Armenian sway over US lawmakers

[MrCoffee]

Despite a direct appeal by US President George W Bush, lawmakers in the US have backed a description of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks after 1915 as genocide.

The resolution, passed by the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs committee, was written by Democrat Adam Schiff, whose California district is home to the US's largest ethnic-Armenian community.

Across the country, Armenian-Americans have been lobbying politicians, and publicising their view of the massacres as genocide - a suggestion the Turkish government and most Turks furiously reject.

<snip>

Divisions within the {House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs} committee ultimately crossed party lines, with eight Democrats voting against the measure and eight Republicans voting for it.

Opponents of the resolution argue it could endanger US national security and that now is not the time to have the debate.

Supporters draw a parallel between the mass killing of Armenians and what is happening in the Darfur region of Sudan today - and say the US must speak now if it is to maintain credibility on human rights.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7040344.stm

[Igel]

1. Not everything that is true must be said.

Not every question leads to edification.

Sometimes tact, expediency and forebearance are more important than trumpeting truth. Sometimes not.

Sometimes silence doesn't mean denial or consent, it just means silence.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. "Sometimes silence doesn't mean denial or consent, it just means silence."

People have been silent about the Armenian genocide for ninety years. I think this time it does mean denial and consent.