Turkish Forum

Category: Asia and Pacific

  • Akcam: Obama Should Recognize Genocide and Liberate Turks and Armenians

    Akcam: Obama Should Recognize Genocide and Liberate Turks and Armenians

    ONE OF TANER AKCAM’S HISTORICAL BARK

    By Khatchig Mouradian, editor The Armenian Weekly, 24 March 2009

    WORCESTER, Mass. (A.W.)—On March 19, prominent Turkish-born genocide scholar Taner Akcam delivered his inaugural lecture at Clark University titled, “Facing History: Denial and the Turkish National Security Concept.” In 2008, Akcam was appointed the Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marion Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University.

    Speaking to an audience that had packed the Tilton Hall of the Higgins University Center, Akcam sent a powerful message to U.S. President Barack Obama, asking him to liberate Turks and Armenians by properly recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

    Talking about the reluctance of Congress and some former U.S. presidents to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, Akcam said, “[T]here’s an ongoing theatrical drama—perhaps ‘comedy’ would be a better term—that all the parties engage in every year, and that has started to grow old. It’s time to end this dishonorable play-acting.” He explained how every time a U.S. president or Congress has the issue of the genocide on their table, “They end up denying for one day what they believe the other 364 days of the year.”

    Akcam continued, “All of the parties involved know very well what the U.S. administration and Congress think about 1915. But Turkey asks them to tell a lie only for one day. I have never understood why the Turkish government extracts so much joy out of making the United States lie for one day. I also find it completely dishonorable. Not only does this lie fail to lead to a resolution, it needlessly locks up the debate.”

    Hence, Akcam argued, the importance of official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide—”if the United States declares what it believes to be the truth and stands behind it”—would not only gain it “some self-respect on the subject, but it will liberate Turks, Armenians, and itself in the process.”

    Akcam ended his lecture by asking Obama to stand up for truth. “I believe that we will enter a new era where morality and real politik will not be considered mutually exclusive, if President Obama should put an end to this lingering problem and liberate everybody in the process by an official acknowledgment of genocide,” he said.

    Obama, both as a Senator and a presidential candidate, was an outspoken advocate for proper U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. He repeatedly called on former president George W. Bush to recognize the genocide and expressed reservations over the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans for his remarks recognizing that crime. In January 2008, Obama issued a campaign statement, noting that “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President.”

    The complete statement may be read at Barack Obama on the Importance of US-Armenia Relations

    Last week, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), George Radanovich (R-Calif.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) were joined by 70 of their House Colleagues in the introduction of Armenian Genocide legislation (H.Res.252) calling on the president to recognize the Armenian Genocide. That resolution is identical to the one introduced in the previous Congress, which was adopted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 27 to 21, and had over 200 co-sponsors.

  • Armenian Genocide Vote Threatens US-Turkish Ties at Key Moment

    Armenian Genocide Vote Threatens US-Turkish Ties at Key Moment

    Thursday’s vote by a Congressional committee condemning the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as “genocide” is almost certain to complicate U.S. ties with Turkey, a long-time strategic ally and increasingly influential player in the Middle East and central and southwest Asia.

    The 23-22 vote by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives prompted the immediate recall of Turkey’s ambassador here and an announcement by Ankara that ratification of a pending U.S.-backed treaty with Armenia will be frozen.

    And the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which sent several senior Turkish lawmakers and hired a high-priced public relations firm, as well as a former House speaker, to lobby against the resolution, is likely to take much stronger measures if it reaches the House floor later this year, according to both U.S. and Turkish analysts.

    “We are seriously concerned that the adoption of this draft resolution …will harm Turkey-U.S. relations and impede the efforts for the normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations,” the Turkish embassy said in a release after the vote.

    “This decision, which could adversely affect our cooperation on a wide common agenda with the United States, also regrettably attests to a lack of strategic vision,” it added.

    After maintaining silence about the resolution for several weeks, the administration of President Barack Obama came out against it just hours before the vote – apparently too late to affect the final outcome, according to a number of lawmakers.

    “We do not believe that the full Congress will or should vote on that resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,” Clinton said during a press conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, Thursday morning in the administration’s first official statement on the issue.

    The administration, which needs Turkey’s support on a slew of key issues, ranging from Arab-Israeli peace to Iran and Afghanistan, is likely to lobby hard against any effort by lawmakers to bring the resolution to the floor, despite the fact that both Obama and Clinton promised to support some version of it during their 2008 presidential primary campaigns.

    At least half a million U.S. citizens, many of them concentrated in the electorally powerful state of California, claim Armenian ancestry.

    The Armenian-American community, which is among the wealthiest and best organized of the many U.S. ethnic minorities, has long sought recognition of the 1915 death toll as a genocide. In 1975 and again in 1984, it succeeded in getting such resolutions passed by the House, although never in the Senate.

    In 2007, the Foreign Affairs committee approved a similar “genocide” resolution. However, it was never referred to the floor of the House due to intense opposition by the administration of President George W. Bush backed by the powerful “Israel Lobby,” which has frequently intervened in Congress on behalf since the late 1980s when Ankara and Israel began building a strategic alliance.

    But Israeli-Turkish ties have become increasingly strained in recent years, particularly since Israel’s “Cast Lead” military campaign in Gaza, which Erdogan strongly denounced in a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in late January last year, just days after the offensive had ended.

