Turkish Forum

Category: Asia and Pacific

  • ARE YOU “TOO BUSY” TO STAND TALL FOR YOUR CULTURE & HERITAGE?

    ARE YOU “TOO BUSY” TO STAND TALL FOR YOUR CULTURE & HERITAGE?

    Click here to send your message to the members of House Foreign Affairs Committee

    Dear All,

    Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA, 28th District) is one of the lead actors in the unfortunate scheme that is H.Res.252. For what it is worth, below, please find the summary of my conversation with HB’s staffer.

    ***

    I called Congressman Howard Berman’s Washington office at 9:00 am PST (Noon EST) and talked to Dan Harsha. After greetings, I started out with this introduction:

    “… This phone call is about H.Res. 252. We, Americans of Turkish descent, think it is replete with factual errors, omissions, and distortions. Also, it is insulting and defamatory to Turkey. If passed, not only Turkish-US relations would be harmed, but also the US Congress’ own records dating back to 1920s would have been dismissed or ignored.

    “ General Harbord’s report dated 1920 mentions “…refined Armenian atrocities victimizing Muslims…” not race killings of Armenians as alleged. H.Res.192 of 24 April 1922 states 1,414,000 Armenians being alive as of 31 December 1921, thus refuting Armenian claims of 1.5 million dead as the entire population was around that. How can one kill the entire population and still come up with 1.4 million Armenian alive?

    “ If you step back from this controversy for a minute and take a look at the big picture, you will see this: Turks and Armenians lived in harmonious co-habitation for nearly a millennium. This was changed towards the end of 19th Century and beginning of 20th Century when Armenians took up arms against their own government. Russia, England and France, of course, helped and encouraged Armenians in their revolts.

    “ Then there were Armenian agitation, raids, feuds, terrorism, and treason, all based on territorial demands towards establishing a greater Armenia. Armenians were never a majority in the lands where they lived and if greater did Armenia succeed, it would be the first apartheid of the 20th Century where a Christian minority would be ruling a Muslim majority.

    “ When Turks defended their home in the face of brutal foreign invasions and equally vicious domestic fifth column activities and revolts, through TERESET (temporary resettlement) it was reported in the Western media frequently as Muslims or Turks annihilating Armenians. The New York Times reported on the conflict 145 times in 1915 not allowing Turkish side to be heard even once; that’s how deep the bias and bigotry run in those days.

    “ Even the US Ambassador to Istanbul was merely conveying reports filed by Armenian revolutionaries and missionaries who could not care less about the Muslim suffering. Morgenthau was billed as a diplomat and a historian, whereas he was neither. He was a real estate agent and a developer from upstate New York who raised the most funds and was rewarded by Pres, Wilson with an ambassadorial post. At first, he didn’t want to go, because he wanted a more influential capital, like London, Paris, or Berlin. A Rabbi friend of his convinced him to go telling him how important the Ottoman Empire is and how the Ottomans helped Jews escape death in Iberia during the Spanish inquisitions of 1492. That’s how ignorant and biased Morgenthau was. Based on his reports, the British wartime propaganda book, the Blue Book, was published. Embellishments, feeding on falsifications, appearing in more and more exaggerated tertiary, quaternary sources and beyond… The cycle of hearsay and forgeries finally ended up in H.Res. 252…”

    (At this time, Dan Harsha interrupted saying he could not listen to me ad nauseam. Would I please wrap it up.)

    “…Let me conclude by saying that H.Res. 252 is erroneous, unfair, unwise, and unethical. What’s more, it would harm US-Turkey relations…”

    Dan Harsha responded:

    “… I appreciate hearing your views. Berman is a member of the Turkish Caucus and values Turkey’s friendship a lot. Berman doesn’t think what happened 100 years ago was Turkey’s fault or recognizing genocide would affect US-Turkey relations. He just thinks that Turkey should face its own history like Germany did about its Nazi past. Berman, himself being a survivor from the Holocaust, is sensitive about this issue…”

    Then I responded again by saying that the Jewish Holocaust is a court-proven fact, whereas the Armenia genocide is a long-discredited political claim. I stated:

    “… Holocaust is a uniquely true tragedy, while the alleged genocide is a wartime suffering that involves revolts and retaliations. Did Jews establish Jewish armies behind German lines, join invaders, terrorize the German countryside, demand German territories, in order to establish a Jewish state on German soil? Of course, not. Armenian, on the other hand, did all that and much more before, during, and after WWI. How can the two be uttered in the same breath? Isn’t that an insult to the silent memories of six million Jews exterminated for just being Jews?..”

    By this time, Dan Harsha was anxious to leave this conversation. He said he really had to go and thanked me for my time. I thanked back for his time.

    CONCLUSIONS:

    Howard Berman will vote yes. That’s too bad. Berman thinks he is doing the right thing, without realizing he is simply brainwashed by the Armenian lobby (if not also intimidated and threatened by the Armenian fanatics who gave us Armenian terrorism. Remember Hampig Sassoonian and Mourad Topalian?)

