U.S. House Votes to Condemn Armenian Genocide, Angering Turkey

Inside of Yerevan’s Armenian Genocide memorial (Flickr)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 405-to-11 on October 29 to recognize the the mass slaughter of Armenians perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. 

The Armenian genocide resulted in the deaths of roughly 1.5 million Armenians and other ethnic minorities through murder, starvation, and forced “death marches” into the desert toward Syria. 

Since the genocide, Turkey has consistently denied that the killings were systematic, sometimes even claiming the killings never took place. Still, over 20 countries have recognized the atrocity as genocide. The U.S. has historically avoided referring to the atrocity as “genocide” because of its valued diplomatic relationship with Turkey.

The U.S.’s change in policy comes on the heels of Turkish campaign of violence against the Kurds of Northern Syria, following the U.S.'s withdrawal from the region.

As a result, some have argued that U.S. condemnation of the genocide is purely political, functioning more as a blow to Turkey than as genuine condemnation of genocide. Regardless of political motives, the vote does further inform recent conflict in Northern Syria. 

Turkey responded to the vote with anger. Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted, “This shameful decision of those exploiting history in politics is null&void for our Government&people. (sic)”

Representative Ilhan Omar, who voted “present” on the resolution explained her decision on Twitter: “My issue was with the timing and context. I think we should demand accountability for human rights abuses consistently, not simply when it suits our political goals.”

Still, Samantha Power, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and author of A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide, argues that the focus should not be on the current political dynamics between the U.S. and Turkey: “for the sake of overall American credibility and for that of our diplomats, Washington officials must be empowered to tell the truth.”  

The U.S. cannot issue official recognition of the Armenian Genocide until the U.S. Senate passes the resolution and President Trump signs it.