Turkish Forum

Category: Canada

  • INTOLERANCE TO REASONED, SCHOLARLY DEBATE

    INTOLERANCE TO REASONED, SCHOLARLY DEBATE

    June 3, 2009

    To: Sheldon Levy, President and Vice-Chancellor, [email protected]

    Cc: Kanizehn Wadia, Executive Secretary to the President, [email protected]
    Erin McGinn, Director, Office of the President, [email protected]
    Carrie-Ann Bissonnette, Special Assistant, Events & Special Projects, [email protected]
    Alan Shepard, Provost and Vice President Academic – [email protected]
    Dr. Heather Lane Vetere, Vice Provost, Students – [email protected]
    Terry Gillin, Dean of sociology, [email protected]
    Mustafa Koc, Professor, Sociology Department, [email protected]
    Re: Intolerance at Canada’s Ryerson University to reasoned, scholarly debate

    Dear President Levy:
    I am responding to the apology you issued to the Armenian students for the scholarly seminar organized by the Turkish students at Ryerson University on February 18, 2009, featuring Professor Turkkaya Ataov, a researcher who authored of more than 80 books. I found your apology biased, unfair, and unscholarly. Here are my reasons and thoughts:

    BIAS IN THE TERM “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

    If one cherishes values like fairness, objectivity, truth, and honesty, then one should really use the term “Turkish-Armenian conflict”. Reducing this complex human tragedy that affected all the people of the area down to “Do you accept or deny Armenian Genocide” simply shows one’s anti-Turkish bias. The question should be re-phrased “What is your stand on the Turkish-Armenian conflict?”

    Turks document it clearly that it was an inter communal warfare mostly fought by Turkish and Armenian irregulars, a civil war which is engineered, provoked, and waged by the Armenian revolutionaries, with active support from Russia, England, France, and other countries, as well as Western media and missionaries, all interested in the vast resources of the collapsing Ottoman Empire for different reasons and to varying degrees, against a backdrop of a raging world war.

    Armenians, on the other hand, ignoring Armenian agitation, raids, rebellions, terrorism, treason, territorial demands, and Turkish victims killed by Armenians, claim that it was a one way genocide, a claim never tested at a court of law but mostly based on hearsay and forgeries.

    GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS IGNORE “THE SIX T’S OF THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN CONFLICT”

    While some in unsuspecting public may be forgiven for taking the blatant and ceaseless Armenian propaganda at face value and believing Armenian falsifications merely because they are repeated so often, it is difficult and painful for someone like me, the son of Turkish survivors on both maternal and paternal sides, whose story is hardly ever heard due to censorship induced by Armenian pressure groups.

    Those seemingly endless “War years” of 1912-1922 brought three separate but consecutive wars on Ottoman soil (The Balkans, WWI, and the Independence Wars) and wide-spread death and destruction on to all Ottoman citizens. No Turkish family was left touched, mine certainly included. Those nameless, faceless Turkish victims are killed for a second time today with politically motivated and baseless charges of Armenian genocide. Those wars were brought onto Turks, not vice-versa, fought on Turkish soil, not in England, France, or Russia, and Turks were only defending their home, not out for conquest.

    ALLEGATIONS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ARE RACIST AND DISHONEST HISTORY

    They are racist because they ignore the Turkish dead: about 3 million during WWI; more than half a million of them at the hands of Armenian nationalists.

    And the allegations of Armenian genocide are dishonest because they simply dismiss

    THE SIX T’S OF THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN CONFLICT:

    1) TUMULT (as in numerous Armenian armed uprisings, 1878-1921)

    2) TERRORISM (by well-armed Armenian nationalists and militias victimizing Ottoman-Muslims, 1882-1922)

    3) TREASON (Armenians joining the invading enemy armies, 1914-1921)

    4) TERRITORIAL DEMANDS (where Armenians were a minority, not a majority, attempting to establish Greater Armenia, the would-be first apartheid of the 20th Century with a Christian minority ruling over a Muslim majority, 1878- present )

    5) TURKISH SUFFERING AND LOSSES (i.e. those caused by the Armenian nationalists: 524,000 Muslims, mostly Turks, met their tragic end at the hands of Armenian revolutionaries during WWI, documented by the Turkish Historical Society. This figure is not to be confused with about 2.5 million Muslim dead who lost their lives due to non-Armenian causes during WWI.)

