Turkish reaction against H.Res. 398

[Guest]

Friday, September 22 5:43 PM SGT

 

Turkey warns US over Armenian genocide bill

 

ANKARA, Sept 22 (AFP) -

 

Turkey has warned its key ally the United States that relations will suffer if US lawmakers adopt a bill recognizing the 1915 killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

 

"The adoption of the bill in the House of Representatives would undoubtedly have serious repercussions on bilateral ties between Turkey and the US," said a Turkish foreign ministry statement Friday.

 

Such a move would also hinder the normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia, as well as efforts to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus, the ministry added.

 

The statement came after the bill was approved Thursday by the sub-comittee of the International Operations and Human Rights in the House of Representatives. Turkey said the bill was based on "false and distorted data."

 

The bill will be voted on in the Comittee of International Operations and Human Rights before being debated in the general assembly.

 

"We believe common sense will prevail in the House of Representatives and that its members should take into consideration the negative impacts their decision will have on Turkish-US relations," the Turkish statement said.

 

A second reaction came from the office of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer who had already broached the sensitive subject with US President Bill Clinton during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations summit in New York earlier September.

 

The president's spokesman Metin Yalman told a press conference here that during the meeting Sezer underlined the importance of Washington's efforts to prevent the adoption of the bill to avert any harm to the "strategic partnership" between the US and Turkey.

 

"The president noted that the (US) congress takes up the so-called genocide claims, which distort historical facts, especially during election periods and attempts to judge history," Yalman said.

 

He added that Sezer had on Thursday also asked the newly-appointed US ambassador in Ankara, Robert Pearson, for the US administration to "step up its efforts at this critical stage."

 

The Turkish press also criticized on Friday the developments in the US as being election-motivated.

 

"The US House of Representaives has stabbed its key ally Turkey in the back for the votes of 300,000 Armenians," the liberal Milliyet daily said.

 

Armenia maintains that up to 1.3 million of its people were massacred in 1915, while Turkey says the figure was around 300,000.

 

Turkey also rejects claims of genocide and saying that thousands of Turks also died in what was internal fighting during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.

 

In February, the French senate (upper house) said it would not discuss a similar bill acknowledging the 1915 massacre as genocide because the House was not authorised to debate a motion passing judgment on a period of history.

 

The decision had come after Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned that adopting the bill, which states that "France publicly acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915," would damage Franco-Turkish relations.

[Guest]

September 22, 2000

 

Turks Angered Over Genocide Ruling

 

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 10:27 a.m. ET

 

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Turks expressed anger and disappointment Friday that a panel of U.S. lawmakers recognized the killings of approximately 1.5 million Armenians by Turks from 1915 to 1923 as a genocide.

 

The House International Relations Committee's panel on human rights passed a resolution Thursday calling on President Clinton to label the deaths a genocide, which means the systematic annihilation of a racial, political or cultural group.

 

"Turkey is doing its best for peace in the Caucasus, but taking a position in favor of the Armenian resolution is an extremely ugly and saddening event," Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said.

 

"Some irresponsible politicians have an impact on foreign policy and this is creating tensions," Ecevit warned, adding that Turkey's "very good relations with the United States ... are being harmed."

 

The Clinton administration has come out strongly against the resolution, arguing that it would damage vital Turkish-U.S. ties. Turkey, a NATO member, is a close U.S. ally. U.S. forces use a Turkish air base to patrol northern Iraq and bomb Iraq's air defense system there.

 

Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual leader of Turkey's 70,000 Orthodox Armenians, also lamented the approval of the resolution.

 

"I do not believe anyone will profit from this, and I think it will hurt Turkish-Armenian relations," the patriarch said in a statement Friday.

 

Turkey's Armenian community disassociates itself from the Armenian diaspora that has been pressuring Turkey and the international community to recognize the Armenian genocide.

 

Armenians say that some 1.5 million people were slaughtered between 1915 and 1923 as part of a campaign of genocide aimed at forcing the Armenian population from the east of Turkey. Turkey says both Armenians and Turks were killed during civil unrest.

 

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer reiterated Turkey's concerns to U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson, who presented his credentials to Sezer Thursday.

 

The resolution, adopted by voice vote, was passed on to the full Committee on International Relations for consideration.

[Guest]

US-Turkish relations on the rocks

 

Sezer and Ecevit call on American Administration to fight passage of a bill recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide

 

Ankara

NTV

 

September 22 - Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer expressed anger at the approval by the human rights panel of the House International Relations Committee of the bill on the so-called Armenian genocide.