    A number of subsequent incidents, most recently the apparently deliberate televised humiliation in January by Israel’s deputy foreign minister of Ankara’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, have added to the strains.

    Indeed, some analysts here and in Turkey suggested that the resolution’s passage was due as much to the Israel Lobby’s failure to oppose it, as to the Obama administration’s delay in coming out against it. Several key lawmakers who are considered close to the Lobby, notably Gary Ackerman, Brad Sherman, and committee chair Howard Berman, spoke in favor of its approval.

    “In the past, the pro-Israel community has lobbied hard against previous attempts to pass similar resolutions, citing warnings from Turkish officials that it could harm the alliance not only with the United States but with Israel…,” noted the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) Friday.

    “In the last year or so, however, officials of American pro-Israel groups have said that while they will not support new resolutions, they will no longer oppose them, citing Turkey’s heightened rhetorical attacks on Israel and a flourishing of outright anti-Semitism the government has done little to stem,” it asserted.

    The resolution, which was introduced by a California Democrat, calls on the president to use the annual presidential statement on the 1915 mass deaths next month to “accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide.”

    Turkey has argued that the Armenian deaths were a great tragedy played out under the chaotic conditions of World War I when the collapsing Ottoman Empire was under attack on many fronts, including internally in the form of a Russian-backed Armenian insurgency.

    Unlike most of its predecessors, the Erdogan government has indicated a willingness to review the events of that time, possibly even in cooperation with Armenia with which it agreed only last September to establish diplomatic relations and re-open borders that have been closed since 1993.

    It was hoped that that agreement, which was mediated by Switzerland with strong backing from Washington, would be quickly ratified by both countries and lead to the resolution of the territorial dispute between Armenia and oil-rich Azerbaijan over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.

    Despite U.S. urging – most recently in a conversation between Obama and Turkish President Abdullah Gul Wednesday – Erdogan has insisted that implementation of the treaty is dependent on progress in resolving the territorial dispute. Ankara’s decision to freeze the ratification process in the wake of Thursday’s committee vote here could deal a lethal blow to the treaty’s prospects.

    In the four years since the committee last voted out a genocide resolution, Turkey’s strategic importance to Washington has significantly increased.

    In addition to having the largest army among the European members of NATO and having recently increased its troop contribution to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Turkey continues to permit the U.S. access to key military bases on its territory, provides critical supply routes to Iraq, and acts as an increasingly important transit route – bypassing both Russia and Iran – for Caspian and Central Asian oil and gas.

    Ankara’s influence and involvement in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq and Syria, have grown sharply in recent years, and its friendly ties with Iran have positioned itself as a potential mediator between Tehran and the West.

    Turkey has thus far resisted U.S. pressure to host a radar base that would be part of larger regional defense network designed to intercept Iranian missiles and to vote for stronger economic sanctions against Tehran on the U.N. Security Council, of which it is a member.

    Some sectors, particularly those most closely associated with Israel here, have become increasingly concerned about Turkey’s growing orientation toward the Muslim world under Erdogan, who heads the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), in both its foreign and domestic policies.

    Indeed, neoconservatives, whose views often reflect those of Israel’s Likud Party, have been attacking Erdogan and the AKP with growing fervor in recent months, accusing them of a systematic effort to weaken Turkey’s traditionally secular institutions, notably the once-dominant armed forces.

    In a column coincidentally published Friday by the neoconservative Wall Street Journal, Soner Cagaptay, a Turkish-born specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), accused Erdogan of transforming Turkey into a “police state.”

    At the same time, hard-line neo-conservatives, such as the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and the Journal’s editorial board, opposed the genocide resolution precisely because of fears that it will serve only to further poison bilateral relations with a country whose geo-strategic importance to Washington and its Israeli ally is simply too great.

    www.antiwar.com

  • 24…23…22…The Armenian Resolution Countdown Begins… Again

    24…23…22…The Armenian Resolution Countdown Begins… Again

    March 04, 2010

    With their vote The House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington DC simply said “Who remembers the ethnic cleansing of Turks and moslems in the Caucasus in 1905 now?” [1]

    23 to 22 vote is an empty victory. There is more traction now for bilateral intensification and progress between Turkey and Armenia as the Diaspora Armenians desperately try to scuttle the ongoing protocol signed in Switzerland. This nonbinding resolution, even if fully ratified will waste the single bullet of the proponents of this resolution against Turkey’s counter argument that basically says the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide.
    Mavi Boncuk |

    On Oct. 10 2007 a House committee voted to condemn the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey in World War I as an act of genocide. On March 4, 2010 The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted again and narrowly condemned as genocide the mass killings of Armenians early in the last century, defying a last-minute plea from the Obama administration to forgo a vote that seemed sure to offend Turkey and jeopardize delicate efforts at Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. The vote on the nonbinding resolution, a perennial point of friction addressing a dark, century-old chapter of Turkish history, was 23 to 22.

    The protocol agreed between Turkey and Armenia under Swiss mediation declared that the two countries will conduct internal political consultations to be concluded within six weeks to be followed by ratification in the Turkish and Armenian parliaments, in a move to establish diplomatic ties and develop bilateral relations between the two countries and US seemed to favor normalization between Turkey and Armenia without preconditions and within a reasonable time frame.

