 in
regions controlled by the former Ottoman Empire were the result
of a purposeful campaign of genocide against the Armenian
nation. It declares that the United States House of
Representatives calls on the President to ensure that the
foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to
human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the
United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the
consequences of the failure to enforce the judgements of the
Turkish courts against the responsible officials; calls on the
President to characterize the systematic and deliberate
annihilation of one and one-half million Armenians as genocide
and to recall the proud history of United States intervention
in opposition to the Armenian Genocide in an annual message
commemorating the Armenian Genocide; and calls on the
President, in his annual message concerning the Armenian
Genocide, to state that the modern-day Republic of Turkey did
not conduct the Armenian Genocide, which was perpetrated by the
former Ottoman Empire.
THE FORMER OTTOMAN GOVERNMENT AND THE GROWING ARMENIAN NATIONALIST
MOVEMENT
As the 19th Century drew to a close, ethnic Armenian
citizens of the Ottoman and Russian Empires became increasingly
interested in creating a new, independent, Armenian state, at a
time when other ethnic groups across Eurasia sought to create
or resurrect their own nation-states. The hoped-for Armenian
state would, by necessity, consist of territory then held by
the Russian Empire in the Caucasus region and of territory then
held by the Ottoman Empire in the eastern portion of Anatolia.
The ruling authorities of the Ottoman Empire and of the ``Young
Turk'' government that came to power both viewed such Armenian
nationalism with concern, in light of the contraction of the
Empire's borders as territories that had long been ruled by the
Empire successfully rebelled against it, particularly in the
Balkans region.
OTTOMAN GOVERNMENT MEASURES AIMED AT ETHNIC ARMENIANS
The advent of the First World War in late 1914 proved the
spark that touched off a cycle of violence between the Ottoman
authorities and the ethnic Armenian minority. The ``Young
Turk'' Ottoman government entered World War I on the side of
the former Prussian and Austro-Hungarian Empires against
Britain, France and the former Russian Empire. Emergency
requisitions (confiscations) of civilian possessions to support
the war effort led to clashes between Armenian citizens and the
Ottoman police and military forces. The Ottoman authorities
also ordered the deportation of ethnic Armenians from the
eastern and southeastern provinces (the eastern Anatolia
region) early in the war, out of concern that Armenians might
engage in separatism and collaboration with Russian forces in
support of an Armenian nation-state. As additional measures,
ethnic Armenian soldiers were demobilized, arrested, or sent on
work details, and, in April 1915, the Ottoman Interior Ministry
authorized the arrest of any Armenian community and political
leaders suspected of nationalist sentiments. In late May of
1915, a Temporary Law on Deportations authorized the Ottoman
army to deport all populations (without specifying ethnic
Armenians or any other group) that were suspected of espionage
or treason or if such deportation was a military necessity.
Laws enacted in June and September of 1915 expropriated
(confiscated) the goods and assets left behind by such deported
populations (again, not specifically naming ethnic Armenians or
any other group).
THE DEATHS OF ETHNIC ARMENIANS
The deportations of ethnic Armenians from the eastern and
southeastern Ottoman provinces (the eastern Anatolia region)
that began in 1914 soon led to massacres of ethnic Armenians
and the deaths of Armenians from starvation and other
privations as they were sent on forced marches. The fate of
many of those ethnic Armenian soldiers demobilized, arrested,
or sent on work details has never been discovered and the
arrests of Armenian community and political leaders in mid-1915
were followed by the execution of most of those arrested, even
though no official charges had been brought against them. The
1915 Temporary Law on Deportations led to the deportation of
most Armenian citizens from what is today modern-day Turkey.
Many of those Armenians deported never, in fact, reached the
region of the lower Euphrates River to the south of Turkey (the
area of present day Iraq and Kuwait), which was the official
destination of their resettlement. The United States Ambassador
to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Mr. Henry Morgenthau, later
wrote that: ``When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for
these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant
to a whole race.'' While there is no definitive estimate of
those ethnic Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire who died
as a result of the forced marches, executions, and battles,
Armenians around the world believe that the total number of
such victims ranges from 800,000 to 1.5 million.