 

Sezer, in a message conveyed to the American ambassador to Ankara, Robert Pearson, called on the U.S. Administration to fight against ratification of the bill in the House of Representatives, indicating that U.S.-Turkish relations would suffer if it is passed. The president called Ambassador Pearson to the presidential palace yesterday to deliver his message. Sezer delivered the same message to American President Bill Clinton at the recent U.N. summit of world leaders in New York at the beginning of September. Sezer had said in that letter that joint relations would be hurt and strategic cooperation between the two Nato allies wrecked if the bill were to advance.

 

ECEVIT: DECISION DISTRESSING

Prime Minister Ecevit also reacted harshly to the news that the measure was advancing towards a possible House vote. -I am hoping the administration will show the House the correct path.- Ecevit, praising the U.S. position as the global leader, said, "How sad it is to see that a handful of irresponsible politicians are so effective in formulating foreign policies," adding that it was distressing to see congressmen promoting unfounded claims.

 

In response to a question as to whether the government would consider restricting American use of Incirilik airbase or reconsider a helicopter tender awarded to an American firm, Ecevit said the American Administration was responding to questions by the Turkish government. He said all that was left to be done was action.

 

FOREIGN MINISTRY’S PLAN OF ACTION

The Foreign Ministry immediately formed a plan of action against a possible threat posed by Armenia in the wake of the bill’s approval in the House sub-committee. Measures will be discussed at a meeting to to be attended by a lieutenant general of the Turkish General Staff. One of the choices open to them is to shore-up an already tight embargo on Armenia, imposed because of Armenia’s conflict with neighborng Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabach. The Foreign Ministry had warned before yesterday’s vote that Turkish-Armenian relations would be damaged further if the bill were passed.

 

ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE

Meanwhile, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II said that if the bill were to be made a law, relations between Armenians and Turks in Turkey would be injured. He said the question of "genocide" should not be debated on a political platform, but by Turkish and Armenian historians. He pointed out that Armenians make up the largest group of non-Muslims in the country, and urged the Turkish government to not allow developments in other countries to harm Turkish citizens.

[Guest]

Ararat gites inch em matstsum .

#1 vor es "tatron@" inchvor shat anhavanakan a vor @endunvi.

#2 yete sa hankarts @endunvi ~ yes chgitem te inch arjekov / e sa @ENDUNVELU

 

hetaqrqirn iyn e vor Robert Kocharyan@ ir UN zekutsman 80% HAykakan Genotsidi masin er xosum .

iyster mi ban ka / mi ban e katarvum vor@ menak DER chenk haskanum , inch en poxanakum inch en xostanum yev inch en portsum anel .

de heto mi ban el ka te inchpes yev kam inch RISK uni Turkyan USA Naxatel yev kam TREAT anelu ,

kam sa bavakanin lav kazmakerpvats TATRON e kam el Hye baxt norits merjelu en yev kam hetadzkelu en minchev prezidentakan @entrutyuner verchanan.

yev kam yete @endunvi verchin xosk@ USA przedentinn e , na K@nduni te voch ?

chmoranank vor sa clintoni verchin tarin e .

Tesnank te Hye azgihamar inch nor Jakatagir e patrastvats .

[Guest]

Banadzev@ chi @ndunvi. Yete el @ndunvi, presidenti koghmits veto K@drvi.

Sa jamanakavor Hreakan Khagh e. (Hishir Paghestini ststusi masin banaktsutyunner@ Ankaraum).

[Guest]

Why not to talk and not to push for the Genocide? It is a good way to make impression that our Armenian Government is fighting for the rights of the nation or the state, and it is a good way to circumvent the real legal framework - the abolition of the four-lateral Caucasian Treaty of 1921.

[Guest]

23 September 2000, Copyright © Turkish Daily News

 

Turkey's first-ever ambition

 

Turkey usually works without coordination; while the Foreign Ministry tries to do one thing, the government makes a completely opposite decision

 

Opinion by Mehmet Ali Birand

mbirand@ibm.net

http://www.turkishdailynews.com/jpeg21/birand3.jpg

 

You must have experienced this for yourselves at one time or another. Turkey usually works without coordination; while the Foreign Ministry tries to do one thing, the government makes a completely opposite decision. For example, this week there was a session at the European Council that berated the lack of freedom of expression in Turkey, and yet we are either going to close down a party or throw certain individuals in jail. One hand does not know what the other is doing.