    Walter Richmond’s2008 book” The Northwest Caucasus | Past, present, future” presented a comprehensive history of the Northwest Caucasus based on extensive research and exploreed interethnic relations and demographic changes that have occurred in the region over time with a particular focus on the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries, incorporating recently published archival materials concerning the deportation of the Abazas, Circassians and Ubykhs to the Ottoman Empire by the Russians, which is treated as the first act of ethnic cleansing in modern history.

    In his book on “The Ethnic Cleansing of Ottoman Muslims, 1821-1922,” historian Justin McCarthy says the following:

    “In 1895 in Anatolia and in 1905 in the Caucasus, inter-communal warfare broke out. Prior to that time, Muslims and Armenians had supported either the Russian or the Ottoman Empires. Now the Muslims and Armenians had set about killing each other in their villages and cities. This war was not a thing of armies, but of peoples. It had been building for almost a century, brought about by Russian invasion, Armenian nationalism, and Ottoman weakness. By 1910, the polarization that was soon to result in mutual disaster was probably inevitable. Blood had been shed and revenge was expected and desired. Whatever their individual intentions, Muslims knew they were at risk from the Armenians, and Armenians knew they were at risk from the Muslims. Once World War I began, each side naturally assumed the worst of the other, and acted accordingly.”

    [1]
    “Armenian Bands Preparing To Invade Ottoman Territory” Oakland Tribune, 1905, May 10 Full Text
    “Mahommedans Plan To Aid Co-Religionists – Barbarities By Armenians” NYT, 1905 June 26 Full Text !
  • H. RES. 252 NARROWLY CLEARS THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

    H. RES. 252 NARROWLY CLEARS THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

    TURKEY CONDEMNS THE DEFAMATORY MOVE AND RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR

    Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

    Passage of the Turkey-Armenia protocols in the Turkish parliament now definitely thrown into disarray.

    Rapprochement endangered by a self-serving move by irresponsible politicians designed only to appease a few greedy, arrogant, and deceptive Armenian extremists.

    Turkey-USA relations and American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan may ALSO be negatively impacted.

    4 March 2010 – Los Angeles, California :

    The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) voted 23-22 to narrowly accept the H. Res. 252, an incredibly dishonest and racist resolution which seems to be penned by the Armenian lobby but known to be rammed through the political process via irresponsible politicians whose survival depend on the Armenian support. Chairman Berman seemed determined to pass the resolution as he extended voting time stretching the rules and even strong armed wandering members to come in and vote. As soon as the Yes votes surpassed the No votes by one, Berman called the passage and ended the voting.

    Always the strongest lobby in Washington DC, the administration, was conspicuously absent this year in opposing the ill-informed, ill-advised non-binding resolution. Obama administration, unlike his predecessors, did not act until the very end and it was too little to late when Hillary Clinton finally made that call to Berman urging defeat of the resolution—perhaps afterthought triggered by Turkish President Gul’s phone call to Obama yesterday.

    Also absent in opposing the racist and dishonest resolution was the Jewish lobby, arguably as a result of Erdogan’s strongly worded criticism of Israeli policies in Lebanon and Gaza.

    Given the nonappearance of the above major players this year in the opposing side, it was expected that the deceptive and fraudulent resolution would easily clear the HFA. The race, however, was surprisingly close. So close, in fact, that Berman pulled all his dirty tricks out of the bag to extend the voting time to strong arm a few wandering members of HFAC for a last second victory by only one vote. After seeing that dirty politicking, one is reminded why politicians score at the bottom of public confidence and trust scales.

    Here is a case where America’s interests are trampled upon to appease a few loud constituents. Perhaps Berman, Schiff, Pallone and others pushing this racist resolution would care to share now with the rest of us their future response to the grieving families of the next group of US soldiers needlessly coming home body bags because they had to take more treacherous routes during evacuations due to closing of the safe route through Turkey by Turks outraged by the passage of this defamatory and fraudulent resolution.

    Berman, Schiff, Pallone and others pushing this racist resolution can be proud of their misdeed now: they falsified history, demonized a friend and an ally, threatened a peace process, and hurt American interests, all in one shot. They deserve a medal: the most loyal servants of the hate-cultivating Armenian lobby. I am sure they will be properly rewarded now. When America has friends in selfish politicians like these, why does America need enemies?

    Make no mistake: this is a blow to American interests and those members of the HFAC who voted yes must be held accountable for putting Armenia’s interests over America’s to mindlessly serve a single interest, polarizing, and vindictive ethnic lobby.

    Make no mistake also that the passage of this malicious Armenian propaganda, thinly veiled in a political resolution, will prove to be a devastating loss to the arrogant and hateful Armenian diaspora lobby and aggressive, irredentist and boastful Armenia.

    This was a determined wait by Turkey, with retaliatory measures standing by, sadly watching the unfortunate defamation efforts by a few misguided members of HFAC unfold. Turkey, whose sons fought shoulder to shoulder and died together with Americans in Korea, Bosnia, Somalia, Kosovo, and elsewhere are demonized by a few irresponsible politicians who play historians with falsified Armenian input. How do you like that? Values like honesty, loyalty, courage, determination, and pride in heritage are very important for Turks and Turkey, but apparently, not so for others.