    6) TERESET (temporary resettlement) triggered by the first five T’s above and amply documented as such; not to be equated to the Armenian misrepresentations as genocide.)

    VERDICT WITHOUT DUE PROCESS AMOUNTS TO LYNCHING

    Those who take the Armenian “allegations” of genocide at face value seem to also ignore the following:

    1- Genocide is a legal, technical term precisely defined by the U.N. 1948 convention (Like all proper laws, it is not retroactive to 1915.)

    2- Genocide verdict can only be given by a “competent court” after “due process” where both sides are properly represented and evidence mutually cross examined.

    3- For a genocide verdict, the accusers must prove “intent” at a competent court and after due process. This could never be done by the Armenians whose evidence mostly fall into five major categories: hearsay, mis-representations, exaggerations, forgeries, and “other”.

    4- Such a “competent court” was never convened in the case of Turkish-Armenian conflict and a genocide verdict does not exist (save a Kangaroo court in occupied Istanbul in 1920 where partisanship, vendettas, and revenge motives left no room for due process.)

    5- Genocide claim is political, not historical or factual. It reflects bias against Turks. Therefore, the term genocide must be used with the qualifier “alleged”, for scholarly objectivity and truth.

    POLITICAL LYNCHING OF THE TURKS BY ARMENIANS TODAY

    Recognizing Armenian claim as genocide, therefore, will deeply insult Turkish-Canadians and Turks around the globe and poison the otherwise excellent relations currently enjoyed between the Canada and Turkey. It will, no doubt, please Armenians but disappoint, insult, and outrage Turkey, one of Canada’s closest allies and a partner in NATO. Turks stood shoulder to shoulder with Canadians in Gulf War, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and more. Genocide charge, unproven and unjustified, is the worst insult that can be dished out to an entire nation and a democracy respecting human rights, not to mention a close friend, an staunch ally , and a reliable partner in a troubled part of the world.

    History is not a matter of ” gut feelings, thoughts, beliefs, conviction, consensus, political resolutions, or propaganda.” History is a matter of unbiased research, honest peer review, thoughtful debate, and meticulous scholarship. Even historians, by the U.N. definition, cannot decide on a genocide verdict, which is a special task reserved for a “competent court” with its legal expertise and due process.

    What we witness today amounts to lynching of the Turks by Armenians to satisfy the age old Armenian hate, bias, and bigotry. Values like fairness, presumption of innocence until proven guilty, objectivity, balance, honesty, and freedom of speech are stumped under the fanatic Armenian feet.

    Those who claim genocide verdict today, based on the much discredited Armenian evidence, are actually engaging in “conviction and execution without due process”. Last time I checked with the dictionary, that was the definition of “lynching”.

    Isn’t it about time to stop fighting the First World War after almost a century and give peace a real chance?

    Perhaps an even better question is, isn’t it time to allow the historians, researchers, and scholars to take over this debate?

    The capability to explore and discuss contentious issues in a rational, scholarly manner is one of the trademarks that makes a University community a stimulating and exciting place. Your apology to Armenian students, implying that the Turkish-Armenian controversy should be represented like settled history in line with untested, unproven Armenian allegations, deals a blow to academic freedom and freedom of speech, thus vibrancy of a university.

    After all, what good is a university if reasoned, scholarly debate is not allowed?

    Peace,

    ERGUN KIRLIKOVALI

    Son of Turkish Survivors from Both Maternal & Paternal Side

    www.turkla.com
    www.ethocide.com

    ***

  • Poor Richard’s Report

    Poor Richard’s Report

    Poor Richard’s Report

    Over 300,000 readers
    My Mission: God has uniquely designed me to seek, write, and speak the truth as I see it. Preservation of one’s wealth while providing needful income is my primary goal in these unsettled times. I have been given the ability to evaluate, study, and interpret world and national events and their influence on the future of the financial markets. This gift allows me to meet the needs of individual and institution clients.