 

This is the first time (albeit by coincidence) that Turkey has most intelligently set itself a target and made the decisions (albeit with some reluctance) to reach it.

 

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was in many talks with the leaders of parties in the European Parliament and with the European Commission on Thursday. He gave the same message every time and then briefed the press afterwards:

 

"Turkey should be satisfied with the European Union's expectations as will be laid down in the Accession Partnership Accord and should in the shortest period of time ensure compliance with the Copenhagen criteria; Turkey should also be at the conference table to discuss full membership by the end of 2001." Cem thus took a very intelligent step.

 

He announced his aims instead of giving the initiative to the other side. He decided to take the lead rather than prolong the business and stay constantly under EU pressure. His justification was very convincing.

 

"If we do not hurry, those who do not want to see Turkey in Europe [especially the Christian Democrats] will become organized very quickly." Cem sees the truth. The Christian Democrats are pursuing a campaign against Turkey that is gradually gaining ground. The faster Turkey can get a move on and get membership talks off the ground, the less effective the Christian Democrats will be. For this reason, Cem's declared target of 2001 carries much importance.

 

While Ismail Cem was making these statements in Brussels, in Ankara (as a result of either pure coordination or pure coincidence) the government accepted a Human Rights Coordination High Board report as a "reference and study document."

 

This sentence is also significant in that when EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen visited Ankara in July he demonstrated great flexibility and said: "Stand behind the high board's report. Accept it as a reference and study document. That will be enough for us to begin with." Ankara has complied with the commissioners's wishes, but with one difference...

 

Neither the death penalty nor the status of the National Security Council (MGK) were listed among the government's priorities.

 

The sentence does not mean a thing.

 

It can be understood that Ecevit prefers to leave these issues out for the time being in order not to quarrel with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) or upset the military.

 

However, ultimately the death penalty will be scrapped and the MGK's status will be changed. Be it now or 10 months down the line, we will have to do this sooner or later.

 

Even this much can be considered a step in the right direction for Turkey.

 

Armenian genocide bill - we reap what we sow

 

The U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee on International Organizations and Human Rights has approved a bill recognizing that Armenians were massacred in an act of genocide by Ottoman Turks. Now, the bill will be seen and voted on by a higher committee. Following this, a process will begin that will take it to the Senate.

 

There is no need to panic and act as if the world were going to end tomorrow. However, the alarm bell should start ringing, and we should roll up our sleeves. If we cannot block this move, we are going to be in a lot of trouble in the future.

 

Our relations with Washington will be damaged almost beyond repair... This will be followed by European countries' parliaments following suit and recognizing similar bills. We will be on the floor with no chance of getting up.

 

If one of the reasons for our reaching the point where we are today is the persistency of the Armenians, then the other has to be the misdirected policies pursued by Turkish governments over the last 60 years.

 

No promises have ever been kept.

 

They said the archives would be opened; they were not. Not enough scientific or popular research has been carried out. The gentlemen in Ankara figured they could ride this one out by uttering phrases such as "strategic importance," "the importance of the military" and "great allies."

 

Come on gentlemen, time for action.

 

If we are right, let us prove we are. Failing that, don't come crying to me.

 

Mehmet Ali Birand's article is translated by TDN staff

[Guest]

Turkey Reacts to Genocide Bill in Congress

ANKARA (Combined Sources)--Turkey, angered over last Thursday passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution by House Sub-committee on Foreign Operation and Human rights, announced over the weekend that the Turkish National Security Agency will formulate a plan to address this issue, after Thursday, when the bill is expected to be voted on by the House International Relations Committee.

 

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that legalization of "so-called genocide on Armenians" will negatively affect Turkey-US relations and destroy peace and stability in Caucasus.

 

The General Staff and Foreign Ministry evaluated the recent developments and decided to prepare an ``action plan``. At the first stage, increase in embargo on Armenia and closure of air corridor which is kept open as a beau jest will be in question. Sources said that the action plan would have both military and political dimensions, and within this framework, the current situation and future of Turkey's relations with Armenia and the US would be evaluated.

 

The framework of the action plan was prepared at a meeting of the Foreign Ministry and General Staff officials in Ankara. The plan which includes controlled and simple reaction foresees new sanctions against Armenia and pressure on American companies bidding for Turkish Armed Forces` tenders.