    We, the members of the Turkish American community coast-to-coast, worked very hard to educate our elected officials and defeat the dishonest and racist bill, as those who read this column very well know. Umbrella organizations like ATAA in Washington DC, FTAA in New York, and USTN in Washington DC, as well as charitable educational organizations like Turkish Coalition of America rained down letters, emails, faxes, and phone calls on all members of the HFAC, as well as other members of the Congress and big media. HFAC members, responsible ones, were visited by groups of Turkish Americans urging a No vote.

    Turkish government sent a small number of members of Turkish parliament who talked to their counterparts in Washington DC. At the last minute, Turkish president Gul called Obama and Obama administration entered the picture with a phone call from Secretary Hillary Clinton to Chairman Berman urging defeat of the bill. Too little, too late.

    The propaganda machine worked against historical facts all the time. Remember the misleading CBS 60 Minutes piece, the falsifications produced and/or broadcast at PBS using Armenian money, the tall tales published in big media and blogosphere, the harassment and intimidation fielded by the unprincipled, deceitful, and unscrupulous Armenian lobby? They all converged to hatch this evil egg…

    To show how determined the Turkish Americans were, it suffices to take a look at what TCA alone has been able to achieve and multiply that by many times to arrive at total mobilization. I guess I owe a debt of gratitude to the chauvinistic and fraudulent Armenian lobby, after all, for bringing the Turkish American community together in a manner not achieved before. This might also give a clue to those “hungry chickens dreaming to be in a grain silo” about a few of the magic attributes that allowed Turks to create empire after empire for millennia: resourcefulness, adaptability, and creativity. As the brutal invaders of Turkey and their equally atrocious and treacherous domestic proxies during and after WWI found out in a costly way back in 1915-1922, just when you think Turks are finished, a sure-shot, slam-dunk, victory within plain sight, Turks COME BACK BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER! And where do Turks draw from in these impossible situations to pull a last second victory from the mouth of a lion? Form their inner strength… Want more insight? Hint: study the five thousand years of Turkish history stretching over three continents.

    Summary of impacts of H.Res. 252 passage:

    America lost…

    Armenia lost…

    Turkey lost…

    But Berman, Schiff, and Pallone definitely won…

    ***

    TCA Raises Public Awareness on H.Res.252:

    H.Res. 252 Does Not Speak for America :TCA ad in Roll Call, Politico, and the Hill, March 3, 2010

    Congress Should Do Its Job: Galveston County, March 3, 2010

    Dissing an Ally: The Hill, March 3, 2010

    Genocide Vote Unneeded: Rockford Register Star, March 3, 2010

    Congress Wasting Time on Genocide Resolution: The Citizen, March 3, 2010

    It’s Not Up to Congress to Write History of Turkey and Armenia: NJVoices, March 3, 2010

    Don’t Write History, Congress: Inside NOVA, March 2, 2010

    Congress Should Do Its Job, Not Write History: The StarPress, March 2, 2010

    Oppose Resolution: Nortwest Herald, March 2, 2010

    Congress Shouldn’t Write History: Charlotte Sun, March 2, 2010

    A Waste of Washington’s Time: Journal Standard, March 1, 2010

    Once Again, Quest for Armenian Genocide Resolution Begins: McClatchy, February 19, 2010

    Armenian, Turkish Groups React to Protocols: The Hill, October 10, 2009

    ATAA, FTAA Public Message: , The Washington Post, Roll Call, March 3, 2010

    04/03/10 14:23

    Bu Makale ile ilgili yorumlar:

    vedatdemirw
    * MECLISIMIZ GERCEK ABD -KIZILDERELI KATLIAMI KANUNU GECIRMELI…..ve diger ABD-KATLIAMLARI da TAKIP ETMELI…..ACILIS ICIN ABD KIZILDERELI PAPAZ ve PUSKULLU KIZILDERELI RUHSAL DANS GURUBU DAVET EDILMELI (olen dedeleri icin hediye olsun dunyaya ve dunya ilk kez GERCEK KATLIAMIN NE OLDUGUNU TESCILLI ILK KEZ GOREBILSIN…)

    ____________________


    vedatdemirw
    * Turkish lawmakers has to pass True Amerikan -Indians Genocide Bill and abroad ones to follow additionally….. FOR THE OPENING PRAYINGS AMERIKAN INDIAN PRIST and SPIRUTAL INDIAN DANS GRUBU MUST BE INVITED