    AS I SEE IT

    O.K. Here is some straight talk about the economy and the stock market. The economy is bottoming out. Notice I said bottoming, not rebounding. Think of it this way: you own a swimming pool that has sprung a pretty good leak. By the time you have stopped the leak you have lost 5% of your water. The problem is you have been experiencing a dry spell and your reservoir (credit) is almost empty. You now have just a glass full of water to refill your pool, just one cup at a time, slowly.
    Now, has our Congress come to the rescue just in time? They have redefined the credit card industry, which makes it a little harder for the companies to gouge us. They left the interest rates the same. Before 1974 it was called USURY. That was and should be a very bad word. Who do they think they are conning? We are not that dumb. Both parties are on the take. They use a once honored term- Lobbyist. Today that stands for bribery. Everyone in Washington feels they can just keep on printing money. If we were on some form of a gold standard, where excessive debt meant a weaker dollar and less trade, they would think twice about padding their own boudoir.
    I am not a true economist and I must rely on sources that I know are competent. I have studied and learned from them for over 48 years.
    One thing is very clear. When a US Treasury bill has a negative yield; we are in deep trouble. The last time that happened was 1932. This means big money is scared and they are paying the government to hold on to their money. Today, May 29, 2009 the 2 year Treasury note is yielding 0.97%. Buying bonds today is an instant loss.
    When most bonds were issued, it was when business was booming and the revenues at that time supported the intended interest rate. Now with business at a snails pace the debt coverage of these bonds is in serious jeopardy. Debt coverage means how many times the liquid assets can cover the bond interest payments. The greater the coverage on the bond interest payments – the higher the rating. If a bond cannot pay it’s interest payment then the whole company is in default and they have to find some way to pay the bondholders. They have first crack at a corporation’s assets. What is left goes to the preferred shareholders and common stock holders get the crumbs. So buying a bond fund or any instrument that holds many bonds should be avoided. Even the managers are not sure which bond will go down next. You should only buy bonds, if you must, as individual issues. This makes insurance companies very suspect.
    General Motor’s bondholders are getting a royal shafting by being made to accept common stock or “funny money”. This is, in theory, to protect the pension funds, which still own the preferred and common stock. Balderdash! I believe this will end up in the Supreme Court of the United States.
    Don’t get me wrong; buying bonds at the appropriate time can reward an investor handsomely. Timing is everything.
    Now here is the really bad part. Don’t fret because at the end of this letter I have the answer for you. The stock market has not bottomed in my opinion. In March I called the bottom, and we have had a fantastic rally, but now I have second thoughts. I know we will test the lows by October of this year. Whether they hold, nobody knows. One can only guess. Right now my guess is no.
    Speculators and the media believe naively that we are ready to resume a rain-delayed ball game. Too bad we can’t refund our tickets.
    The problem is that the mechanic’s of the market place have not been corrected.
    You can see the speculators still playing the market – especially the big capitalization stocks – and are swimming in shark-infested waters. These sharks have no regard for ethics or laws or anyone’s skin but their own. At the present time the media is impressed by wealth, but not how it was earned. Financial morals are lower than the bottom of the ocean.
    What we have to do is trash the conservatives and liberals at the same time and elect middle of the roaders that work with both sides of the isles. We need some hard nose politicians that are not afraid to speak plainly and openly. The problems of today are here because we had weak-kneed bureaucrats that were either paid off or lacked the intestinal fortitude to right a wrong. When you are around money, unless the laws are strictly enforced, slimy eels mess up your boat badly.
    We now need global enforcement so that citizens of countries that do not comply are blackballed. The US was once known as the safest haven with the toughest laws in the whole wide world. Sadly, the keepers of the faith retired.
    So until we have a global regulatory agency that will protect investors, the stock markets for the most part are a crapshoot, or like picking a single number on a roulette wheel.
    Buying a bond is going to be an instant loss at best. We have to borrow trillions of dollars to finance this socialist experiment. Who wants to borrow the first trillion? China and Brazil want to trade in their own currency. When a central banker sells a government security he receives dollars. They then sell the dollar to pay for the gold. That is why you see gold go up when the dollar goes down.
    The whole world is in debt.
    My big fear is that in January Obama will try to get rid of Bernanke who is Chairman of the Federal Reserve. That is like changing horses in mid stream to borrow a quote from yesteryear. Right now the whole world is listening to him. He has made honest mistakes and corrected them quickly. In the past when a stock analyst made a mistake I would pay careful attention to him, because I knew he was trying very hard to make up for the previous mistake and had learned from his error. Then there were some that could turn a load of manure into gold bars. Caveat Emptor.
    In my last letter I recommended buying Spider Gold Trust (NYSE GLD $96.16) and today I am adding Central Fund of Canada (NYSE CEF $12.56) which hold gold and silver bars in one of Canada’s largest bank vaults.
    My reasoning is this: they keep increasing their benefits while decreasing ours and refuse to really fix the inequities. By going back on some form of the gold system this puts pressure on them to perform properly. If they spend too much it will weaken the dollar and send them out of office quicker than you can blink.

