Author: Boshkezenian Garik

TURKEY’S INVASION THREAT INCREASES REGIONAL INSTABILITY

Socialist Party, UK
.html?id=pp2072.htm
Oct 25 2007

BLOODY FIGHTING between Turkish troops and PKK Kurdish separatist
guerrillas on the Turkey/Iraq border has enormously ratcheted-up
tensions between the two countries.

With the Turkish parliament approving a cross-border invasion of
northern Iraq the scene is set for a possible regional war.

KEVIN PARSLOW reports on the background to the latest clashes.

TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT has decided by 509 votes to 19 to back the
country’s army leaders’ demands to invade Kurdish-run northern Iraq.

They want to try and flush out units of the banned separatist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK).

An invasion could be launched at any time which would have grave
consequences for the mainly Kurdish people of the region. It would
also undermine the imperialist powers occupying Iraq, hence George
Bush’s pleas for restraint. Economically, world markets have already
reacted with concern, with the price of oil reaching a record $90 a
barrel last week.

Turkey’s Kurdish minority based in the south-east of the country have,
like their fellow Kurds in Syria, Iran and until recently in Iraq,
had little or no rights since imperialism carved up the former Ottoman
Empire following its defeat and collapse in World War One.

The Kurds are the biggest nationality in the world without their own
state. Historically, in Turkey they have had no recognition until
recently, where they now have limited language and educational rights.

Their political rights have been severely curtailed and Kurdish
political parties are often barred from standing in elections or are
closed down if they publicly support independence or even autonomy.

The PKK, formed in 1978, has carried out a campaign against the
Turkish army and economic targets since 1984, mixing guerrilla fighting
with targeted attacks – killing 17 Turkish troops in an ambush last
week. But the inability of the PKK to dent the Turkish army’s power
led to questioning these tactics and led to an effective ceasefire
between 2000 and 2004.

But with only limited reforms and no movement towards autonomy
(the PKK had dropped the demand for independence), the PKK resumed
military activities.

Their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was arrested in 1999 and now languishes
in a Turkish jail, where he has apparently called for a ceasefire.

In recent months, however, the PKK has resumed its attacks on targets
inside Turkey, which the Turkish army believes they launch from bases
just inside the Kurdish area of Iraq. The military leaders want to
follow the PKK units into this area in an attempt to defeat them.

Parliament has backed them and, because of the methods of the PKK,
there is only muted sympathy and a large amount of hostility towards
the Kurds’ national demands amongst the Turkish population.

Turkey has the second biggest army in NATO (after the US) and
its army considers itself to be the guardian of Turkey’s secular
constitution. It has carried out four coups against elected governments
since 1960 at times when political and economic instability threatened
its dominant position in society.

But the military received a bloody nose in July 2007 when, having
objected to the proposal of the governing AKP (Justice and Development
Party – which originated as an Islamist party but subsequently its
leaders have distanced themselves from an Islamist agenda) to appoint
one of its leading members, Abdullah Gul, to the role of President,
the AKP called a general election. AKP won easily mainly on the basis
of the country’s improved economic growth, and was able to appoint
its own candidate.

Part of this desire to attack the PKK undoubtedly comes from the
need to restore the army’s prestige in society. But also the Turkish
army and government would both fear an independent Kurdish state in
northern Iraq, which has been brought a step closer by the recent
signing of oil contracts between the oil majors and the Iraqi Kurdish
regional government.

Much of Iraq has already been devastated by the US/UK invasion and
its consequences. If Turkey invades it will cause further devastation,
in an area of Iraq which has suffered the least bloodshed.

Some of Iraq’s Kurdish leaders want the PKK to withdraw over the
Turkish border to prevent a catastrophe, others want the Iraqi
government (if it could come to a decision) to physically prevent
the Turkish army from invading, while Arab leaders think the Kurdish
forces should defend the region.

Kurdish people have come onto the streets of Iraqi cities such as Irbil
to protest at the decision of the Turkish parliament. Most ordinary
Kurds would not accept an attack on their co-nationals by the Turkish
army. In the background lies the belief that the Turkish army would
intervene in northern Iraq to further Turkey’s political and economic
interests and to back also the ethnic Turcomen in the region.

US concerns The Turkish government’s relations with the US were once
very friendly but relations have cooled in recent years. Although the
US backs Turkey’s campaign to gain EU admittance, the hostility of
the Turkish people to US imperialism prevented the government from
allowing Bush and Blair to use Turkish territory to invade Northern
Iraq in 2003.