    ____________________



    Yazarimizin Diger Yazilari

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    OSMANLI?NIN ISLEMEDIGI SUCU NEDEN ISLENMIS GIBI KABUL EDELIM? 28/09/08 15:09
    SOMETHING FOR SOMETHING; NOTHING FOR NOTHING 24/09/08 11:00
    HUMAN TRAGEDY FOR ALL; NOT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 10/09/08 15:07
    COMMUNICATIONS WITH ARMENIAN DIASPORA: PART I 05/09/08 14:37
    PLEASE, TEACH THE CHILDREN WELL! 28/08/08 13:40
    ARMENIANS MAKE A DEATH THREAT TO A SITTING U.S. CONGRESSMAN FOR NOT SUPPORTING ARMENIAN CLAIMS 20/08/08 18:57
    ARMENIA MUST STOP ITS MILITARY AGGRESSION AND SMEAR CAMPAIGNS PRIOR TO ANY ATTEMPTS AT RECONCILIATION WITH ITS NEIGHBORS 04/08/08 15:33
    ONE PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: ARMED ARMENIAN THUGS ATTACKING A MOSQUE IN 1895 18/06/08 07:03
    RECENTLY UNEARTHED RUSSIAN ARCHIVES REFUTE ARMENIAN ?GENOCIDE? CLAIMS 17/06/08 14:06
    ERMENILER GUNESI BALCIKLA SIVAYAMIYORLAR: ISTE BIR RUS BELGESI DAHA! 16/06/08 09:15
    TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN?S POSITIVE ROLE IN THE CAUCASUS 12/06/08 08:56
    PHOTOS OF THE TURKISH VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN BARBARITY (1914-1920) 12/06/08 16:01
    REPLY OF TURKISH SCHOLARS TO THE ELIE WIESEL FOUNDATION LETTER 10/06/08 13:24
    INACCURACIES CONTAINED IN THE BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLE ON AKCAM 04/06/08 16:02
    TURKISH NATIONAL SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SAUDI ARABIA 30/05/08 09:52
    ISTANBUL ! 29/05/08 07:32
    COMMEMORATING MAY 19 AS ATATURK, YOUTH AND SPORTS DAY IN TURKEY 26/05/08 12:22
    TURKISH COALITION OF AMERICA DONATES TWO AMBULANCES TO MEXICAN RED CROSS 20/05/08 15:55
    U.S. CONGRESS URGES THE ADMINISTRATION: PROMOTE ENERGY SUPPLY DIVERSITY & SECURITY 19/05/08 07:24
    SANTA BARBARA: BIRTH PLACE OF CONTEMPORARY ARMENIAN TERRORISM 13/05/08 09:11
    AMERICAN TEACHERS WILL VISIT TURKEY 12/05/08 08:24
    It is Official: TANER AKCAM IS PAID BY ARMENIANS 08/05/08 21:46
    PROTESTING THE CONTINUING OCCUPATION OF SHUSHA, AZERBAIJAN 02/05/08 07:13
    CONVICTED TERRORIST MAKING ROUNDS: NEXT STOP, A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS 01/05/08 13:39
    U.S. Congressman Meets Convicted Terrorist 26/04/08 00:08
    NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND CHILDREN’S DAY IN TURKEY 25/04/08 14:18
    CALL TO CIVIC DUTY: SAY NO TO RACIST RESOLUTIONS SJR-24 & SJR-26! 04/04/08 10:58
    NO to SJR-24 & SJR-26 ! 03/04/08 12:09
    TURKISH AMERICAN COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES 24/02/08 17:56
    MCCAIN REFUSES TO PLEDGE RECOGNITION OF ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ 06/02/08 14:41
    ??TE TÜRK?YE?NIN LAHEY PLANI 04/02/08 18:39
    HILLARY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER 29/01/08 13:39
    OBAMA ERRED 29/01/08 17:37
    LET HISTORIANS DECIDE ON SO-CALLED GENOCIDE (by Prof. Justin McCarthy) 29/01/08 16:28
    ?THE FIRST SHOT? (by Prof. Justin McCarthy) 28/01/08 12:33
    28/01/08 07:51
    ARMENIAN GREED HITS U.S. LAW: GENOCIDE CLAIMS DISMISSED 02/01/08 18:12
    NUMBERS DON?T LIE; LIARS DO! 04/11/07 19:38
    GENOCIDE ? LAW AND DOUBLE STANDARDS 24/10/07 12:13
    A SHORT STORY 23/10/07 11:37
    PKK KURDISH TERRORISM: “SEHITLER OLMEZ, VATAN BOLUNMEZ!” 23/10/07 15:24
    LA CITY COUNCIL POLITICS AT ITS WORST 19/10/07 11:38
    WARTIME TARGEDY FOR ALL OTTOMANS OR A GENOCIDE FOR JUST THE OTTOMAN-ARMENIANS? 18/10/07 11:36
    HOW DO YOU REASON WITH A LYNCH MOB? 15/10/07 10:29
    WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN TODAY: NO TO H.R. 106 06/10/07 16:11
    Turkish State Archives Are Open: Scholars From 80 Countries Have Already Conducted Studies There Since 2003 22/05/07 12:51
    THE ARMENIAN LOBBY THREATENS THE LOS ANGELES TIMES 12/05/07 20:21
    INACCURACIES CONTAINED IN THE HOUSE RESOLUTION 106 19/03/07 17:22
    NO TO HOUSE RESOLUTION 106 11/02/07 19:13
    TURKEY’S COMPASSIONATE REACTION TO HRANT DINK’S MURDER SHATTERS MYTHS ABOUT TURKS 24/01/07 00:06
    Hrant Dink’s Assassination – Hrant Dink Suikasti 19/01/07 11:26
    STANFORD J. SHAW, PREEMINENT HISTORIAN, HONEST RESEARCHER, AND OMNIPOTENT SCHOLAR (1930-2006) 28/12/06 13:46
    STANFORD JAY SHAW: TARIHCILER YETISTIREN TARIHCI, DURUST ARASTIRMACI VE BUYUK BILIM ADAMI (1930 – 2006) 27/12/06 15:19
    “CENSORADOS” ARE LEARNING THE LAW 18/10/06 16:50
    ERECTING A HATE MONUMENT IN LAS VEGAS IS HIGHLY IMPROPER 27/09/06 14:35
    ARMENIAN SCHOLAR AT EASE WITH CENSORSHIP 12/05/06 18:12
    PRESENTING ONLY ONE SIDE OF A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE WHILE CENSORING THE OTHER SIDE IS UNSCHOLARLY, UNFAIR, UNETHICAL, AND UNCIVILIZED 09/05/06 14:17
