US congressional panel votes to criticize religious freedom in Turkey

A US House panel on Wednesday voted in favor of language to urge Ankara to end religious discrimination, particularly against Christian minorities. The non-binding amendment to the State Department Authorization bill was overwhelmingly approved 43-1 following nearly an hour of debate between the Republicans, who control the House, and Democrats, whose party holds the White House and the State Department. Republican Dana Rohrabacher questioned Democrat Howard Berman, one of the amendment's co-sponsors, on why the measure specifically targeted Turkey, which he called the freest country in the Muslim world. Rohrabacher later voted for the measure, saying that though he had no objections to its criticisms, Turkey is still being subjected to a double standard. He also criticized Greek and Armenian lobbyists, saying while other foreign groups push congressmen to vote in ways that benefit their countries, Greeks and Armenians are focused on legislation that hurts Turkey. Berman replied that he wasn't specifically targeting Turkey, adding that while it is a modern country, a member of NATO, and a candidate to join the European Union, Turkey's record on religious freedom is poor. The bill urges Turkey to "safeguard its Christian heritage and return confiscated church properties" and calls on Washington to urge Turkey to protect the religious freedoms of its Christian population. The text makes no reference to Armenian claims of genocide during World War I, in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, despite Armenian groups' efforts to add it to the amendment. On micro-blogging site Twitter, Turkey's Ambassador to US Namik Tan praised this aspect of the bill. "Radical sectors of the US Armenian lobby who oppose dialogue again failed to achieve their goals," he wrote. "Unfounded slander regarding our history was not included in the State Department Authorization bill."