H. RES. 596 AND U.S.-TURKISH RELATIONS
The Committee considered public testimony and private
correspondence offered by representatives of the United States
Department of State, Members of Congress, and former United
States foreign policymakers, who have argued that it is
important to United States national interests that the United
States respect the Turkish government's assertions that,
although many ethnic Armenians died during World War I, no
genocide took place. Such witnesses, Members of Congress and
retired policymakers point to various aspects of U.S.-Turkish
relations in making that argument, including the following.
Turkey is a member of the U.S.-led NATO alliance. Turkey
borders on several Middle Eastern states of importance to the
United States in its efforts to support the state of Israel and
bring peace to the Middle East (Iraq, Iran and Syria). Turkey
enforces United Nations sanctions on the Iraqi regime of Saddam
Hussein and allows U.S. and NATO aircraft to patrol Northern
Iraq from its bases. Turkey also plays a key role in
international and NATO-led efforts to address instability in
the nearby regions of the Balkans and the Caucasus, and has
deployed peacekeeping forces in the Balkans. Turkey's trade
with the United States has grown considerably, and it is
recognized by the U.S. as an emerging, major market for U.S.
exports. The United States and Turkey have worked closely over
the past few years to arrange construction of oil and gas
pipelines out of the Caucasus and Central Asia to ports on
Turkey's coast, thereby expanding access to the two regions'
vast energy reserves while avoiding Russian or Iranian control,
and possible manipulation, of such pipelines. Turkey has
alsosigned and implemented a military cooperation agreement with
Israel, unprecedented for a Muslim state.
U.S. policymakers have also pointed out the increasing
instability of the Turkish government in recent years, caused,
in part, by the growing strength of Islamic fundamentalist and
Turkish nationalist political movements in Turkey. Such
policymakers fear that official U.S. recognition or
determination of the events in the former Ottoman Empire in and
after 1915 to have been a genocide could undermine pro-American
elements in Turkey and provide Turkish nationalist and
fundamentalist Islamic movements greater political influence
within Turkey, to the ultimate detriment of both the U.S. and
Armenia.
In the final instance, the majority of the Committee's
Members came to a decision to support passage of the resolution
with certain amendments intended to make it clear that the
present-day Republic of Turkey did not carry out the genocidal
actions conducted by its predecessor, the former Ottoman
Empire.
History of recent congressional consideration of resolutions related to
the ``Armenian Genocide''
[94th Congress (1975-76)--The House passed H.J. Res. 148,
commemorating the ``Armenian Genocide,'' on April 8, 1975.]
98th Congress (1983-84)--The House passed H.J. Res. 247,
commemorating the ``Armenian Genocide,'' on September 10, 1984.
99th Congress (1985-86)--On December 12, 1985, the House
adopted a rule for consideration of H.J. Res. 328 to direct the
President to proclaim April 24, 1986 as a national day of
remembrance of ``man's inhumanity to man,'' especially the
genocide said to have been committed against Armenians between
1915 and 1923. The House rejected an amendment to specify that
the genocide said to have been committed against Armenians
occurred before the establishment of the present Republic of
Turkey. The House did not act further on the resolution,
however, leaving it as ``unfinished business.''
100th Congress (1987-88)--On August 7, 1987, the House
failed to adopt a rule to consider H.J. Res. 132, a resolution
to designate April 24, 1987 as ``National Day of Remembrance of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23.''
101st Congress (1989-90)--No action was taken by the House
on H.J. Res. 417, a resolution introduced to designate April
24, 1990 as the ``National Day of Remembrance of the 75th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.'' [A February 1990 effort
to pass through the Senate S.J. Res. 212, a resolution entitled
the ``National Day of Remembrance of the 75th Anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23,'' failed in the face of a
filibuster.]
102nd Congress (1991-92)--No resolution introduced on the
issue of the ``Armenian Genocide.''
103rd Congress (1993-94)--No resolution introduced on the
issue of the ``Armenian Genocide.''
104th Congress (1995-96)--No action taken on H. Con. Res.
