U.S. congressman vows to introduce Armenian bill

Democratic Rep.Adam Schiff of Pasadena, a Southern California city, said he would introduce the bill later this month, adding he believes U.S. President Barack Obama will support it.Â

Armenian lobby organizations have increased theirs efforts to have their claims regarding the 1915 incidents recognized in the U.S. Congress. During the election campaign, Obama had pledged to recognize the Armenian claims.   

"He has a track record of supporting the recognition of the genocide," Schiff told Pasadena Star News. "I am very hopeful that he will support the bill," he added.

Schiff previously introduced the bill in the fall of 2007 and initially found a lot of support for it.

Schiff said Obama had spoken in support of the bill while in the Senate, and said on the campaign trail that he was in favor of the bill.

The bill would first face the challenge of getting through the House and Senate, something which Schiff said was not guaranteed. "I'm not taking anything for granted," he said.

The issue of 1915 incidents is highly sensitive for Turkey as well as Armenia. Around 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks, died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

However Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. The issue remains unsolved as Armenia drags its feet in accepting Turkey's proposal of forming a commission to investigate the claims.