The US’s present attempts to prevent a Turkish incursion into Iraq
haven’t been helped by a bill currently up before the US Congress
declaring the death of up to a million and a half Turkish Armenians
between 1915 and 1917 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as ‘genocide’.

Historically, there is no doubt that this disaster for the Armenians
occurred. But in Turkey, it is a criminal offence to raise it. A
right-wing Turkish nationalist recently murdered leading Turkish
Armenian journalist Arat Dink, whose son and another Armenian
journalist have been given one-year suspended prison sentences for
challenging the official version of Turkish history.

As a result, the Turkish government and military are able to use the US
bill to ignore Bush’s pleadings for restraint, even though he disagrees
with the bill. Turkey has also recalled its ambassador in Washington
in protest. However, it seems as though sufficient defections by
Republican representatives will block the bill’s passage (see box).

Bush is publicly calling for restraint, not least out of fear that
the US military’s vital supply route via Turkey into Iraq will be
jeopardised. But some ex-government figures have been more forthright.

Peter Rodman, a former Pentagon official said it would be preferable
for the US for Turkey to invade.

"If the US is unable to deal with [the PKK] and the Iraqis are
unwilling to deal with them, what else do you tell the Turks? There
may be ways to go after the PKK and accomplish something, whereas
strangling our logistical lifeline doesn’t help them with the PKK
and it just creates a monumental problem." [Financial Times, 17
October 2007.]

Socialists must oppose the planned invasion of the Kurdish region of
Iraq by Turkey and call for the withdrawal of all imperialist troops
from Iraq. The rights of the Kurdish people must be respected and
their right to self-defence when faced with brutal repression.

But they need democratic organisations that are firmly based on the
unity of Kurdish workers and that have a strategy of appealing to
Turkish workers and all workers in surrounding countries on the basis
of working class unity and not of support for the capitalist elites
of the region.

Ultimately, the fate of Iraq, Turkey, the Kurds and the Middle East
as a whole can only be solved by the working class and poor in that
region taking up socialist ideas against all their oppressors and
the formation of a socialist confederation of the region to solve
the pressing social and national problems facing the peoples.

—————————————- —————————————-

He who pays the piper…

THE RECENT furore in the US Congress over a resolution condemning the
massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey during World War One has
revealed the powerful lobbying system entrenched in US politics.

Initially it seemed that a ‘non-binding resolution’ condemning the
atrocity, passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would find
an easy passage through Congress.

However, former Republican Representative Robert Livingston – who
since leaving Capitol Hill in 1999 has earned $12 million in fees from
Turkey to block such resolutions – successfully got fellow Republicans
to remove their names from the resolution’s sponsorship.

Livingston argued, along with George Bush, that ‘national security
concerns’ were paramount ie Turkey’s threat to invade northern Iraq.

Livingston’s effort has been joined by another lobbyist, former
Democrat and House majority leader Richard Gephardt. Gephardt who
secured a $1.2 million contract to lobby for Turkey had previously
co-sponsored an earlier genocide resolution

RICE WARNS: TURKEY SHOULD NOT INTERVENE IN NORTHERN IRAQ

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 25 2007

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned Turkey in very
strong terms not to intervene in northern Iraq, underscoring that
the US will "do what is necessary" in terms of taking care of the
PKK presence there.

In statements made before the US House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Rice commented "The past 72 hours have been very
difficult. I spoke on Sunday with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
and also with the Iraqi Kurds. As we have said before, there must be
no place made for PKK terrorism to hurt Turkey. Both the Iraqis and
the Turks need to make extraordinary efforts."

Rice did not that in her talks with Prime Minister Erdogan, she had
underscored that the US was taking the current situation extremely
seriously.

Rice also noted that while the US was working with Turkey and Iraq on
certain shared precautions, the Baghdad administration had confirmed
that it would be closing down known PKK bureaus in Iraq, and working
generally to prevent the PKK from activity:

"We have a series of precautions in mind. We believe that if
followed, these precautions will allow control to be gained in this
situation. There is a three-way mechanism that we have in place which
includes Turkey, the US, and Iraq…."

On the possibility that Turkey might infact decide to send military
over the border into Iraq in pursuit of PKK forces, Rice said this:

"The Turks should not engage in over the border intervention. We
have warned that responding in this way will affect the stability of
the region. We have encouraged everyone to find a solution to this
terrorist problem in a way which will not undermine the stability of
northern Iraq."