 

Diplomatic observers said that Turkey was planning to undertake a plan in response to a possible approval of the Genocide Resolution. This plan reportedly also involves ending the mandate of the Operation Northern Watch and curbing the use of the Incirlink airbase by US forces.

 

Ending the mandate, Turks said, would signal that Turkey may appoint diplomatic personnel in Iraq, a provision prohibited by the mandate.

 

Meanwhile, Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said on Sunday that legislative assemblies couldn't decide on historical events.

 

Speaking at a press conference, Turk said there would be presidential and congress elections in the United States in November. He stated that the bill was used as a domestic policy material in order to guarantee more votes in the states which were densely inhabited by Armenians.

 

"There are ongoing activities to have the so-called genocide recognized in also other countries," he added.

 

"Legislative assemblies cannot decide on historical events. The allegations in this bill are biased and subjective. It never mentions the cruelty of Armenians. If there is Yerevan behind the Armenian lobby in the United States, we should expect such incidents to grow. Armenian allegations are based on distorted facts. Objective historians' statements on this subject do not support their claims. Some sad things occurred during World War I but they were never unilateral. Therefore, Turkey should open its archives to all objective historians for studying. Turkey should also announce what happened during those years to the whole world. Only then we can disprove their baseless allegations."

 

Turk said Armenians would ask Turkey to compensate for the losses of 1.5m people who were allegedly killed. "And they will not be satisfied by that, they will also ask for the land that they claim to be theirs for 2,500 years. Turkey will not accept any of these demands," Turk said and stressed that the bill would not have any contribution to peace.

 

"As long as they have this attitude, they cannot expect good-neighborly relations between Turkey and Armenia. If the United States passes this law, this is against the friendly relations and the alliance between the two countries. The bill would harm both US-Turkey relations, NATO alliance and the whole Western world. Therefore, we are hoping that the USA would make a right decision. We are hoping that the USA will act with common sense. If the bill is passed, Turkey would not hesitate to take every necessary measure," he said.

 

Meanwhile, demonstrators in Turkey's southern city of Adana on Sunday burnt an Armenian flag and American-made goods to protest a move by US lawmakers to recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, the Anatolia news agency reported.

 

The demonstration, organized by 16 non-governmental groups, was staged in front of the US consulate in the city.

 

"We strongly condemn the decision of the subcommittee, which distorts history," said a spokesman for the demonstrators.

 

He called on the Turkish people to boycott US products if the House approves the draft bill.

 

Turkey has also established a research center to study allegations of an Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire that have strained its ties not only with Armenia but also with its key ally, the US, Anatolia news agency reported Sunday.

 

The center for Turco-Armenian relations and genocide research was founded by the Ataturk University in Erzurum in eastern Turkey, the scene of a controversial crackdown on Armenians during the dissolution years of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s.

 

The foundation of the institute comes at a time when tempers are running high between Turkey and the United States following the approval Thursday of a draft bill recognizing the 1915 killings of Armenians as a genocide in a House of Representatives sub-committee.

 

The center, to be inaugurated on October 4, will carry out studies into the disputed period of history, evaluate documents and findings and make them known to the international public, its head Erol Kurkcuoglu said, according to Armenian relations and genocide claims to be manipulated in politics. We aim at shedding light on history with historic documents and we have plenty of them," he added.

[Guest]

Istanbul Patriarch Urges Turkish-Armenian 'Dialogue' As Genocide Bill Gathers Support In US

ISTANBUL (RFE/RL)--The spiritual leader of the Armenian community in Turkey said on Friday that growing international efforts to recognize the 1915 massacre of more than one million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as a genocide necessitate an urgent dialogue between the two peoples. The appeal came the next day after a key subcommittee of the US House of Representatives endorsed a bill that would amount to an official American recognition of the genocide, until now opposed by successive White House administrations.

 

Treading a delicate line between reaffirming his flock's loyalty to the Turkish state and ethnic brethren in Armenia and other Diaspora communities, Patriarch Mesrob II of Istanbul said Armenians and Turks must themselves address the heavy burden of their past.

 

"It is not pleasing when other parliaments take decisions on issues pertaining to Turkish-Armenian relations. We also believe that such interference is inevitable, and that this regretful situation will persist as long as the parties do not look for a solution to the issue by means of a dialogue," the Patriarch said in a statement from his Istanbul headquarters. "The involvement of parliaments of third countries is no substitute for that dialogue."