    If Berman could click on www.ethocide.com and see the photos of Armenian gangs armed to the teeth, posing proudly by the Turks they killed, gun toting Armenian priests claiming to have waged epic battles against the Turks, and many other Armenian terrorists, would Berman still believe the “poor, starving, unarmed, helpless, noncombatant Armenian” myth? Genocide, huh? What a sham!

    SOLUTIONS:

    This entire crop of pro-genocide congress people needs to be replaced with a new crop which is more educated ( and financially and electorally supported by Turkish Americans) about

    1) the other side of the story and

    2) geo-strategic, military-industrial, socio-economic, and political values of Turkey.

    3) the emerging socio-economic and political might of the Turkish Americans.

    APPEAL TO DEAR VOLUNTEERS AND FRIENDS,

    If you want to give our selfless and spirited efforts opposing H.Res.252 a helping hand, then send your message to all members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 30 seconds by clicking the link below right.

    Click…click… Done!

    Cost = 30 seconds of your time.

  • Turkish parliamentarians calls for suing Khojaly crime at international court

    Turkish parliamentarians calls for suing Khojaly crime at international court

    [ 25 Feb 2010 15:56 ]

    Baku – APA. On February 25, Turkish parliament addressed the issue related to anniversary of Khojaly tragedy in Azerbaijan.

    According to APA, Turkish parliamentarians took the floor and expressed opinion of their parties about the frightful massacre committed in the occupied Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan by Armenian invaders and their supporters – Russian militaries 18 years ago. The parliamentarians cursed the Khojaly massacre as a crime against humanity and expressed their solidarity with Azerbaijan.

    Chairman of Azerbaijan-Turkish inter-parliamentary friendship group, member of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Mustafa Kabakci said Armenia, which accused Turkey in genocide, itself committed genocide in the near past – in 1992. “Armenians supported by the Russian 366th infantry regiment closed entrance and exits of Khojaly town of Azerbaijan and killed 613 of our brothers and sisters. We were together with Azerbaijan yesterday and we are together today”.

    Atilla Kaya spoken on behalf of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said he took the floor to remember and remind about the Khojaly tragedy, one of the massacres of 20th century committed by Armenians. “Khojaly tragedy was a crime against our nation in Nagorno Karabakh. This massacre was committed with the support of Russians. Khojaly was a town with 11 000 population, but part of the people left the town. Those who didn’t leave faced with an attack of Armenians and Russians on February 26, 1992. 613 were killed, 1200 – taken hostage and 475 seriously wounded”.

    Kaya focused the attention on the fact that Nagorno Karabakh Armenians were led by incumbent president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and former president Robert Kocharian during the Khojaly genocide. “Unfortunately today Serzh Sargsyan visits Turkey and meets with our president. Those who committed war crimes in Bosnia appeared before the international court. Those who committed war crimes in Azerbaijan must also appear before the international court”.

  • U.S. Official ‘Praises’ Armenian Stance On Turkey

    U.S. Official ‘Praises’ Armenian Stance On Turkey

    Armenia — President Serzh Sarkisian (R) meets with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon in Kiev on February 25, 2010.

    25.02.2010
    Emil Danielyan

    A top U.S. diplomat was reported to praise Armenia’s position in the stalled normalization process with Turkey at a meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian on Thursday.

    Sarkisian and Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon met in the Ukrainian capital Kiev after attending the inauguration of Ukraine’s newly elected president, Viktor Yanukovich.

    A statement by Sarkisian’s office said the talks focused on the U.S.-backed efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey. It said the Armenian leader reaffirmed Yerevan’s commitment to an unconditional implementation of the agreements to that effect which were signed by the two governments in October.

    The statement quoted Gordon as describing this position as “constructive” and saying that the Armenian and Turkish parliaments should ratify the two protocols “without linking them to other existing problems.”

    It was a clear reference to Turkish leaders’ statements making Turkish ratification conditional on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that would satisfy Azerbaijan. The Armenian government says this “precondition” contradicts the essence of the protocols, which make no reference to the Karabakh dispute.

    Ankara also attributes its reluctance to ratify the protocols to the Armenian Constitutional Court’s recent interpretation of the protocols’ implications which it says ran counter to the letter and spirit of the deal. Gordon, who coordinates U.S. policy on Europe and the former Soviet Union, dismissed the Turkish claims last month.

    U.S. officials have yet to publicly comment on Yerevan’s threats to wake away from the agreements if the Turks continue to drag their feet. Acting on those threats, the Armenian parliament passed on Thursday, in the second and final reading, legal amendments that facilitate such a move.

    Adding a new twist to the normalization process is a decision by a U.S. congressional committee to discuss and possibly vote on March 4 on a resolution describing the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. A Turkish parliamentary delegation is expected to visit Washington this week to lobby U.S. lawmakers to block it.

    The U.S. State Department opposed similar resolutions drafted by pro-Armenian legislators in the past, citing Turkey’s geopolitical significance for the United States. Department officials have so far pointedly refrained from criticizing the latest genocide bill. Some observers believe Washington will use it to press Ankara to ratify the protocols.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu clearly alluded to such possibility when he condemned the bill earlier this month. He said the prospect of U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide will not force his government to soften its stance on protocol ratification.