On the question of the Armenian bill, which is expected to come up
for a vote before the US House of Representatives soon, Rice told
the Committee "We believe strongly that this bill must not move
forward….This is a very sensitive period for Turkey. There are
enormous changes taking place. We have very important strategic
interests in Turkey."

Rice noted that she had met with Armenian Prime Minister Serge
Sarkisian this week, and that she had noted to him that Americans
preferred to turn their faces towards the future rather than towards
the past, and that the same stance was necessary for Turkey and
Armenia.

ARMENIANS OF JERUSALEM PROTEST ISRAEL’S DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.10.2007 20:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Community of Israel held a protest
action in front of the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, on Monday
Oct. 22.

As PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from a source in Jerusalem, almost
200 Armenians were found in the Justice Square singing and chanting
Armenian songs and slogans. Many journalists and news agencies had
their share to capture the moment and interview protesters.

The event was attended by two parliamentary officials, Yaeer Tsaban
and Khayeem Oron, who both gave speeches emphasizing on the denial
of the genocide by the Israeli government.

In his speech, Mr. Oron promised to lobby the issue again and to do
his utmost to call from the podium of the Knesset for the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide.

A Greek Orthodoxy official, Father Aatala, also held a
speech encouraging Armenians to fight for their cause and the
recognition. Also Hayr Norayar Kazazdian, an official from the
Armenian Apostolic church, spoke in English, on the issue at
hand. Photographs were attracted by an old lady who wore a sign
reading ‘I am a Survivor’, and by a group of signs reading "Today’s
Denial is Tomorrow’s Genocide’" and "Israel: Recognize the Armenian
Genocide". Serop Sahagian, head figure of the community, also gave
a speech about how the US Congress should recognize the genocide,
since it has a great influence on other foreign governments; and how
its Israel’s lobbying, not Turkey’s, that will stop the resolution
from passing in the Congress. A Foreign Ministry official arrived
in the midst of the protest and was handed a letter, by the Hay
Dat representatives. The official promised to reach the letter to
the Foreign Minister, and was told by Serop Sahagian to do the moral
choice based on human rights, rather than follow denial for financial
purposes. The Armenian Community will again reunite for the April 24
protest, which is always held front of the Turkish Embassy.

CHIEF OF THE HELLENIC NATIONAL DEFENSE GENERAL STAFF VISITED TSITSERNAKABERD

armradio.am
23.10.2007 15:02

The delegation headed by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense
General Staff, General Dimitrios Grapsas visited Tsitsernakaberd
today. The guests laid a wreath of flowers at the memorial to the
Armenian Genocide victims.

Dimitrios Grapsas also visited the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute
and left a note in the Commemoration Book.

"I add my voice to the voices of thousands of Armenians and say "no"
to genocide. I hope such events will not reoccur in the future.

I think that if the international community condemned the genocide
at the proper time, there would be no victims," General Grapsas said.

The delegation headed by Dimitrios Grapsas is paying a three-day
official visit to Armenia.

PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY TURNS DOWN DISCUSSION OF BILL APPROVED BY GOVERNMENT

Noyan Tapan
Oct 22, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly did not
include two bills proposed by the OYP faction into the agenda of
the October 22 sitting. The parliamentary majority turned down the
discussion of the bills on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Code
of Administrative Offences and to the NA Regulations, which had not
been approved by the respective profile standing committees.

As Hovhannes Margarian, one of the authors of the bill, a member of
the OYP faction, said in his interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent,
usually all bills proposed by the government are included in sittings’
agenda and the bills authored by the opposition are not approved by
the government.

However, this time the situation is exclusive: the parliamentary
majority, which mainly consists of the Republican Party, refused to
discuss the bill, which had been approved by the government, with
the signature of the RPA Chairman, Prime Minister, Serge Sargsian.

In H. Margarian’s words, he means the bills On Making Amendments and
Addenda to the NA Regulations, according to which it is proposed that
deputies asking questions during discussion of bills should be given
a possibility to give an explanation for another two minutes. The
authors of the bill also propose that the issue of standing committees’
quorum should be also reconsidered by increasing the quorum from one
fourth to one third of the staff.

ELEPHANT TO ARMENIA WITH OR WITHOUT PERMISSION?
By Isuri Kaviratne

Sunday Times.lk
Oct 21 2007
Sri Lanka

The Cabinet has approved the gifting of an elephant to Armenia
while Wild Life officials were still studying the suitability of the
weather and other conditions for the animal. The move has drawn angry
responses from various groups closely following the issue of gifting
the elephant Asokamala.

The Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES)
permission should be given by the Wildlife Director to exchange an
animal with a foreign country without which, according to international
law, the exchange would be illegal. Environment Minister Champika
Ranawaka told The Sunday Times that the Ministry is still considering
the suitability of the weather and the condition of the zoo before
issuing the permission to send the nine-year-old elephant to Armenia.

"We inquired from the Armenian government about the condition of
the zoo and the weather but we still haven’t received a reply," the
Minister said. According to internet researches on weather conditions
in Armenia the average temperature is +25C in July and -10C in January.

Mr. Ranawaka said before implementing the policy decision taken by
the Cabinet, the Ministry will be looking into the law of the country
and international law regarding exchanges of animals and then give
CITES permission. "Without the CITIES permission, no one can send
the elephant," he said.

Wildlife Director Ananda Wijesuriya said that under-extended programme
the Cabinet has decided to send the elephant but still papers had
to be submitted after which he would study the condition of the zoo
the elephant would be going to before giving CITIES permission since
there were objections to the sending of the animal.

However, he said he had been informed that the zoo already contains
facilities an elephant requires as there is an elephant already
living but assured that confirmation from Armenia was being awaited
that those facilities fulfil international standards."Only if it does
will we give permission," the Director said.

National Zoological Gardens Deputy Director Dhammika Malsinghe
said that though the elephant cannot be sent to Armenia without the
permission of the Wild Life director, preparations are being made to
send the elephant after October 25.

‘Sathva Mithra’ (Friends of animals) president said the Cabinet had
agreed to send the elephant to Armenia despite serious warnings by
humanitarian organizations which were based on researched facts of the
unsuitable conditions in Armenia and the Yerevan Zoo to which Asokamala
would be going. Research carried out by Indian humanitarian groups,
when the Indian Government decided to send an elephant to Armenia,
showed that this same Yerevan Zoo, did not have adequate space to
support an elephant and the sub-zero conditions prevalent there
for four to six months of the year were unsuitable for an elephant,
giving no opportunity for the animal to exercise.

Well known animal activist Maneka Gandhi too had told Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh that almost all the elephants acquired by
the Yerevan zoo had died.

Armenian chess teams to partake in the European Team Championship

armradio.am
20.10.2007 13:30

The Chess Federation of Armenia has determined the list of men’s and
women’s teams to participate in the European Team Championship to be
held in the Greek city of Heraklion on Creta Island October 28-November
6, Armenpress was informed from the Chess Federation.

Armenian men’s team will comprise Grand Masters Levon Aronyan, Vladimir
Hakobyan, Gabriel Sargsyan, Smbat Lputyan and Karen Asryan.

The women’s team will comprise Grand Masters Elina Danielyan, Lilit
Lazarian, Nelli Aghinyan, Masters Siranush Andreasyan and Liana
Aghabekyan.

After split, town mulls own antibias effort

By Connie Paige, Globe Correspondent | October 21, 2007

Sosse Beugekian says her family has not forgotten what happened to her
great-grandparents a century ago.

A purge and mass slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks prompted the
18-year-old’s great-grandparents to settle in Lebanon. Seven years
ago, she said, she and her parents migrated from there to Lexington.

Last week, Beugekian, a Lexington High School senior, organized a
student petition to selectmen asking them to sever ties to the
Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate program because of ADL’s
stance on the atrocity against Armenians.

"We obviously want everyone to recognize the Armenian genocide," said
Beugekian, who added that she helped persuade more than 250 fellow
students to sign the petition.

At the urging of Armenian-Americans and others, Lexington and
Arlington have joined the growing chorus of communities that have
decided to break with the No Place for Hate program, despite the ADL’s
move to modify its stance on the Armenian genocide.

Now, Lexington selectmen are appointing an organizing committee to
recommend how to carry on the work of No Place for Hate without the
offending political ties and suggesting ways to carry its message of
tolerance statewide. The recommendations are expected within six weeks
or so, said Jeanne Krieger, board chairwoman.

The turmoil over No Place for Hate is occurring as Congress tries to
come to grips with how to characterize the deportation and killing of
as many as 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks between 1915 and
1923 that many scholars call genocide. A resolution to that effect
faces opposition from the Bush administration.

As debate rages in local, state, and national board rooms, Al Gordon,
ADL’s associate Northeast regional director, said the group regrets
the most recent votes against No Place for Hate.

