Why is U.S. afraid to upset Turkey?
Earlier this month, Germany joined Canada, France, Italy, Russia, much of South America, the Vatican and more than 20 other nations in recognizing the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government during the period 1915–1923.
Far from making a similar declaration, the entire House of Representatives has yet to even debate and vote on the issue. Previous resolutions have been killed even before reaching the House floor due to threats from Turkey. I hope the current Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution (House Resolution 154), which is supported by local congressmen Jim Costa, Jeff Denham, Devin Nunes and David Valadao will not also fall victim to the same outside forces.
It’s hard to understand why our leadership allows a foreign country to dictate what is and what isn’t addressed by Congress. Germany and the Pope were also threatened by our so-called ally, Turkey, but they stood by principle recognizing and condemning the genocide.
Why aren’t the leaders of our beautiful country standing strong on these founding principles of truth and justice and recognizing the Armenian Genocide, as Germany and the Pope recently did?
Raffi Mouradian, Fresno
This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Why is U.S. afraid to upset Turkey?."