47, a resolution to recognize the ``Armenian Genocide.'' On
June 5, 1996, the House adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Year
1997 Foreign Operations Appropriation Act to reduce aid to
Turkey by $3 million (an estimate of its payment of lobbying
fees in the U.S.) until the Turkish government acknowledged the
Armenian genocide and took steps to honor the memory of its
victims.
105th Congress (1997-98)--No action taken on H. Con. Res.
55, a resolution to recognize the ``Armenian Genocide.''
106th Congress (1999-2000)--H. Res. 398, a resolution
calling on the President to provide training on genocide to all
U.S. Foreign Service officers by familiarizing them with U.S.
records related to the Armenian Genocide and calling on the
President to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, was introduced
and subsequently the subject of a hearing and approved by the
International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights on September 14,
2000. H. Res. 596, a slightly modified version of H. Res. 398,
was adopted by the International Relations Committee on October
3, 2000.
Jurisdiction of the International Relations Committee
Prior to the 104th Congress, ``Armenian Genocide''
resolutions were considered ``commemorative'' measures within
the jurisdiction of the former House of Representatives' Post
Office and Civil Service Committee. In the 104th Congress, that
Committee was disbanded and such ``commemoratives'' were also
prohibited under the Rules of the House of Representatives.
Appropriately-worded measures ``noting'' certain occasions may
still be introduced, however, despite the Rules of the House.
Resolutions noting or recognizing the ``Armenian Genocide,''
worded in an appropriate fashion, are therefore now routinely
referred to the International Relations Committee.
Committee Action
H. Res. 596 was introduced by Representative Radanovich on
September 27, 2000, and referred by the Speaker to the
Committee on International Relations.
A similar resolution, H. Res. 398, was introduced by
Representative Radanovich on November 18, 1999 and referred to
the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
on February 15, 2000. The Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights held a hearing on H. Res. 398 on
September 14, 2000. Witnesses: Amb. Marc Grossman, Director
General of the Foreign Service, Department of State; Dr. Justin
McCarthy, Professor of History, University of Louisville; Dr.
Robert F. Melson, Professor of Political Science, Purdue
University; Dr. Roger W. Smith, Professor of Government,
College of William and Mary; and Amb. Gunduz Suphi Aktan,
Former Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey. The Subcommitteeon
International Operations and Human Rights held a markup of H. Res. 398
on September 21, 2000, forwarding the measure to the Full Committee by
voice vote.
On September 28 and October 3, 2000, the International
Relations Committee marked up H. Res. 596, pursuant to notice,
in open session.
On September 28, 2000, the Committee adopted by voice vote
an amendment by Mr. Tancredo that calls upon the President in
the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian
Genocide to state that the modern day Republic of Turkey did
not conduct the Armenian Genocide, which was perpetrated by the
Ottoman Empire.
An amendment offered by Mr. Lantos providing a complete
substitute for the resolution was ruled out of order as non-
germane and Mr. Lantos' appeal of the ruling of the Chair on
the point of order was tabled (on motion of Mr. Radanovich) by
voice vote (a recorded vote on the tabling motion, demanded by
Mr. Lantos, having been refused).
On October 3, 2000, the Committee received testimony during
the markup from Representative Porter Goss, Chairman of the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Mr.
Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, Spokesman for the Turkish Parliamentary
Delegation.
An amendment offered by Mr. Burton that would have added
language stating that U.S. national security interests are
likely to be negated without the establishment of peace and
reconciliation between the several successor states who
comprised portions of the Ottoman Empire, but not necessarily
limited to Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia, and
calls upon the President to initiate a policy of active
engagement to promote peace and reconciliation in the region,
was not agreed to by a rollcall vote of 15 to 19.
An amendment offered by Mr. Rohrabacher to substitute a
reference to ``Young Turk Government'' for a reference to the
``government of the Ottoman Empire'' at one point in the
resolution was agreed to by a rollcall vote of 34 to 0.
Subsequently, the previous question was ordered by
unanimous consent and, a quorum being present, the Committee
agreed by record vote of 24 ayes to 11 noes, with 2 voting
present, to a motion offered by Mr. Smith to favorably report
the resolution, as amended, to the House of Representatives. A
motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Rollcall Votes
Clause (3)(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires that the results of each record vote
on an amendment or motion to report, together with the names of
those voting for or against, be printed in the committee
report.
