The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to officially recognize the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against Armenians, but a single Democrat voted “present.” Now, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing backlash for that decision.
Omar said that she disapproved of the politicization of the vote, and that her qualm is not with the content of the resolution, but with its timing and intent.
“*Of course* we should acknowledge the Genocide,” Omar tweeted, adding, “I think we should demand accountability for human rights abuses consistently, not simply when it suits our political goals.”
In a statement, Omar said that a “true acknowledgement” of genocide must also include atrocities committed by the U.S.
“I also believe accountability for human rights violations — especially ethnic cleansing and genocide — is paramount. But accountability and recognition of genocide should not be used as cudgel in a political fight,” Omar said.
My focus has and will always be to make sure our foreign policy is consistent, coherent and my votes will as well.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 29, 2019
“A true acknowledgment of historical crimes against humanity must include both the heinous genocides of the 20th century, along with earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide, which took the lives of hundreds of millions of indigenous people in this country,” she added.
Omar also retweeted anthropologist Michael Oman-Reagan, who said, “Meanwhile many of the people who voted for it today have historically NOT supported the content of the resolution, but now support the way it’s being used. See?”
In a 405-to-11 vote, lawmakers affirmed a historic move that will almost certainly exacerbate U.S.-Turkey tensions. The genocide measure officially recognizes the systematic killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. Turkey disputes that Armenian deaths were due to genocide, considering them regular casualties of war.
Armenian advocacy groups said they do not agree with Omar’s choice, NBC News reported. Van Krikorian, co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America, told NBC Omar’s vote does “not represent the best of American or Muslim values.”
“Innocent people were and are being slaughtered, and there is a universal need to defend the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing, not to stand with or defer to the murderers,” Krikorian said.
The Rev. Tadeos Barseghyan of St. Sahag Armenian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the timing argument is an excuse that has been used before.
“Is there a right or wrong time to … stand up for justice that she claims to be a champion for?” Barseghyan said.
The resolution was passed alongside a measure to implement sanctions against Turkey, which recently reached a deal with the U.S. to end a military invasion on Kurdish fighters who helped the U.S. fight the Islamic State. Omar voted “no” on the sanctions measure.
“But too often our sanctions policies are ill-considered, inhumane and hurt the very people we claim to be helping,” Omar said of that vote.
‘Double whammy’:House approves sweeping Turkey sanctions bill, recognizes Armenian genocide
Omar was joined by two House Republicans in voting “present.” Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar said in a statement that he refuses to “conflate” the Ottoman Empire’s actions and Turkey’s invasion on the Kurds. He also called the resolution “inflammatory and false.”
“This resolution is a pretext to attack Donald Trump,” Gosar said.
The resolution recognizing the genocide has been a long time coming for Congress, with multiple similar attempts failing to pass under governments controlled by both political parties. Turkey is a NATO ally.
Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen, the Associated Press
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