The premiere of “Aghet: A genocide” took place on Wednesday in a room of the Rayburn House Office Building, close to the US Capitol. “I am honored to host the screening of ‘Aghet: A genocide’ in order to help educate my colleagues and their staff about the first genocide of the 20th Century,” Rep. Adam Schiff, an active supporter of efforts for US recognition of genocide claims, said.
The Armenian claims of genocide affect Turkish-US ties as well. Several US congressmen have pushed for recognition of the alleged genocide but such efforts have failed in the past after US administrations intervened for the sake of protecting ties with Turkey.
Turkey denies genocide claims and says Armenians and Muslim Turks were both killed when the Ottoman Empire quelled an Armenian revolt for independence, backed by Russian forces then invading eastern Anatolia. Analysts say Jewish groups in the US, which traditionally worked to block Congress resolutions on the alleged genocide, are likely to refuse to do so anymore amid a severe deterioration in Turkish-Israeli ties following an Israeli raid on an aid ship that killed eight Turks and one American on May 31. This, coupled with US disappointment over a Turkish vote at the UN Security Council against sanctions on Iran, may pave the way for the passage of a “genocide” resolution if it is brought to the US Congress again.
A pre-screening reception and the actual screening were followed by a panel discussion, featuring, among others, the documentary’s German director, Eric Friedler and former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.