    MISREPRESENTATION ON THE “ALLEGED” GENOCIDE CONTINUES UNABATED 30/04/06 08:25
    PARTISAN COVERAGE OF THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN CONFLICT AT KOCE-TV 19/04/06 15:33
    SETTLING HISTORY THE ARMENIAN WAY: BY HARASSMENT, CENSORSHIP, AND LEGISLATION 14/04/06 11:29
    BIASED COVERAGE OF “THE LAWSUIT” 07/02/06 15:35
    ONE MIND AT A TIME : HOW THE TRUTH CHANGES ATTITUDES IN AMERICA 07/02/06 15:23
    TURKS ARE THE PLAINTIFF, NOT THE DEFENDANT, IN THE ALLEGED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE (AAG) CASE 20/11/05 00:37
    A NEW TURKISH MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON D.C. FEATURING 10,000+ YEARS OF ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS ? 17/10/05 16:21
    A FUTURE WEAPON IN ARMENIAN ARSENAL : A MUSEUM OF DECEPTION 07/10/05 11:33
    THE ARMENIANS ARE OPENING A MUSEUM TO HONOR THE ?BOGUS? GENOCIDE 29/09/05 13:53
    THE A.F.A.T.H. PRESSURE ON THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER 10/09/05 19:09
    DISTORTION OF TURKISH HISTORY AT A CYBER-MUSEUM FEATURING THE SHOAH 06/09/05 00:30
    MISREPRESENTATION OF TURKISH HISTORY AT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM OF WASHINGTON D.C. 30/08/05 15:54
    BIASED TREATMENT OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN HISTORY AT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM OF HOUSTON 20/08/05 23:44
    INTOLERANCE AT THE MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE IN LOS ANGELES 07/08/05 01:45
    THREE HISTORICAL PERSONALITIES ; THREE INCREDIBLE DECEPTIONS 24/06/05 15:31
    ARMENIA: PUT UP OR SHUT UP! (Part III) 18/06/05 16:41
    ARMENIA: PUT UP OR SHUT UP! (Part II) 18/06/05 09:51
    ARMENIA: PUT UP OR SHUT UP! 12/06/05 21:55
    ??ARMENIAN SEPARATISTS WERE PLANNING ALLEGATIONS OF GENOCIDE EVEN IN THE 1890S?? 05/06/05 08:19
    CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS SURROUNDING THE AAG AND 100 BOOKS REVIEWED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TRUTH-SEEKERS 29/05/05 23:32
    CONNECTING THE DOTS ON THE ?ALLEGED” ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 20/05/05 19:17
    ARMENIA AND CHRISTIANITY : THE HOLY MESS (Epilogue) 16/05/05 21:17
    ARMENIA AND CHRISTIANITY : THE HOLY MESS (Part III) 14/05/05 21:06
    ARMENIA AND CHRISTIANITY : THE HOLY MESS (Part II) 09/05/05 18:32
    ARMENIA AND CHRISTIANITY : THE HOLY MESS (Part I) 08/05/05 20:59
    TOLERANCE OF THE TURKS TO ALL RELIGIONS THROUGHOUT HISTORY 08/05/05 00:06
    THE PSYCHOLOGY OF “ARMENIAN HATE “ 05/05/05 14:36
    TURKISH LAST NAMES : HONEST STORY TELLERS 02/05/05 17:55
    THE FORGOTTEN CALAM?TY THAT BEFELL TURKS 30/04/05 00:33
    ARMENIAN TERRORISM: THEN AND NOW – Part IV 21/04/05 17:07
    ARMENIAN TERRORISM: THEN AND NOW – Part III 19/04/05 15:59
    ARMENIAN TERRORISM: THEN AND NOW – Part II 18/04/05 13:41
    ARMENIAN TERRORISM: THEN AND NOW 17/04/05 08:28
    RACISM OVERTLY PRACTICED BY THE ARMENIAN REVOLUTIONARIES 13/04/05 12:40
    GENOCIDES AROUND THE WORLD 11/04/05 11:47
    THE SUPREME TREASON BY THE OTTOMAN-ARMENIANS DURING WWI 10/04/05 21:24
    THE A.F.A.T.H. PROPAGANDA DURING W.W.I. 07/04/05 17:30
    FOUR MASTERS OF DISINFORMATION DURING WWI: TOYNBEE (1916), MORGENTHAU (1918), LEPSIUS (1918), ANDONIAN (1920) 05/04/05 15:07
    GERMAN SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 26/03/05 13:35
    ATROCITIES AND POGROMS PERPETRATED BY THE ARMENIANS IN THE CAUCASUS 22/03/05 14:24
    ATROCITIES AND POGROMS COMMITTED BY THE ARMENIAN NATIONALISTS IN ANATOLIA 20/03/05 21:23
    OTTOMAN & TURKISH SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 15/03/05 14:53
    ISRAELI & JEWISH SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 12/03/05 17:36
    SWEDISH SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 04/03/05 19:05
    RUSSIAN SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 02/03/05 11:43
    FRENCH SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 27/02/05 00:16
    BRITISH SOURCES REFUTING THE AAG 25/02/05 18:58
    ARMENIAN SOURCES REFUTING THE AAG 21/02/05 18:13
    AMERICAN SOURCES THAT REFUTE THE AAG 20/02/05 08:38
    ARMENIAN HISTORIAN SAYS THE HITLER QUOTE IS A HOAX 18/02/05 18:35
    THE INFAMOUS HITLER QUOTE : A FORGERY 16/02/05 09:25
    SWORN STATEMENT BY EDWARD TASHJI 12/02/05 17:56
    SWORN STATEMENT BY ALBERT J. AMATEAU 11/02/05 22:22
    THE MALTA TRIBUNAL : CASE CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE 05/02/05 12:49
    PUBLIC DECLARATION BY 19 TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS 01/02/05 19:18
    THE MANIFESTO OF HOVHANNES KATCHAZNOUNI,
     30/01/05 10:55
    IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS THAT REFUTE THE AAG: #3 BOGHOS NUBAR?S LETTER TO THE TIMES OF LONDON DOCUMENTING SUPREME ARMENIAN TREASON