Description of amendment, motion, order, or other proposition (Votes
during markup of H. Res. 596--September 28 and October 3, 2000)
Vote No. 1 (11:40 a.m.).--The Burton amendment adding
language stating that U.S. national security interests are
likely to be negated without the establishment of peace and
reconciliation between the several successor states who
comprised portions of the Ottoman Empire, but not necessarily
limited to Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia, and
calls upon the President to initiate a policy of active
engagement to promote peace and reconciliation in the region.
Voting Yes: Bereuter, Burton, Ballenger, Sanford, Salmon,
Houghton, Campbell, Brady, Burr, Gillmor, Cooksey, Tancredo,
Lantos, Faleomavaega, and Pomeroy.
Voting No: Gilman, Smith, Gallegly, Rohrabacher, Royce,
Chabot, Radanovich, Gejdenson, Berman, Ackerman, Payne,
Menendez, McKinney, Sherman, Rothman, Davis, Lee, Crowley, and
Hoeffel.
Ayes, 15. Noes, 19.
Vote No. 2 (12:06 p.m.).--Rohrabacher amendment that
replaces ``Young Turk Government'' with ``government of the
Ottoman Empire'' at one point in the resolution.
Voting Yes: Gilman, Bereuter, Smith, Burton, Gallegly,
Ballenger, Rohrabacher, Royce, Chabot, Sanford, Salmon,
Houghton, Campbell, McHugh, Brady, Burr, Gillmor, Radanovich,
Cooksey, Tancredo, Gejdenson, Lantos, Berman, Ackerman,
Faleomavaega, Menendez, McKinney, Hilliard, Sherman, Rothman,
Davis, Lee, Crowley, and Hoeffel.
Voting No: none.
Ayes, 34. Noes, 0.
Vote No. 3 (12:10 p.m.).--Smith motion to favorably report
to the House of Representatives H. Res. 596, as amended.
Voting Yes: Gilman, Smith, Gallegly, Ros-Lehtinen,
Rohrabacher, Royce, Chabot, Campbell, McHugh, Radanovich,
Tancredo, Gejdenson, Berman, Ackerman, Menendez, Brown,
McKinney, Sherman, Rothman, Davis, Delahunt, Lee, Crowley, and
Hoeffel.
Voting No: Bereuter, Burton, Ballenger, Salmon, Houghton,
Brady, Burr, Lantos, Faleomavaega, Danner, and Hilliard.
Voting ``Present'': Sanford and Cooksey.
Note.--The bill was ordered favorably reported, as amended,
by a rollcall vote of 24 ayes to 11 noes, with 2 voting
``present''.
Other Matters
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
Committee on Government Reform Findings
Clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires each committee report to contain a
summary of the oversight findings and recommendations made by
the Government Reform Committee pursuant to clause (4)(c)(2) of
rule X of those rules. The Committee on International Relations
has received no such findings or recommendations from the
Committee on Government Reform.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
Applicability to the Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
The bill may be cited as the ``Affirmation of the United
States Record on the Armenian Genocide.''