    In 1950 we held 68.2% of the worlds’ gold at Fort Knox. Today it is less than 28%. The whole world is awash in debt and dollars and sooner or later something has to give. To protect yourself, your family, and your job or business you should consider buying some gold stocks that own gold.
    If countries decide to go back on some form of the gold standard the price could increase two to tens times the current price or more. If the Government tries to confiscate it like they did in 1932 they went from $21 to $35. That is a pretty good percentage increase- so I would not worry about that now.
    Remember when things get really bad, they can only get better.
    Those needing income should look at preferred stock of sound companies selling below their call price. The sharks can not mess around with these with ease. Many are qualified preferred’s which means 85% is tax free. I prefer AMERCO $2.125 preferred list on the NYSE. The Symbol is AO-A. They own U-Haul Trailer Company. That is also traded on NASDAQ- UHAL-$36.85. A good way to keep track of the preferred is to watch for any sudden shift in UHAL.
    There are also lots of values north of our borders in Canada. The Canadians did not monkey around with their banking system so many of their companies are in fairly stable condition versus the United States.
    A word of caution; I was having my Saturday morning breakfast at the Woodstock Country Store when I met this gentleman who told me this amazing tale. In his business he has to buy nickel, about 400 pounds per year. This year he placed his order and found out the price had dropped 50%. I found out later that China had stopped buying.
    This example is just another reason why we should be moving to some form of a gold standard. It puts a ball and chain on our politicians, who cannot get a real job, and gives a solid standard of living for us and for our grandchildren.
    Buy some gold as a protection and a hedge. If you have any problems you can contact me personally at the numbers listed below.
    Thank you and Cheerio!!!

    Addendum

    Chairman Bernanke’s plan if we ever had a depression again was to go into a helicopter and spread dollar bills all over the country in every town, village and farm. This is what he wrote his thesis on while getting his doctorate at M.I.T.
    Nothing goes as planned. He has his depression, and he has the chance to implement his ideas, but there is always a catch. An election came and a populace president and his party were swept into office.
    Now everyone wants on the ‘gravy train’, which is actually more like a giant lemming lumbering towards the seaside cliff. States are now knocking on the door like hobos of the past for a needed handout. Except this time there will be no thank you, instead they will simply rush to get in line again for more.
    The mighty dollar is ready to be downgraded to compete with the Chinese Yuan and the Mexican Peso and the Italian Lira. Interest rates will catapult over night as computers change the price of our bonds in the twinkling of an eye.
    The idea of the good Doctor Bernanke was to distribute funds into private hands that would create jobs where needed, which is certainly not in Washington D.C. Washington should be responsible for creating rules and umpires to make sure the game is played honestly.
    The lesson we learned from the 1930’s was that our banks and credit system had to be sacrosanct. Once those standards were lowered the blood sucking vampires landed in Washington DC. They are called Lobbyists. What is your interest rate?

    Richard C De Graff
    256 Ashford Road
    RER Eastford Ct 06242
    860-522-7171 Main Office
    800-821-6665 Watts
    860-315-7413 Home/Office
    [email protected]

    This report has been prepared from original sources and data which we believe reliable but we make no representation to its accuracy or completeness. Coburn & Meredith Inc. its subsidiaries and or officers may from time to time acquire, hold, sell a position discussed in this publications, and we may act as principal for our own account or as agent for both the buyer and seller.