"We believe that No Place for Hate has been and continues to be a
valuable tool for combating hate and promoting diversity in about 60
Massachusetts communities," Gordon said. "We think the towns have
benefited greatly from the programs’ capabilities and their access to
the expertise that the Anti-Defamation League brings to the realm of
bias and hate crimes."

Gordon added that many individuals within the ADL, including some
members of the Northeast regional chapter, "have acknowledged the
Armenian genocide."

Still, Sharistan Melkonian, chairwoman of the Armenian National
Committee of Massachusetts, said communities are taking a stand
because a statement by a national ADL officer about the genocide did
not go far enough. She was referring to the statement in August by ADL
executive director Abraham Foxman that the atrocities were
"tantamount" to genocide.

The votes in Lexington and Arlington followed similar withdrawals in
Belmont, Newton, and Watertown. Medford is also considering severing
its ties with No Place for Hate, Melkonian said.

Before the selectmen’s vote last week, Lexington had already
experienced lengthy public and private debate among members of the
local No Place for Hate Committee that sparked outrage earlier this
month from the town’s Armenian-American community.

Three Armenian-American residents complained after they were barred
from an unannounced meeting that the local No Place for Hate committee
held behind closed doors at Town Hall to help determine how they would
approach selectmen about the controversy.

Laura Boghosian, one of those excluded, said she believes ADL holds
contradictory positions – on the one hand supporting human rights,
and, on the other, backing Turkey, as a close ally of Israel.
Officials in Turkey have denied that the killings of Armenians
constituted genocide.

"They have to make a choice what kind of organization they’re going to
be," Boghosian said last week of the ADL. "I don’t think they can do
both."

As part of its human rights mission, the ADL established the No Place
for Hate program in 1999 to promote diversity and allow communities to
take a stand against bias.

To earn the designation, cities and towns had to show the ADL that
they had taken certain steps, including hosting at least three
antibias events. Communities would then receive recertification each
year, provided they held at least two more annual events.

But after the ADL fired its regional director in August for
acknowledging the Armenian genocide, some towns began to withdraw from
No Place for Hate. The regional director, Andrew Tarsy, has since been
rehired.

Along with local communities, the Massachusetts Municipal Association
is "monitoring the matter," said Geoffrey Beckwith, executive
director.

The municipal association released a statement last month saying the
slaughter of Armenians "must be recognized by all as a genocide."

Beckwith said the association has called on the national ADL to
respond to the criticism during a November meeting of the group’s
national governing board.

"After that, we will certainly evaluate our official sponsorship,"
Beckwith said.

Meanwhile, Lexington’s Krieger said she believes that a statewide
coalition of local human rights commissions could be the vehicle for
No Place for Hate’s message.

Beugekian applauded the idea of having new local and statewide
organizations as watchdogs against bias instead of No Place for Hate.
"I think that’s the best solution," she said. "They’ve done a lot of
good work, and we’ve heard about them in school, too. We all
appreciate their work."

Connie Paige can be reached at [email protected].

(c) Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

Source: 21/after_split_town_mulls_own_antibias_effort/

Across the Aisle, DC
Oct 19 2007

Support the AKP, Don’t Trip Them Up

by Jonathan Wallace | October 19th, 2007

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs committee voted 27 to 21 to
bring a resolution to the floor condemning as genocide the mass
killings of Armenians in 1915. The genocide of Armenians has been
widely accepted as historical fact. Despite this, the timing of the
House resolution is damaging to American foreign policy. Not only
does this resolution hurt American policy in the Middle East, but it
also is harmful to the current ruling party in Turkey, led by Prime
Minister Erdogan and President Adbullah Gul. This is a time when we
need to support the current Turkish civilian leadership. We do not
need to be adding to its challenges.

The Justice and Development party (AKP), with their mildly Islamist
government, should be held up as a model for a moderate Islamic party
in a well-functioning democracy. Their current electoral success
shows that an Islamic party can appeal to a large cross-section of
the populace in a maturing democracy. The Erdogan administration has
been a valuable ally to the United States both in a bilateral sense
and as an invaluable NATO member. Perhaps most importantly, they
provide an important check against the militarism that always lurks
underneath the surface of Turkish politics. As we saw during the
spring and summer, the Turkish military is always willing to rise to
the intense nationalism of the Turkish people and will attempt to
distort the hard-won democratic gains of the Turkish polity. The AKP
responded admirably to the `cyber-coup’ attempted by the generals,
stood their ground, and finally got Adbullah Gul elected President
(with the popular support of the Turkish people).