Section 2. Findings
States that a genocide was conceived and carried out by the
Ottoman Empire against ethnic Armenians from 1915 to 1923,
resulting in the deaths of one and one-half million Armenians
and the deportation of one-half million more, eliminating
Armenians from their homeland of 2,500 years;
States that in May 1915 the Allied Powers of World War I
charged the government of that Empire with a ``crime against
humanity'' for the first time in history and stated that they
would hold personally responsible for that crime all members of
the Ottoman Government;
States that the post-World War I Turkish Government itself
indicted top leaders involved in the ``organization and
execution'' of the Armenian Genocide and ``in the massacre and
destruction of the Armenians,'' yet the verdicts won against
those individuals in the courts, including death sentences,
were not enforced;
States that the United States National Archives and the
archives of Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain and Russia
hold a vast body of evidence and extensive and thorough
documentation on the Armenian Genocide and that the national
archives of Turkey should also include records related to those
responsible for the Armenian Genocide;
States that U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry
Morgenthau led protests by various countries' officials against
the Armenian Genocide and described to the State Department the
policy of the government of the Ottoman Empire as a ``campaign
of race extermination'';
Refers to a Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 of February 9,
1916 as resolving that the President should designate a day on
which U.S. citizens might contribute funds for relief of the
Armenians then experiencing untold suffering;
States that U.S. President Wilson encouraged creation of
the Near East Relief organization which contributed $116
million in aid to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide from
1915 to 1930;
Refers to a Senate Resolution 359 of May 11, 1920 as
stating that the truth of the reported massacres of Armenians
had been established;
States that Adolf Hitler had stated in 1939 in response to
concerns over his pending invasion of Poland ``[w]ho, after
all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?'';
States that Rafael Lemkin, the earliest proponent of the
Genocide Convention, invoked the Armenian case as a definitive
example of genocide in the 20th century and that he described
genocide as the sort of thing ``the Turks did to the
Armenians'';
States that the Armenian Genocide was identified as the
kind of crime the United Nations wished to prevent when the
U.N. adopted the first resolution on genocide on December 11,
1946;
States that the U.N. War Crimes Commission referred to the
Armenian Genocide as the type of act the term ``crimes against
humanity'' was intended to cover as a precedent for the
Nuremberg tribunals;
States that the U.N. Commission on Human Rights adopted a
report in 1985 that stated that the Ottoman massacre of
Armenians in 1915-16 was a case of genocide during the 20th
century and that possibly well over half of the Armenian
population, at least one million people, had been killed or
death-marched;
States that the Armenian Genocide has been acknowledged by
countries and international bodies including the United States,
Great Britain, the United Nations, the Council of Europe and
others;
States that the United States Holocaust Memorial Council
has included the Armenian Genocide in the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum;
Cites statements by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush
and Bill Clinton referring to the Armenian Genocide;
Cites a 1993 United States Court of Appeals ruling that an
assertion of ambiguity regarding the facts of the Armenian
Genocide would contradict longstanding U.S. policy;
States that United States Under Secretary of State Stuart
Eizenstat pledged in April 1999 that the administration would
raise with the Republic of Turkey the recovery of Armenian
assets held by the Imperial Ottoman Bank at the time of the
genocide period;
States that it is important that the President ensure that
the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to
human rights, ethnic cleansing and genocide documented in the
United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the
consequences of the failure to enforce the judgements of the
Turkish courts against the responsible officials.
Section 3. Declaration of policy
Calls upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy
of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and
sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic
cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record
relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the
failure to enforce the judgements of the Turkish courts against
the responsible officials;
Calls upon the President to characterize the systematic and
deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide in
any annual message issued to commemorate that event and to use
that annual message to recall the proud history of the United
States intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide;
Calls upon the President to make it clear in his annual
message commemorating the Armenian Genocide that the modern day
Republic of Turkey did not conduct the Armenian Genocide, which
was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.
DISSENTING VIEWS OF MR. LANTOS, MR. BURTON, AND MR. FALEOMAVAEGA
We share the majority's concern for the atrocities
committed against the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire
during the period 1915-1923 in which an estimated million and a
half Armenians died. American Presidents have acknowledged this
tragedy and have issued statements annually on April 24 on the
Armenian Day of Remembrance. The Statement issued by President
Clinton in April of this year is representative of the annual
statements issued to commemorate that tragedy:
Statement of the President--April 24, 2000, Armenian Day of Remembrance
Today we remember a great tragedy of the twentieth century:
the deportations and massacres of roughly one and a half
million Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. I
join Armenians around the world, including the Armenian-
American community, in mourning the loss of those innocent
lives. I also extend my sympathy to the survivors and their
descendants for the hardships they suffered. I call upon all
Americans to renew their commitment to build a world where such
events are not allowed to happen again. The lesson we must
learn from the stark annals of history is that we must forge a
more humane future for the peoples of all nations.
We believe that statement reflects the sentiments of all
Americans, and they are sentiments which I share.