  • CANADA: Ryerson Apologizes for Ataov Event

    CANADA: Ryerson Apologizes for Ataov Event

    Ryerson Apologizes for Ataov Event and Reaffirms its commitment to uphold the Truth
    canada

    Toronto, Ontario; On February 18, 2009, The Department of Sociology at Ryerson University, and the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations organized an evening lecture on campus titled “Elaborations on Turkish strategies to dealing with issues around Armenian Allegations and beyond”. The lecture was delivered by Professor Turkkaya Ataov, a leading denier of the Armenian Genocide. The lecture was equivalent to Neo-Nazi propaganda presented to deny the Jewish Holocaust. Prof. Ataov trivialized the reality of the Armenian Genocide and presented the usual Turkish Government’s views.

    Ryerson University’s student body was outraged by the fact that such an event had been cosponsored by a department of their university and raised concerns through letters and by signing petitions which included names of approximately 300 Ryerson students.

    After several meetings with department heads and administration, Dr. Sheldon Levy, the president of Ryerson University, in a letter to Sally Sahagian, the president of the Armenian Students’ Association at Ryerson University, apologized to the Ryerson community by stating, “On behalf of Ryerson University, I would like to apologize for the pain and suffering experienced in particular by the members of the Armenian.

    Community as a result of this event” He then assured the student body that the university’s views were in line with that of the Canadian Government, the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the hundreds of historians and experts researching the topic internationally. Dr. Levy stated, “Ryerson University supports Prime Minster Harper’s statement on behalf of all Canadians that the Armenian Genocide is a historical fact, unquestionably part of the historical record with tremendous suffering.”

    Ryerson University’s response indicated that although the university is a space where students can practice their freedom of speech, the university will not become an accomplice to racism and genocide denial. This form of hate propaganda has no place in our academic and scholarly circles.

    The administration of Ryerson University, through its principled stand, has proven to remain true to the role of the university as an institution committed to upholding the truth. The Armenian Students’ Association at Ryerson University together with all its members and the Armenian Community at large would like to thank the Ryerson University administration for identifying genocide denial as a threat to academia and society at large, consequently taking a principled stand against the crime of genocide.

    For more info, please contact Sally Sahagian – [email protected].
    29 May 2009 by Press Office

    In America, there are “equal access”  and “”equal time” laws governing libelous attacks in public.  I am sure similar laws are in the books in Canada, too. The first step should be a firm, informative, fair, polite, but demanding letter, worded by a lawyer (or law firm) specializing in freedom of speech issues in Canada should be sent.  This should be done immediately (within the next several days) to set the stage.

    According to their answers, the next step can be designed accordingly.

    TALDF can help with wording.

    Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

    TURKISH FORUM

    erdalatrek

    Dear David and friends,

    If you were to click on the html “pressoffice” at the bottom of Sally Sahagian’s disgusting “press release” you would see the email address:

    [email protected]

    While Sahagian gives her email address as [email protected], it is obvious that the “press release” is an Armenian Church of Canada product.

    Perhaps TALDF can seize this opportunity to deliver where it will truly count and weigh the genocide-mongers down.

    Regards,
    Erdal
  • Et Tu Obama?

    Et Tu Obama?

    Letter from a Former Admirer

    sassun-2

    [[email protected]]

    Mr. President, how could you!

    Your candidacy was a breath of fresh air. You stood for change. You made wonderful promises and the Armenian-American community put its trust in you.

    We are now terribly disappointed because you acted not much differently than your predecessors on the Armenian Genocide issue. Your April 24 statement fell far short of your solemn pledge to recognize the Genocide.

    As a Senator and presidential candidate, you left no doubt about your intentions on this issue. You spoke about it eloquently and passionately.

    Yet, when the time came to issue your April 24 statement, we were surprised to find out that “genocide” had been replaced by “Meds Yeghern,” a clever ploy, no doubt suggested by one of your ingenious aides.

    You may want to know that “Meds Yeghern” does not mean genocide; it means “Great Calamity.” Armenians used that term before the word “genocide” was coined by Raphael Lemkin in the 1940’s. “Genocide” in Armenian is “Tseghasbanoutyoun,” which is a much more precise term than “Meds Yeghern,” in case you decide to use it in the future.

    Not only did your aides come up with the wrong Armenian word, but they failed to provide its English translation, so that non-Armenians could understand its meaning. What was, after all, the point of using an Armenian word in an English text? Did your staff run out of English euphemisms for genocide?