The vote by the House Foreign Affairs committee gives the Turkish
military another opportunity to burnish their nationalistic
credentials against the AKP. Turkey has always been particularly
sensitive to the charges of Armenian genocide and this vote could
create a situation where the Army feels that it needs to defend the
Turkish honor. In this way, the military may feel that the AKP is
insufficiently nationalist and could try to exert more political
influence. Additionally, the vote by the House Foreign Affairs
committee may tie the hands of the AKP. Turkish domestic politics may
dictate that the AKP act in some way to show how they will defend
Turkey. We may already be seeing this as the parliament recently
voted to authorize Turkish incursions into Northern Iraq. The United
States and Turkey do not need to open another front in Iraqi
Kurdistan. The US does not want two of its allies fighting each other
and certainly would prefer to avoid another front in the war in Iraq.
The Armenian genocide vote, which does not help United States policy
in any way, may cause more violence in Iraq and will create further
problems for the AKP.

Armenians deserve to have the genocide recognized by the Turkish
government. Turkey’s repeated denials do nothing to help heal the
wounds that are almost a hundred years old. However, I’m not sure
that this resolution is the best way to get the Turkish government to
recognize the genocide. These sorts of issues need to be worked out
by Turkey at a time when a mature, frank discussion can take place.
The United States can speak out against the censorship that
accompanies this issue in Turkey and it is obvious that Turks have a
ways to go in addressing this portion of their history. However, this
resolution will only add to the perception of American foreign policy
arrogance and will only prove to be a hindrance in United States
Middle East policy.

-akp-dont-trip-them-up/

The Emory Wheel
Oct 19 2007

The Politics of Genocide

By Benjamin Van der Horst
Posted: 10/19/2007

It’s been a key tenant of political thought in the West since the
Holocaust:
If a country like the United States recognizes something as genocide –
– – acknowledges an act as the deliberate destruction of a group of
people – then we have a moral obligation to intervene and stop the
killing.
In the past few weeks, talk of genocide has been prominent in the
United States, and especially at Emory. On Tuesday, Paul Rusesabagina,
the man whose story formed the basis for the movie Hotel Rwanda, spoke
at Emory about the genocide he lived through in Rwanda in 1994. In
just three months, more than one million of Rusesabagina’s fellow
Rwandans were killed.
The United States and the rest of the West sat that atriocity out on
the sidelines, even though we knew exactly what was
happening. President Bill Clinton has said that not intervening in the
Rwandan genocide was one of the worst decisions of his presidency.
Genocide has been a hot topic nationally because of a resolution in
the United States House of Representatives that would officially
recognize the slaughter of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during the
First World War as a genocide. Even though support for the bill has
waned in the last couple of days, last week it still managed to pass
the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This infuriated Turkey, which
strongly disputes the claims of genocide, to the point where they
recalled their American Ambassador to Ankara.
This resolution is pointless. Shame on Nancy Pelosi and the rest of
the Democratic leadership for continuing to push a bill that could
seriously impair American efforts in the Middle East.
For the first time in what seems like years, President Bush is on the
right side of an issue, encouraging Congress to vote down the
resolution.
Turkey is one of our strongest allies in the Middle East and this
resolution will harm vital American-Turkish ties to allow the
Democrats to pander to a small minority – Armenian-Americans – that
conveniently makes up a good portion of Pelosi’s district. Much of the
logistical support helping our troops in Iraq passes through or above
Turkey and if we were to lose the ability to use Turkey in the war in
Iraq, our soldiers could be put at risk.
Pelosi claims that Turkey’s status as an ally has protected them for
too long, and that the United States must call what happened a
genocide. This the Democrats’ attempt to regain the moral high ground:
Calling something that happened 90 years ago a genocide?
If Pelosi and the leaders on Capitol Hill want to actually do
something productive about genocide, I suggest they stop pandering and
do something to stop genocide today. There is still a genocide going
on in Darfur. What is Nancy Pelosi doing to stop it? She’s attempting
to win political points by focusing on a worthless resolution about
genocide that would hurt our efforts in Iraq and alienate one of our
few remaining Middle East allies.
Bravo, Madam Speaker. You’ve managed to demonstrate another way in
which the Democrats have squabbled the trust voters placed in them
last November.
Benjamin Van der Horst is a College junior from Cincinnati. He is
executive director of the nonpartisan political organization CSAmerica
and the managing editor of the Emory Political Review.