At the same time, however, the statements in this
resolution go beyond the factual evidence in terms of the role
of the Ottoman government in perpetrating the atrocities that
were committed. There has been a great deal said about
``genocide'' and the direct involvement and instigation of the
Ottoman government in the atrocities. While we do not wish to
minimize in any way the enormity of the atrocities committed
against the Armenian people, the statements in the resolution
do go beyond the historical evidence of Ottoman involvement.
The Ottoman government was weak and ineffectual and in the
process of collapse at the time of these tragic events, but
there are clear indications that the government itself did not
order or instigate them.
On July 13, 1921, the British Embassy in Washington sent a
diplomatic message to the Secretary of State of the British
Foreign Office in London. The British had detained Ottoman
officials in Malta and were considering placing them on trial
``in connection with the Armenian massacres.'' The British
government requested access to diplomatic reports from American
consular officials in the Ottoman Empire at the time of the
atrocities against Armenia. The U.S. Department of State made
available to the British government those reports which the
Department judged the most useful in providing evidence of
Ottoman officials inciting the violence against Armenians.
After examining the most detailed and specific of the material
in the State Department files, the British Embassy in
Washington informed Lord Curzon, the British Secretary of
State, that ``there was nothing there which could be used as
evidence against the Turks who are being detained for trial at
Malta. The reports, seen, while furnishing full accounts of the
atrocities committed, made mention, however, of only two names
of the Turkish officials in question * * * and in these cases
were confined to personal opinions of these officials on the
part of the writer, not concrete facts being given which could
constitute satisfactory incriminating evidence.'' (Dispatch
Number 722, July 13, 1921, from R.C. Craigie, British Embassy
at Washington, to the Earl Curzon of Kedleston, Secretary of
State, Foreign Office, London.)
The most serious issue of concern to us is not the
inaccuracies that are present in the text of this resolution,
but much more importantly, the negative impact that adoption of
this resolution will have not only upon United States relations
with Turkey, but on a wide range of U.S. national interests in
which Turkey is our active and necessary partner. These vital
national interests include: continued strong, international
efforts to contain Saddam Hussein, including the participation
of the Turkish government in overflight of Northern Iraq;
efforts to achieve peace and stability in Cyprus and in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region; and Turkish engagement in the
construction of a trans-Caucus oil pipeline to provide energy
security into the future. Our commercial relationship with
Turkey also could be put at risk by this ill-considered
measure.
Importantly, a number of current and former United States
government officials with long experience in defense and
national security issues have expressed very serious concern
about the consequences of the adoption of this resolution.
These expressions of concern are of such importance that we
include them in this statement of minority views. The
resolution reported from the Committee in International
Relations is H. Res. 596, but administration views were
requested by the Committee on an earlier version of that
resolution--H. Res. 398. The new resolution differs from the
earlier version in only minor respects.
------
Letter to the Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman, Chairman, Committee on
International Relations, From Bipartisan Group of Former National
Security and Military Leaders, October 2, 2000
Hon. Benjamin Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations,
House of Representatives.
Dear Mr. Chairman: We urge opposition to House Resolution
596, recently passed by the Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights of the House International
Relations Committee, concerning the attention which should be
given by the President to the ``Armenian Genocide'' in American
foreign policy.
Whatever you or others may feel about the merits of this
resolution, it is important to understand the real world
consequences of its adoption. The potential for damage to U.S.
interests in a vital region dramatically outweighs, in our
judgement, any acknowledgment of past atrocities during World
War I and its aftermath.
Turkey's strategic location at the crossroads of Europe,
the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, as well as its
unique position as the only Muslim democratic country with a
vigorous market economy, places it at the center of U.S. short
and long term strategic interests.
Now is not the time to test the will of an indispensable
ally which, for over forty years, has proven its loyalty and
strategic importance. A staunch ally during the Cold War,
Turkey will be even more crucial to U.S. security interests in
the 21st century in a region plagued by new security
challenges, including political instability, Islamic extremism,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and
narcotics trafficking.