    Just in case your resourceful advisors think that they were the first to devise the clever ploy of replacing “genocide” with “Meds Yeghern,” let me inform you that several previous leaders have employed that same trick. Pope John Paul II used that term in 2001 during his visit to Armenia. The BBC observed that the Pontiff had said “Meds Yeghern” in order not to offend Turkey. Your immediate predecessor, Pres. George W. Bush, used the English translation of that same tricky word in his April 24, 2005 statement — “This terrible event is what many Armenian people have come to call the ‘Great Calamity.’”

    Mr. President, last year when you were seeking votes and financial support from Armenian-Americans, you did not promise them to recognize the “Meds Yeghern!” You actually told them: “As President, I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.” Moreover, you did not state that your acknowledgment of the Genocide is contingent upon Armenian-Turkish negotiations, opening Armenia’s border, war in Iraq or anything else. You made a flat out promise, with no ifs or buts.

    There are also two sets of serious contradictions in the words you used before and after your election to the presidency. In your April 24, 2009 statement, you said: “I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed.” Yet, on January 19, 2008, as a presidential candidate, you had said: “The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view.” Furthermore, on April 24, 2009 you stated: “My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts.” Yet, as a candidate, you stated that the Armenian Genocide is “a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable.”

    Mr. President, twice in one month, both in Ankara and Washington, you made a reference to your past statements on the genocide, in order to avoid using that word as president. This is an old trick that was also utilized by Pres. George H. W. Bush (Senior). In his presidential message of April 20, 1990, Bush stated: “My comments of June 1988 represent the depth of my feeling for the Armenian people and the sufferings they have endured.” In order to avoid saying genocide, Pres. Bush, like you, made an indirect reference to that word, by mentioning his earlier remarks as Vice President and presidential candidate: “The United States must acknowledge the attempted genocide of the Armenian People in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, based on the testimony of survivors, scholars, and indeed our own representatives at the time, if we are to ensure that such horrors are not repeated.”

    Dear Mr. President, there was no need for your staff to waste their valuable time trying to come up with such ploys and verbal gymnastics. If you did not want to say genocide, you did not have to say anything at all. The Armenian Genocide has already been acknowledged by another U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, who signed a Presidential Proclamation on April 22, 1981, in which he referred to “the genocide of the Armenians.”

    Armenians actually gain nothing by having one more U.S. president reiterate what has been said before. As you know, presidential statements, just as congressional resolutions, have no legal consequence. Pres. Reagan’s proclamation and the adoption of two House resolutions on the Armenian Genocide in 1975 and 1984 have brought nothing tangible to Armenians in terms of seeking reparations for their immense losses in lives and property.

    By not keeping your word on April 24, however, you have only succeeded in undermining your own credibility in front of the American people and world public opinion. Already, the Obameter website (politifact.com) has labeled your April 24 statement as “a broken promise.” This week, as you complete the first 100 days in office, major TV networks and the press are widely reporting your broken promise on the Armenian Genocide, thus undermining the trust of the American public in your other promises.

    Finally, Mr. President, it was improper for you to exploit Turkey’s “make- believe” negotiations with Armenia by using it as a pretext for avoiding the “genocide” word in your April 24 statement. Given your high position, you must know that the Turkish government’s intent all along has been to create the false impression that its discussions with Armenia are proceeding smoothly, making everyone believe that the border would be opened shortly. Turkish leaders have been dangling that carrot in front of Armenia for many years. The fact is that, once you were elected president, Turkish officials took seriously your campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide and were told by your close aides that unless Ankara made a friendly gesture towards Armenia, you could well carry out your promise to the Armenian-American community.

    While Turkish officials, with their fake diplomatic initiatives, managed to deceive the rest of the world, including Armenia’s relatively inexperienced leaders, you, Mr. President, knew better. You went along with Turkey’s false gestures knowingly, thus bartering away your principled stand on the Armenian Genocide in order to secure Turkish participation in the Afghan war, and carry out its U.S. assigned role with respect to Iraq, Iran, and Israel.

    You must have also known that Turkey would not open its border with Armenia in the foreseeable future, unless the Karabagh conflict was resolved to Azerbaijan’s satisfaction. Using various carrots and sticks, with the connivance of Russia, which pursues its own economic and political interests in Turkey and Azerbaijan, U.S. officials succeeded in pressuring Armenia into agreeing to issue a joint declaration with Turkey and Switzerland as mediator on the eve of April 24. This declaration was a convenient cover for you to duck the genocide issue in order to appease Turkey.