 

The House Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights voted on Thursday in favor of a bill that calls on President Bill Clinton and his successors to ensure that US diplomats dealing with human rights are educated about the Armenian Genocide and use the word "genocide" in their annual addresses to the Armenian-Americans. The legislation known as H.Res. 398 is due to be debated on Tuesday by the full House International Relations Committee. A favorable vote in the committee will help move H. Res. 398 to the House floor for a vote.

 

The subcommittee vote has provoked an angry reaction from Ankara, with Turkish leaders again warning of a deterioration of relations with Washington, its number one military ally. Turkish Minister Bulent Ecevit described on Friday the vote as a "sad and ugly event," while President Ahmet Necdet Sezer urged the Clinton administration to make more efforts to block the bill's passage.

 

The Armenian government, for its part, has welcomed the latest development in the US Congress. In his speech at this month's UN "millennium summit" President Robert Kocharian reiterated Yerevan's intent to seek international recognition of the 1915 genocide.

 

The Turkish Daily News quoted on Saturday an unnamed diplomatic source in Ankara as saying that by continuing to encourage the efforts by Armenian-American lobbying groups Yerevan makes the normalization of relations between the two neighboring countries impossible. Turkey refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia until the latter recognizes Azeri sovereignty over Nagorno-Artsax and ensures the return of occupied Azeri districts around the disputed territory. Ankara says Armenian insistence on genocide recognition further complicates matters.

 

Turkish officials vehemently deny that the mass killings and deportations of the Ottoman Armenians were masterminded and perpetrated by the regime of the Young Turks. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem stood by that interpretation of the events in a recent interview with Milliyet, a leading Turkish daily. "Even the developments that took place when the Armenian people...cooperated with the foreign occupation forces in the past cannot be described as an act of genocide," he said.

 

A prominent Turkish journalist, Mehmet Ali Birand, wrote in the Turkish Daily News on Saturday that possible approval of the genocide resolution by the US Congress would deal a severe blow to Turkish foreign policy. He said: "Our relations with Washington will be damaged almost beyond repair... This will be followed by European countries' parliaments following suit and recognizing similar bills. We will be on the floor with no chance of getting up."

 

Birand argued that the authorities in Ankara are also to blame for how far the Armenians have gone in having the international community pick up their cause. "They said the [Ottoman] archives would be opened; they were not. Not enough scientific or popular research has been carried out. The gentlemen in Ankara figured they could ride this one out by uttering phrases such as 'strategic importance,' 'the importance of the military' and 'great allies.' Come on gentlemen, time for action. If we are right, let us prove we are."

 

The statement by Patriarch Mesrob also said: "I don't believe that anyone will profit from this, and I think it will hurt Turkish-Armenian relations." He also expressed hope that the Turks "will correctly analyze the latest developments and will not allow them to do harm to Turkey's [ethnic] Armenian citizens."

 

In another statement issued on Saturday, the Patriarch complained that the Turkish authorities have yet to address the grievances of the 70,000-strong Armenian community. The Armenian Apostolic Church, he claimed, is facing serious obstacles to the replacement of the aging clergy of its Istanbul churches. Also, under Turkish law citizens of Armenian descent can not bequeath any property to Armenian community institutions.

 

"The government should not stop solving problems facing Turkey's Armenians due to negative developments abroad," the Patriarch

[Guest]

I am surprised to see how vulnerable Turkey is to the potential passage of the Genocide resolution. I don’t think it is going to pass, especially the Senate Foreign Relations committee headed by Jesse Helms, but the very fact of panic in Turkish circles is indicative of something. There have been many attempts of passage of a resolution in the past. I don’t recall such reaction from Turkey. What do you think is the difference, now? Is it R. Kocharian’s speech at the UN, and the elevation of the issue to a state level?

[Guest]

MJ HAW ABOUT THIS -->>>

 

TURKS BURN ARMENIAN FLAG TO PROTEST GENOCIDE BILL

25.09.2000 15.48

25.09.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. Demonstrators in Turkey's southern city of Adana burnt on Sunday an Armenian flag and American-made goods to protest the possible recognizing of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by the U.S. Congress.

The demonstration, organized by 16 NGOs, took place in front of the US consulate, reports MEDIAMAX. We will remind you that the tension between Ankara and Washington aroused after the Subcommittee of US Congress House of Representatives adopted the bill recognizing the Genocide of Armenians of 1915.