Turkey's cooperation is essential to promote U.S. strategic
interests in the region. Yet with the adoption of this
resolution, no Turkish government will be able to be as
forthcoming as in the past, given its public's strong
sensitivities to events clouded by history. Consider the
consequences:
Iraq--Amid recent fears of increased Iraqi
pressures on Kuwait reminiscent of the Gulf crisis in 1990,
Turkey remains central to U.S.-led efforts to contain Iraqi
aggression. Turkey continues to host U.S. and British forces
participating in Operation Northern Watch as they enforce the
no-fly zone in northern Iraq and protect the people there from
Saddam. And it is continuing to impose sanctions against Iraq
despite the fact that it has cost the Turkish economy over $35
billion.
The Newly Independent States--Turkey is a
geostrategic bridge between the newly independent states of the
Caucasus and Central Asia and the West. An energy
transportation corridor through Turkey will prevent Russia or
Iran from monopolizing strategic gas and oil reserves in the
region.
Regional Cooperation--Turkey's great strides in
combating indigenous terrorism continue to be a model for other
countries. The U.S. State Department has consistently praised
Turkey for significant contributions in the fight against
terrorism.
The Balkans--Integral to our efforts to end ethnic
bloodshed in the Balkans, Turkey participated in the air war in
Kosovo and housed thousands of fleeing refugees. Turkey
continues to help NATO secure a lasting peace in Kosovo by
maintaining a 1,000-man brigade there and is helping stabilize
Bosnia with its 700-man policing force.
Relations with Israel--Turkey was the first Muslim
country to establish relations with Israel over 50 years ago.
Over the past ten years, this relationship has matured into a
full-blown ``strategic partnership'' that includes joint
military exercises.
Passage of the resolution would strengthen the hand of
those in Turkey who oppose Turkey's further integration into
the West and would deliver a several blow to U.S. interests in
the region. We urge you to carefully weigh the implications of
this resolution and vote against wherever it may be considered,
either in committee or on the House floor.
Sincerely,
Frank Carlucci, Former Secretary of Defense;
William J. Perry, Former Secretary of
Defense; Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr.,
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff;
General Alexander Haig, Former Secretary of
State and Former Supreme Allied Commander
for Europe; General Wesley K. Clark, Former
Supreme Allied Commander for Europe;
General George Joulwan, Former Supreme
Allied Commander for Europe; Richard Allen,
Former National Security Advisor.
Richard Perle, Former Assistant Secretary of
Defense; General John Shalikashvili, Former
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Former
Supreme Allied Commander for Europe;
General Brent Scowcroft, Former National
Security Advisor; James Woolsey, Former
Director of Central Intelligence; General
James Jamerson, Former Deputy Commander-in-
Chief, United States European Command;
General John W. Vessey, Jr., Former
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
------
Letter to the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker, House of
Representatives, From Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen, September 28,
2000
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker, House of Representatives
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: I appreciated the opportunity to speak
with you on H. Res. 398, the United States Training on and
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. As we
discussed, I am concerned with the unintended harm passage of
this Resolution could have on our efforts to build peace and
stability in the region.
In no way do I mean to downplay the Armenian tragedy. In
recognition of that suffering, the U.S. Government has a
tradition of commemorating Armenian Remembrance Day each April
24, mourning the loss of innumerable Armenian lives and
challenging all Americans to recommit themselves to ensuring
that such events never again happen.
However, passing judgment on this history through
legislation could have a negative impact on Turkish-Armenian
relations and on our security interests in the region, H. Res.
398 would complicate our efforts to protect our interests in
the region and sustain our positive relationship with Turkey; a
strong and strategic ally.
Again, I appreciated the opportunity to talk with you about
this important issue. Please let me know if I can provide any
further information to you on this manner.
Sincerely,
Bill Cohen.
------
Letter to the Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman, Chairman, Committee on
International Relations, From Assistant Secretary of State Barbara
Larkin, July 13, 2000
Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations,
House of Representatives.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter is to respond to your
Committee's request for the Administration's views on H. Res.
398, the ``United States Training on and Commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution.'' Over the years, the Department
of State has set forth its objections, in detail, to previous
congressional resolutions on this issue. These objections
remain no less valid today. In essence, the Administration
believes that H. Res. 398 would complicate its efforts to build
a peaceful, prosperous, and stable future for the people of the
region.
