In a bipartisan resolution passed in the US House of Representatives, recognizing Armenian genocide carried out by Ottomon Turks during the first World War, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar voted 'Present'. Explaining her stand of not supporting the resolution, the lawmaker from Minnesota said it was important to first condemn the "mass slaughter of indigenous people" as well as the "traumatic slave trade". "US Congress has condemned both the abuses against Native Americans and slave trade," political analyst Zaid Jilan wrote on Twitter. He further added, "It (US Congress) has never passed a resolution condemning Armenian genocide. That's why Ilhan Omar's explanation here rings hollow".
What's Armenian Genocide?
In 1915-1916, over a million Christian Armenians perished when the Ottoman Turks deported them in large numbers from Eastern Anatolia to the Syrian desert. There hasn't been an academic consensus regarding what constituted the widespread deaths to be termed a 'genocide'. Citing the same, in a letter to CNN, Omar said, "accountability and recognition of genocide should not be used as a crudgel in political fight" but should instead "be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics"
Ilhan Omar along with Rashida Tlaib created history by being the first Muslim women to be elected to the US Congress in 2016. She has created outrage in the past due to her terror apologist and anti-semitic views. She described 9/11 as "some people did something" in a public address. Early this year, she tweeted that support for Israel in the US Congress "is all about Benjamins." In 2012, she tweeted, "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel"
In a bipartisan vote 405-11, the US Congress passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning the Armenian genocide carried out by the Ottoman Turks. In response, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusogle said that the vote is in revenge of its military offensive in Syria. On October 8, Turkey attacked Syrian Kurdish forces in northern Syria, after US President Donald Trump ordered its troops to pullout from the region. This led to widespread assault against the Kurds, who have been US allies in its fight against the ISIS. As of 2019, 32 countries and governments, including US, France, Germany, Russia, Holy See, have recognized the Armenian genocide.