"We strongly condemn the decision of the subcommittee, which distorts history", said the spokesman of the demonstrators. He called the Turkish people to boycott US products if the House approves the draft bill.

Turkey has warned the United States that the adoption of the bill would seriously harm the friendly ties between the two countries and further damage Ankara's already chilly relations with Yerevan

[Guest]

JUSTICE MINISTER OF TURKEY: "IF U.S. CONGRESS RECOGNIZES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, IT WOULD HARM TURKEY'S RELATIONS WITH THE WHOLE WESTERN WORLD"

25.09.2000 15.49

25.09.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. "The bill calling to recognize the Genocide of Armenians of 1915 is used as a domestic policy material in order to guarantee more votes in the states which are densely inhabited by Armenians". Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said this at a press conference in Istanbul, noting the upcoming presidential and congress elections in the United States, reports MEDIAMAX.

"Legislative assemblies cannot decide on historical events. The allegations in this bill are biased and subjective. Objective historians' statements on this subject do not support their claims. Therefore, Turkey should open its archives to all objective historians for studying", the minister said.

Sami Turk also said that Armenians would ask Turkey to compensate for the losses of 1.5 million people who were allegedly killed. "They will also ask for the land that they claim to be theirs for 2.500 years. Turkey will not accept any of these demands", said Minister Turk.

"As long as they have this attitude, they cannot expect good-neighborly relations between Turkey and Armenia. If the United States passes this law, this is against the friendly relations and the alliance between the two countries. The bill would harm US-Turkey relations, NATO alliance and the whole Western world. Therefore, we are hoping that the USA would make a right decision or Turkey would not hesitate to take every necessary measure", he said. -

[Guest]

MosJan, I think that is a "regular" staff

[Guest]

Sept 26, 2000

 

Reaction Against The Armenian Resolution

 

CUMHURIYET- Columnist Ali Sirmen writes on the legitimate reaction of

Ankara against the approval of the so-called Armenian Genocide

Resolution in the House of Representatives subcommittee and its

passing on to the International Relations Committee to be discussed

on the day after tomorrow.

 

If the Resolution is also accepted there, it is highly probable that

it will come to the floor of the House of Representatives before the

recess on 15 October and will be accepted there. Everyone is aware

that the US Administration does not want this Resolution to be

passed. However, everyone also knows that the White House, as before,

is reacting hesitantly and stating that there is no change in

Administration's attitude towards Turkey, and this should not be

regarded seriously. Although there may be fair points in this

argument, it is not valid anymore. In fact, even though the

resolution may have limited impact with no power of sanctions, it

cannot be ignored and would constitute a base for new claims.

Relations are conducted between states not between the organs of the

states. Therefore, Turkey should be able to say to the US

Administration that it understands the situation, but a resolution is

a resolution. If the Turkish Grand National Assembly had taken a

decision to close the Incirlik base despite the Government, what

would their answer be to the statement 'We are against this, but the

TGNA.....?' However, we should be careful on one point. Politics is

conducted to get results not to scold others. Turkey should not turn

the issue into a show of power but finding solutions. While showing

its reaction to the US, Ankara should not shake the foundation of the

relations between the two countries but has to confront the problem.

The reason behind the rehashing of the so-called 'Armenian Genocide'

claims in the last 25 years, was the concern of reviving the Armenian

identity by certain Armenian institutions in diaspora and the

Armenian Orthodox Church which believe its being lost. This time it

is different. Erevan is behind the scenes now. The rational policy of

Ter Petrosyan which sought friendship with Turkey has been

substituted by Kocharian's chauvinistic and vindictive policies

stemming from internal economic difficulties. Turkey has to direct

its reaction against Armenia. Ankara should change the policy it

began to follow during Ter Petrosyan's term in power, close the air

corridor it has opened to enable the humanitarian aid reach the

country as soon as possible, and prevent the flow of foodstuffs to

Armenia worth $100 million. Only then the present Armenian

Administration which has lost 1/3 of its population by migration to

foreign lands and where the rate of unemployment runs very high can

feel the need to review its policy towards Turkey. It is a correct

decision to take up the matter at the National Security Council, the

next day it is discussed at the International Relations Committeee of

the House of Representatives.