The Administration opposes legislative measures to deal
with the sensitive issue raised in H. Res. 398. That the
Armenian people endured horrible massacres and suffering during
the First World War is beyond doubt. That the peoples of Turkey
and Armenia must find a way to come to terms with their shared
history is a principle we strongly support. But we also agree
with the position adopted by other friends of both Armenia and
Turkey, including France and Israel, that the question of how
these massacres are characterized is best left to historians,
and cannot be legislated from outside.
The President and the Secretary of State ascribe great
importance to the process of building peace, stability, and
mutual confidence in the Caucasus region. Normalization of the
Turkish-Armenian relationship is a vital element of any
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, and thus of Armenia's future. H.
Res. 398 would be likely to have the unintended effect of
injuring ongoing efforts to improve relations between Turkey
and Armenia. It would thus deal a severe setback to prospects
for a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement between Armenia and
Azerbaijan at an especially sensitive moment in the Minsk
Group-sponsored peace process. The U.S. has a crucial role to
play in nurturing a positive political climate in the region.
The memory of the tragic massacres will be forever with us.
President Clinton has preserved the tradition of commemorating
Armenian Remembrance Day each April 24, issuing a solemn
statement that mourns the loss of innocent Armenian lives and
challenges all Americans to recommit themselves to ensuring
that such events never occur again. We believe this is the most
fitting and appropriate tribute to the victims of the
massacres.
The Office of Management and Budget advises that from the
standpoint of the Administration's program there is no
objection to the submission of this letter.
Sincerely,
Barbara Larkin,
Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs.
------
Letter to the Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman, Chairman, Committee on
International Relations, From Undersecretary of Defense Walter B.
Slocombe, September 20, 2000
Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations, House of
Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to offer the views of the
Department of Defense on H. Res. 398, the ``United States
Training on and Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution.'' The Department of State conveyed to you in June
the Administration's objections to this and previous
resolutions on this issue, and the Administration's continuing
opposition to legislative measures to deal with the sensitive
issues raised in H. Res. 398. Ambassador Grossman reiterated
these objections in recent testimony before the subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights. We continue to be
concerned that passage of H. Res. 398 would have substantial
negative effects on our strategic interests in the region,
complicating our effort to build peace and stability.
There is no doubt that the Armenians suffered greatly
during World War I. It is clearly in the interest of both the
Turkish and Armenian peoples that they together come to terms
with these events. President Clinton has continued the
tradition of commemorating Armenian Remembrance Day each April
24, mourning the loss of innumerable Armenian lives and
challenging all Americans to recommit themselves to ensuring
that such events never happen again. This is a fitting and
appropriate tribute to the victims and a means of fostering
awareness of this historic tragedy.
However, passing judgment on this history through
legislation could only have a negative impact on Turkish-
Armenian relations and on our security interests in the region.
Turkey is important to U.S. defense interests because it is at
the epicenter of many crucial United States security concerns
and has actively supported United States interests. Turkey has
faithfully guarded the southeast flank of NATO for almost 50
years, and remains one of NATO's most steadfast members. Over
2000 Turkish soldiers are deployed in Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania
and Macedonia. Ankara supports our Iraq policy, a stance which
has resulted in substantial economic costs to Turkey in lost
trade. Operation Northern Watch, the enforcement of the
northern no-fly zone over Iraq, continues to operate from the
Turkish base at Incirlik.
Further, as recent events have shown, it is difficult to
overstate Turkey's strategic value. The Balkans, the Persian
Gulf and much of the Middle East are within reach of Turkish
bases. Syria, Iraq, Iran and the oil-rich but volatile Caucasus
region lie along its borders. With key U.S. security interests
implicated in each of these, our alliance and relationship with
Turkey will only become more vital in the years ahead. H. Res.
398 would complicate our efforts to build relationships and
protect our interests in the region and sustain our positive
relationship with a key, strategically placed ally.
Thank you for considering our views in your deliberations
on this legislation.
Sincerely yours,
Walter B. Slocombe.
------
Tom Lantos.
Dan Burton.
Eni Faleomavaega.
Amo Houghton.
Pat Danner.
Kevin Brady.