    24/01/05 19:30

    IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS THAT REFUTE THE AAG: #2 DECLARATION, SIGNED BY 125 TURKISH ACADEMICIANS

    22/01/05 08:59

    IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS THAT REFUTE THE AAG: #1 DECLARATION, SIGNED BY 69 PROMINENT AMERICAN ACADEMICIANS

    17/01/05 21:07

    SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN ISSUE, “A to Z” 05/01/05 21:32
    SOYKIRIM DEGIL, ?AHLAKKIRIM? ! 24/12/04 18:54
    THE ?SIX APOLOGIES? TURKS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE WW1

    20/11/04 18:56

    ETHOCIDE, NOT GENOCIDE! 23/10/04 23:47
    BIAS IS ALIVE AND WELL AT LOS ANGELES TIMES, THANK YOU!

    10/10/04 17:46

    BIR SPOR SOHBETI 21/09/04 23:46
    THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY CANNOT BE SILENCED 25/07/04 09:46
    Kanada Parlamentosu?nu Bilgilendirme ve Protesto 07/07/04 06:57
    ALLEGATIONS OF AN “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” IS POLITICAL PROPAGANDA, NOT HISTORICAL TRUTH 04/07/04 20:18
    DARE WE CALL IT BIASED?

    27/06/04 07:43

    Teach The Children Well ! 30/05/04 19:43

    Peace-Lovers Everywhere 25/05/04 23:57

  • DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER URGES DEFEAT OF H.RES. 252

    DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER URGES DEFEAT OF H.RES. 252

    The Honorable Howard Berman, Chairman

    The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen , Ranking Member

    House Foreign Affairs Committee

    Washington DC

    March 2, 2010

    Dear Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen:

    This week, your Committee will consider H. Res. 252, a non-binding resolution
    that seeks to establish our country ‘ s position on a frequently debated historical event that
    took place in the Ottoman Empire during World War 1. This legislation, while not legally
    binding, will have very real and meaningful consequences internationally. Approval of
    this resolution has potential to damage our relationship with an important NATO ally,
    Turkey, Equally as concerning, it also threatens to undermine the current rapprochement
    between Turkey and Armenia.

    The United States is currently facing extremely difficult times, and we all see and
    hear the moving stories from Americans across the country, While we can and should
    debate the best ways to defeat extremism and help strengthen our struggling economy, we
    certainly should not be considering proposals that will only further damage our country
    both militarily and economically.

    Turkey plays an invaluable role in assisting our efforts to combat international
    terrorism, In Afghanistan, Turkey has provided hundreds of millions of dollars for
    reconstruction efforts and humanitarian aid and operates hospitals and schools that serve
    hundreds of thousands of individuals. Turkey also has helped train members of the
    Afghan National Police and the National Army, a vital task that will help transfer sole
    security responsibilities to the Afghan government.

    Economically, Turkey represents billions of dollars and thousands of American
    jobs to our country, In recent years the United States has exported more than $10 billion
    worth of goods there annually and this number continues to grow, In addition to exports,
    Turkish industries continue to grow and develop to the benefit of businesses in the United
    States in which they invest. Continuing to collaborate with Turkey economically will not
    only help to pull our nation out of recession, but ensure a partnership with a country that
    will play an increasingly larger role in the global economy in the years to come.

    More broadly, approving this resolution would adversely impact a wider range of
    important U.S.-Turkish initiatives, such as promoting regional energy security, and
    assisting in the Middle East peace process. So valued is this friendship that President
    Obama, during his first bilateral overseas European trip, described our relationship as a
    “Model Partnership.” We fear this resolution will place a significant strain on that
    partnership and on regional interests more generally.

    We also believe that H. Res. 252 will undermine the current rapprochement
    between Ankara and Yerevan, and may permanently derail the restoration of diplomatic
    ties and normal relations between the two nations. For some time, the United States,
    Switzerland, and other members of the international community have actively been
    supporting the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Those efforts have
    produced significant positive movement over the last ten months. Once ratified, these
    protocols will establish diplomatic relations, open common borders and foster commerce
    between these neighbors. These protocols are presently before both parliaments for
    ratification, so this process is at a sensitive stage. It would not serve U.S. interests to take
    any action which could jeopardize these positive developments.

