ARMENIANS HAIL VOTE ON RECOGNITION.

Byline: Jennifer Hamm Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Local Armenian-Americans were jubilant Thursday after a congressional subcommittee vote pushed forward a resolution that would officially recognize the Armenian genocide despite strong opposition from an important U.S. ally.

``The importance of the vote can't be overstated,'' said Alex Sardar, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of American Western Region. ``Everyone is watching this vote. The United States, as home of so many Armenians, is one of the largest countries that has yet to affirm the reality of the Armenian Genocide.''

The resolution has been closely watched by Armenian-Americans in the Glendale area, which has the largest population of Armenians outside of Armenia.

It's also being closely watched in Turkey, which has denied Armenian assertions that 1.5 million Armenians were killed during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.

The issue strikes a deep chord for Alice Petrossian, an assistant superintendent in the Glendale Unified School District, who said her grandparents were victims of the genocide.

The action ``is truly something that my grandparents would have been proud of,'' Petrossian said. ``Unfortunately, it didn't happen in their lifetime.''

In the Armenian capital, Yerevan, local television programming was interrupted Thursday to announce the subcommittee's action, Sardar said.

The nonbinding resolution still has an uphill battle to win support of the entire U.S. House of Representatives. It will go before the full House International Relations Committee next week and could then go to the floor.

Members of Congress, however, remain bitterly divided over the matter, with some fearing the recognition will anger America's ally Turkey. Under political pressure, some are abandoning support, said U.S. Rep. James Rogan, R-Pasadena, co-author of the resolution.

``I don't think anybody is under the expectation that it is actually going to pass the floor,'' said Rogan, whose district includes Glendale. ``I'm holding out hope.''

As a member of the NATO alliance, Turkey commits more soldiers than any other country, including the United States. It also is home to the heavily used Incirlik Air Base, where about 4,000 Americans are based - and from which U.S. fighter planes have been flying numerous missions over northern Iraq.

Guler Koknar, executive director of the Assembly of Turkish American Association, said her organization has been providing information to members of Congress because the resolution ``picks and chooses from historical evidence'' and is ``completely lacking in context.''

``We're not the ones who are threatening anybody,'' Koknar said. ``We're the ones who are being attacked and threatened.''

Koknar said the resolution is just an effort to help Rogan win his re-election bid, which is one of the most hotly contested House races this fall.

Rogan's challenger, state Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, said Thursday that he sent letters and made phone calls to members of Congress asking them to support the resolution.

The resolution would also require federal government employees to learn about the genocide.

Wire services contributed to this story.

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Photo: (ran in Glen/Bur edition only) Lala Petrosian and others dance to Armenian music at an ethnic celebration Thursday at Glendale City College.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News