The US House of Representatives acknowledged the Armenian genocide - Turkey is raging and calling the decision meaningless.

The US House of Representatives acknowledged the Armenian genocide - Turkey is raging and calling the decision meaningless.
The US House of Representatives has acknowledged the genocide of Armenians during the First World War, when about 1.5 million people were killed in the then Ottoman Empire. The resolution adopted with votes 405 to 11 was symbolic, but it was immediately condemned by Turkey.



Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who hails from a California district with a large number of American Armenians, has for 19 years sought to enforce a genocide resolution. He gave an emotional speech in which he compared the Kurds' position with the Armenians.
"How can we say that crimes committed a hundred years ago are a thing of the past when we see pictures of frightened Kurdish families fleeing from their homes in northern Syria away from Turkish bombs and raging militias," said Schiff, who also heads the House of Representatives' influential intelligence committee.
- We cannot pick and choose which crime against humanity it is appropriate to speak about. We cannot be silenced by a foreign power, Schiff added.
Turkey that emerged after the Ottoman Empire has never acknowledged the genocide of Armenians and other Christians. The Turks question the stated number of Armenian casualties and claim that most died because of the war that triggered famine.
"This disgraceful decision by those who exploit history politically is of no significance to our government and our people," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu.
- The decision, which has obviously been made for a domestic audience, is historically and legally baseless, Cavusoglu condemned.
An Armenian woman lights candles in n church to honor the memory of Armenians who were killed in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1917
An Armenian woman lights candles in a church to honor the memory of the Armenians who were killed in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1917 Image: EPA
It was no coincidence that the resolution was passed right now, 35 years after it first appeared in Congress, but it happened at the same time that US-Turkey relations are particularly strained because of the war in Syria.
The Congress has, among other things, been annoyed by the NATO country's decision to buy a modern Russian missile system despite US protests.
Both Democrats and Republicans are furious with Turkey and President Donald Trump, who is believed to have surrendered to the Turks' demands for a so-called protection zone in Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria.
The House of Representatives therefore, by an overwhelming majority, adopted new sanctions against Turkey shortly after the vote on the genocide resolution.
The Turks realized this and condemned both polls in sharp terms. The country's foreign ministry says the resolution was a clear revenge for Turkey's invasion of Syria.
- We believe that Turkey's American friends who support the alliance will continue to question this serious mistake.
Thirty countries around the world have condemned the genocide of Armenians, including Germany, France and Sweden. Turkey has often reacted angrily, including by calling home its ambassador.