    A vote on this resolution will do nothing to rectify the tragedies of the past, but it
    will most certainly have significant negative consequences on current and future relations
    with Turkey. We respectfully, but strongly urge you to reject this measure.

    Sincerely,

    Ed Whitfield, Member of Congress

    Steve Cohen, Member of Congress

    Kay Granger, Member of Congress

    Michael E. McMahon, Member of Congress

    Alcee L. hasting, Member of Congress

    Virginia Foxx, Member of Congress

    Ike Skelton, Member of Congress

    Bill Shuster, Member of Congress

    Jean Schmidt, Member of Congress

    Roy Blunt, Member of Congress

    John S. Tanner, Member of Congress

    Dan Burton, Member of Congress

    Eddie Bernice Johnson, Member of Congress

    Rodney Alexander, Member of Congress

    C. A. Dutch Ruppersburger, Member of Congress

    Heath Shuler, Member of Congress

    Pete Sessions, Member of Congress

    Pete Olson, Member of Congress

    John Boozman, Member of Congress

    Jeb Hensarling, Member of Congress

    Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, Member of Congress

    Christopher P. Carney, Member of Congress

    ACTION YOU CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW:

    1) Please send your comments to your elected representatives via TCA by clicking on this link:

    2) Also, if you have a few minutes, please send the “Dear Colleague” letter above to one or more of the the following media. Thank you:

    https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/03/01/US-measure-on-Armenia-angers-Turkey/UPI-71831267460766/

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/02/AR2010030202375.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

    br>

    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-01-la-na-armenian1-2010mar01-story.html

    https://thehill.com/homenews/house/62771-pro-turkey-lawmakers-gather-opposition-to-genocide-resolution/

  • It’s not up to Congress to write history of Turkey and Armenia

    It’s not up to Congress to write history of Turkey and Armenia

    March 03, 2010, 12:30PM

    By G. Lincoln McCurdy/NJVoices Guest Blogger

    The United States is currently confronted with a daunting number of challenges in our nation’s foreign relations. America is managing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and trying to find ways to bring our troops back safely and without compromising our national security. We are working to maintain a nuclear-free Iran, secure our energy sources and prevent the growth and spread of international terrorist networks.

    In all these and many other areas affecting Americans and millions of others around the world, we have an ally in Turkey. Our trade with Turkey topped $10 billion in 2009, leaving the United States with a $3.5 billion trade surplus, supporting thousands of valuable jobs in critical industries.

    In a bizarre move during such turbulent times members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including Representative Donald Payne, are preparing to vote on March 4 on House Resolution 252, which will recognize as “genocide” tragic events that took place nearly 100 years ago in the now defunct Ottoman Empire, despite many holes in the historical argument.

    This begs the question: why are the 48 members of the committee, at a time when we are dealing with pressing international and domestic issues, all of which require Turkey’s support and active participation, squandering their time on an issue that has no relevance to America’s foreign relations and interests?

    The answer is simple: Lobbying.

    Despite much bravado about limiting the influence of special interests, groups with money and manpower still control Washington’s agenda. In the United States there are nearly one million Armenian Americans, concentrated in a number of congressional districts, who support a lobby that spends an estimated $40 million annually on furthering its agenda, which revolves around recognition of an “Armenian Genocide.”
    Their efforts have also made Armenia, a small landlocked country, the second largest per-capita recipient of US foreign aid.

    Proponents of the Resolution frequently admonish its opponents by pointing to a moral obligation of Congress to pronounce that the now-defunct Ottoman Empire, committed “genocide” against Armenians. In doing so, they choose to ignore the many well-regarded historians who dispute this claim. Still, Armenian resolutions persist year after year due to the efforts of a well organized Armenian lobby that has turned hating Turkey into an existential cause.

    To roaring cheers at a 2005 Armenian rally in New York, Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Co-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, proclaimed: “The Turkish envoy said that not only did the Genocide never occur, but he suggested that the reason why Armenians want to recognize the Armenian Genocide today – want the Congress and the other countries to be on record – is because they wanted restitution and they wanted reparations. And I say to that ‘Yes, we do!’ It is important not only to recognize the genocide but we have to make it clear that those who committed it pay restitution … There must be recognition, there must be restitution, there must be reparations for the Armenian Genocide.”

    The resolution comes up for a vote at a particularly strange time. Armenia and Turkey are trying to work through a diplomatic process, with the active backing of the United States, which lays out a road map to normalizing relations. This effort includes the establishment of a joint historical commission of scholars and experts. Turkey’s leadership time and again has stated that it will accept the findings of such a commission. It is telling that the Armenian lobby and its supporters in Congress not only oppose the normalization process, but, with even greater zeal, the establishment of this commission.

    This issue, ultimately, should not be on the docket of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congress is neither the “conscience” of the world, nor its revisionist historian. It’s time to put an end to an dangerous game, played year after year when Congress is taken for a ride by a single-issue lobby at the expense of America’s national interests. This is that time, but it will only end when Americans pay attention and raise their voice and tell Representative Payne to oppose this resolution on March 4, and every time it comes up in the future.

    Lincoln McCurdy is President of the Turkish Coalition of America and a former U.S. diplomat.