Frank Pallone: “I want to express my intense disappointment with the decision by the Republican leadership today to pull the Armenian…”

“I want to express my intense disappointment with the decision by the Republican leadership today to pull the Armenian genocide resolution from consideration by the House of Representatives for the remainder of this session of Congress. The Speaker promised to bring this resolution to the floor. His stated reason for not doing so is a request by President Clinton that it not be considered. Mr. Speaker, the State Department and President Clinton have opposed recognition of the Armenian genocide from day one. We all know that the State Department repeatedly uses national security as the reason to oppose most things Armenian. What is really going on here is that the Speaker and the President and, therefore, the government of these United States, both Executive and Legislative, have succumbed to the threat of the Turkish government, threats by that government against American soldiers and American lives. Mr. Speaker, this is shameful. Turkey is a bully. We have America, the most powerful country in the world, being told by the Republic of Turkey what we can talk about and what we can think, not only with regard to human rights violations, but with regard to the most heinous crime against humanity, genocide. I would like to know what kind of ally threatens American lives if it does not get its way. With friends like that, as the saying goes, who needs enemies.”