[Guest]

Sept 25, 2000

 

The Armenian Resolution And Reconaissance Force

 

MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila writes on the acceptance of the

Armenian Resolution by a House subcommittee. A summary of his column

is as follows:

 

The acceptance of the Armenian Resolution by the US House of

Representatives International Operations and Human Rights

subcommitteee regarding the so-called Armenian Genocide has led to

tension in the relations between Ankara and Washington and Ankara and

Yerevan. The Resolution is expected to be voted at the US House of

Representatives International Relations Committee on Thursday. The

Armenian Resolution has two proposals; one of them is to call upon

the President for issuing an annual message commemorating the

Armenians using the word 'genocide' on April 24 and the other is to

train US Foreign Service officers, officials of the US Department of

State on the issue. The aim is to have the claim that Armenians were

massacred by the Turks to be accepted by the US and commemorate it

every year. When Kocharian became Head of State after Petrosyan, the

policy obsessed with certain events in history has been inflamed. As

in every election year, the Armenian lobby has intensified its

efforts on the issue. Under the present conditions and within the

framework of international relations what would Yerevan and

Washington achieve or lose by the acceptance of such a resolution? It

is nothing but a dream for Armenia to believe that this will have a

concrete effect on the solution of their problems other than having

an historical claim to be accepted by the US House of Rperesentatives

and forcing other states to do so. Armenia which seems to be

independent legally, has not gained economic and political

independence in the real sense. It is a country living in poverty and

dependent on Russia economically, in war with Azerbaijan. It has no

ties with the outer world and the only tunnel through which it can

breathe is Turkey. Good relations with Turkey will relieve Armenia

both economically and politically and trying to pass a resolution

from the House of Representatives despite all these considerations

and a possible political retaliation by Turkey means that they are

undertaking great risks. In fact, such a resolution does not have any

concrete benefits for Washington. What is more, Washington which was

in strategic cooperation with Turkey in the Middle East, Northern

Iraq, the Caucasus and the Balkans has to forsake Ankara's

contributions to officialize a claim of which the truth is not known.

Ankara may discuss the issue at length at the next National Security

Council(NSC) on 29 September. The 'measures' which can be taken

against both Washington and Yerevan can be brought to the agenda of

the NSC in a package. In addition to implementing an economic and

political isolation policy against Yerevan, and a proposal for not

lengthening the term of duty of the 'reconnaisance force' based in

Incirlik may come to the agenda. Just as the House of Representatives

accepts a resolution against Turkey in spite of the US

Administration, TGNA may accept a decision ending Reconnaisance

Force's mandate even though Ankara does not want to do so. Prime

Minister Ecevit's reservations concerning Northern Iraq problem, the

US policy over the region and 'Poised Hammer' and 'Reconnaisance

Forces' are known. When Turkey's influence, function in the Middle

East, Central Asia, Iraq, the Caucasus and the Balkans and its

contributions to the US are taken into consideration as a whole it

would be better for Washington to take steps with evaluating the

possible retaliations to come from Ankara.

[Guest]

TURKISH Daily News

27 September 2000

 

Comments and Analysis

 

The Armenian question

 

It is becoming clear that Ankara and the U.S. administration will try to

make sure the alleged genocide bill does not go a stage further and that it

will simply die a natural death

 

Opinion by Avni Ozgurel

 

 

This topic is once again in the news thanks to a decision taken by the

Subcommittee for International Organizations and Human rights of the U.S.

House of Representatives. It is becoming clear that Ankara and the U.S.

administration will try to make sure the alleged genocide bill does not go a

stage further and that it will simply die a natural death. However, this

does not mean that the American people are of the opinion, "The Turkish

people are right; Ankara is telling the truth." On the contrary, a vast

majority of Americans actually believe that there was indeed an act of

genocide.

 

What the administration is telling them is this: "The present Turkish

Republic is not responsible for the incident in question, and furthermore

Turkey is a close and respected ally. Besides, Turkey is very sensitive to

such issues and it could easily take off in directions we do not want."

 

The Armenian diaspora have been quite successful at applying an academic

embargo and putting pressure on historians who hold an opposing view to

theirs. For this reason, President Sezer's suggestion of letting history

judge will not solve the problem as far as Turkey is concerned.

 

Neither is it possible to ignore the fact that the U.S. House of

Representatives has got itself involved as "a third party." This is because

if the issue passes beyond a decision at the subcommittee and is ruled on at

the House of Representatives, it will not simply find expression in the

construction of memorials and at commemorative meetings, it will result in

sanctions being applied. What must be realized about this point is that what

Armenia thinks has no bearing whatsoever on the issue. Anybody visiting that

country knows there is no difference between Yerevan and Turkish towns such

as Sirnak or Yalova AFTER the earthquake. Some 2 million people are in the

grip of poverty. Biscuits are taken out of their packaging and sold

individually and gunfights break out over a slice of bread in Armenia.