    Davutoglu insisted this week that the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement has not reached an impasse. “Negotiations and the process are going on,” he said, according to the Regnum news agency.

    https://www.azatutyun.am/a/1968518.html
  • Parliament Addresses Armenian Pullout From Turkey Accord

    Parliament Addresses Armenian Pullout From Turkey Accord

    Armenia — The parliament building in Yerevan.

    23.02.2010
    Sargis Harutyunyan, Karine Kalantarian

    The National Assembly began debating on Tuesday a government bill that would make it easier for Armenia to annul its normalization agreements with Turkey if Ankara continues to delay their ratification.

    The proposed amendments to an Armenian law on international treaties envisage the suspension or termination of agreements signed by Yerevan before their entry into force.

    President Serzh Sarkisian announced his intention to enact such amendments in December in response to Turkish leaders’ continuing statements making the ratification of the Turkish-Armenian “protocols” conditional on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh. He made clear that Yerevan will walk away from the deal if Ankara fails to implement it within a “reasonable” time frame.

    Addressing the parliament, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian effectively admitted that the amendments were drafted on Sarkisian’s orders. “The president of the republic made a statement on and I have nothing to add to it,” he said.

    Opposition and independent lawmakers criticized the initiative, saying that Armenian law and international conventions signed by Yerevan already allow for the abrogation of international treaties.

    “I am sure that our legislation in no way restricts the president’s authority to suspend the process of terminating the ratification of any treaty,” said former parliament speaker Tigran Torosian. “I am more than convinced that there is absolutely no need to pass this bill,” he added.

    The bill was included on the parliament agenda just days after Sarkisian formally sent the two protocols to the parliament for ratification. But the National Assembly and its committee on foreign relations are in no rush to debate the documents envisaging the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and opening of their border.

    A spokesman for Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), which has a clear majority in the assembly, on Tuesday again made clear that it will not vote on the protocols before their ratification by the Turkish parliament. Like other Armenian officials, Eduard Sharmazanov again avoided setting any deadlines for Turkish ratification.

    David Harutiunian, the chairman of the parliament committee on legal affairs, said Yerevan may wait for “one or two or several months” before deciding whether to discontinue the normalization process. “It’s not possible to give a definite answer at this point. It depends on many processes,” Harutiunian told journalists when asked what the Armenian side means by a “reasonable timeframe.”

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly reiterated on Monday that Turkey will not implement the protocols unless there is a breakthrough in international efforts to settle the Karabakh conflict.

    https://www.azatutyun.am/a/1966347.html
  • Letters to Obama, Congressmen and Senators

    Letters to Obama, Congressmen and Senators

    [ 23 Feb 2010 12:15 ]

    Washington. Isabel Levine – APA. During the past couple weeks American Azerbaijanis and their US supporters have sent 1211 letters to the US Administration, including US President Barack Obama, vice-president Joe Biden, secretary of state Hilary Clinton, as well as US Congressmen and Senators, APA’s Washington correspondent was told at Azerbaijani Diaspora organization USAN.
    The reason for sending the letters was to recognize and commemorate the Khojaly Massacre of 1992.

    The authors of the letter point out that “All Azerbaijani people will forever remember where they were on February 26, 1992, like all Americans will forever remember where they were on the tragic morning of September 11, 2001. Having experienced terror firsthand, Azerbaijan has become a staunch ally of the United States in the War on Terror and a member of the Coalition, with Azerbaijani battle-ready peacekeepers serving side-by-side with Americans in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq”.

    On the 18th anniversary of the massacre the Diaspora is also calling upon the to properly recognize and commemorate this tragedy on the floor of the Congress, in the Congressional Record, and by attending a vigil, and to pressure the Armenian government to accept its responsibility for this massacre and withdraw its troops from the occupied regions of Azerbaijan.

    In the meanwhile the Turkish and Azerbaijani Diasporas have sent during the recent two weeks more than 2436 letters to the representatives of US government, including the Congress members and the House and Senate Foreign affairs Committee. These letters are targeting to influence the US Congress to vote against the H252, Congressional resolution on the so called “Armenian Genocide”, voting on which has been has been scheduled for a vote in at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4, 2010.

  • Khojaly genocide commemorated at University of California

    Khojaly genocide commemorated at University of California

     
     

    [ 22 Feb 2010 15:40 ]

    Baku – APA. California-based Azerbaijan-American Council, Association of Turkic-speaking students at Berkeley and Association of Turkish-American Assembly organized a ceremony for commemoration of Khojaly genocide on February 19 at the University of California, Berkeley. Azerbaijan-American Council told APA members of the Azerbaijani community, Azerbaijani students educated in California, officials of the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles and Berkeley students attended the ceremony. Professor Thomas Goltz of Montana University, Professor Thomas Ambrosio of North Dakota State University, Parvin Akhanci of University of California, Davis, Azerbaijan Consulate General official Elshan Baloglanov, ATAA representative Ergun Kirikovali and AAC Director Executive Javid Huseynov addressed the ceremony.

    Odious Armenian terrorist, Armenian national hero Monte Melkonian, who was killed by the Azerbaijani soldiers in Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in June, 1993, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.