    Mr. President, by compelling Armenia to sign such a declaration, you have managed to pit the Armenian Diaspora, as well as the people in Armenia against the government in Yerevan. As a direct result of that action, the ARF, one of Armenia’s influential political parties, quit the ruling coalition this week. The ARF did not wish to associate itself with a government, still reeling from last year’s contentious presidential elections, which is negotiating an agreement with Turkey that could compromise the country’s national interests and historic rights. The ARF also vehemently opposes Armenia’s announced intention to participate in a bilateral historical commission that Turkey would use to question the facts of the Armenian Genocide.

    Mr. President, in the coming days, as your administration invites Armenia’s leaders to Washington in order to squeeze more concessions from them, please realize that they can only be pressured so much before they lose their authority. As was the case with Armenia’s first president, crossing the red lines on the Genocide and Karabagh issues could well jeopardize the tenuous hold on power of the remaining ruling coalition, regardless of how many promises are made and carrots extended to them by Washington.

  • Turkey calls back ambassador to Canada

    Turkey calls back ambassador to Canada

    By SUZAN FRASER
    Associated Press Writer Posted: Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2009

    ANKARA, Turkey Turkey recalled its ambassador to Canada, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, after government ministers there reportedly took part in an event that labeled the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide.

    Ambassador Rafet Akgunay was called back for “thorough evaluations and consultations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said, without saying why Akgunay was recalled or for how long.

    Another government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said the ambassador was being withdrawn temporarily to protest an event earlier this week in Canada commemorating the deaths of Armenians at the end of World War I as genocide.

    The official said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a message to the ceremony, which angered Turkey. Turkish news reports said Canadian government officials took part in the event.

    It is the second time that Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Canada over the genocide dispute. In 2006, Turkey criticized Harper for remarks he made in support of recognizing the mass killings as genocide and briefly withdrew its ambassador. It also pulled out of a military exercise in Canada in protest.

    Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks – an event widely viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, contending the toll has been inflated and the casualties were victims of civil war and unrest.

    Lawmakers in the United States have also introduced a resolution that would call the death genocide. If passed, the resolution could undermine efforts by President Barack Obama’s administration to win NATO ally Turkey’s help on key foreign policy goals.

    U.S. legislators almost passed a similar resolution two years ago, but congressional leaders did not bring it up for a vote after intense pressure from the Bush administration.

    Obama avoided the term “genocide” when he addressed Turkish lawmakers during his visit a month ago. But he said, in response to a question, that he had not changed his views. As a presidential candidate, Obama said the killings amounted to genocide.

  • Turkey as a Ally in Obama’s Foreign Policy

    Turkey as a Ally in Obama’s Foreign Policy

    The Middle East Institute of Columbia University
    and
    SIPA Turkish Initiative

    Present


    “The Resurgence of Turkey as a Central Ally in Obama’s Foreign Policy”

    with

    Nicole Pope

    Former Turkey Correspondent for the French Daily Le Monde and the Co-author of “Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey”


    Thursday, April 23rd
    7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

    Columbia University International Affairs Building, Room 404 (Street level)
    420 West 118th street (at Amsterdam Avenue)

    Directions: 1 train to 116th street. Walk east through the campus to Amsterdam Avenue
    Campus map: http://www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/map/
    Zoomed map: http://www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/map/international_affairs.html

    Free and open to the public

    Refreshments and baklava will be served

    Obama recently made the first country visit of his presidency to Turkey. The strong parallels between Turkish foreign policy andObama’s new foreign policy appear to indicate a prominent role for Turkey in achieving major U.S. foreign policy objectives during the Obama administration.  Is Turkey indeed re-emerging as a central ally for the U.S.?

    Nicole Pope is a Swiss journalist and writer, based in Istanbul since 1987. She is co-author of “Turkey Unveiled: a history of modern Turkey” and worked for 15 years as Turkey correspondent for the French daily Le Monde. Her articles have also been published in numerous other international publications including The Economist, The International Herald Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Independent. Nicole worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baghdad (1982-83) and in south Lebanon (1983-84). She has also lived in Tehran, Bahrain and Cyprus.