 

The country has three sources of income: Aid from Russia, but this is only

to feed the army, smuggling and money sent in from Armenians living in the

United States. The most important of all these is the aid given by the

diaspora. Armenia's sole source of currency is the $600 million transferred

by Armenians living abroad. Were it not for this money, the plight of

Armenians living in Armenia would make your hair stand on end. However, the

Armenians living in the United States expect their compatriots to "hang on

in there" and not just say, "Thanks." This is why the Armenian

administration does not have the strength to make peace with Azerbaijan or

to sit down at the table with Ankara. As Russia also wants the tensions in

the region to continue, Armenia cannot move forward because its duly elected

representatives who want peace will pay the price by being assassinated...

 

Taking all this into consideration, no amount of pressure on, or dialogue,

with Armenia will change anything, you can say. In other words, by

"tightening the economic embargo" or "closing its airspace," as some people

would like, Turkey, if anything, will only further enrage the diaspora and

contribute to the suffering of the Armenians at home. In order to get rid of

these problems, one has to act in the knowledge that the people one should

talk to are the Armenian lobbies abroad, and not Armenia proper.

 

Avni Ozgurel's article is translated by TDN staff

[Guest]

http://www.sg.edu.tr/gemeinde/sg_blatt/199...12/mutafyan.htm

 

According to Mesrob MUTAFIYAN.

 

There are 82,000 Armenians with Turkish passport. Approximately 17.000 of them live outside of Turkey, so there are 65,000 living in Turkey.

60,000 in Istanbul.

[Guest]

Here is brief translation from German. http://www.sg.edu.tr/gemeinde/sg_blatt/199...12/mutafyan.htm

 

82.000 Armenians with Turkish passports

65.000 Armenians living within the borders of Turkey

60.000 Armenians in Istanbul

 

ARMENIANS IN ISTANBUL:

 

1 Patriarchal Cathedral in Istanbul

38 (!) further Armenian churches in Istanbul

33 Armenian communities leading the above mentioned churches

19 Armenian parish schools having

4550 pupils, plus at least the same number visiting Turkish schools

20 Armenian choirs

1 Armenian hospital (Mutafyan is not quite correct here. There are at least 2 Armenian hospitals I know, in fact. 1 Hospital in Yedikule/Kazliçesme, 1 in Elmadag, "the Surp Hagop" hospital. OBS.)

2 Armenian orphanages

14 Armenian culture unions

2 Armenian sport clubs

2 Armenian teachers' unions

12 press organs, thereof:

2 Armenian daily newspapers

1 weekly newspaper

1 weekly bulletin of the Armenian Patriarchate

1 theological journal

6 monthly Armenian journals

 

ARMENIANS IN ANATOLIA:

(some interesting excerpts

 

14 Armenian communities without churches

6 with churches, Hatay being the biggest community followed by Ankara, Sivas, Malatya and Elazig

 

35% mixed marriages with Turks where the Armenian church refuses the religious marriage-ceremony, but does not refuse to baptize the children if the parents want them to be Christians... After Turkish legislation the religion of a child is determined by the religion of the father. If the father is a Muslim, the child is registered also as a Muslim, and so on. The change of the religion is possible at the age of 18. So this is somehow a problem. When an Armenian father wants his children to be Moslems, like the mother is a Moslem, this is only possible at the age of 18, by the own will of the children, and vice versa...

 

Turkey is a secular country where converting into other religions is legal. There are nearly 100 Muslims and more converting into Christianity every year and vice versa.

 

The sunday services are in Armenian while other days' services are bilingual, both Armenian and Turkish. Also religious Armenian church songs are bilingual. This is due to the fact that a lot of Armenians prefer speaking Turkish in their daily life. The Patriarchate is publishing a liturgy song-book in

a) classical Armenian

modern Armenian

c) Turkish and

e) phonetic transcription.

 

Armenian schools (both primary and high schools) have the right to teach Armenian 6 hours a week+1 subject in Christian religion. All social subjects (like Geography, Turkish, Literature, History etc.) are taught in Turkish language, while others like Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, etc are taught in Armenian.

 

and so on...

http://www.sg.edu.tr/gemeinde/sg_blatt/199...12/mutafyan.htm