Author: Jidarian Alex

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY URGES CONGRESSMEN TO REJECT "BLACKMAIL" BY TURKEY

armradio.am
18.10.2007 10:34

The Armenian Assembly of America today called upon House Members
not to give in to pressure from the government of Turkey, which
is opposed to an important and bi-partisan resolution that affirms
the Armenian Genocide. The call from the Assembly came as Congress
and President Bush met today with the Dali Lama – despite intense
political and diplomatic pressure from China, which opposes the US
having any relationship with Tibet.

"I truly hope that no Member of Congress is persuaded to jump ship
on such a critical vote as this simply because of some threats by a
foreign government," said Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny. "The government of Turkey and its million-dollar lobbyists
are effectively blackmailing the Congress and the government of the
United States. We should stand up to the threats and demand that
Turkey immediately cease its campaign of misinformation and threats."

Ardouny noted that the Bush Administration has decided to meet with
the Dali Lama today in a ceremony at the US Capitol, despite threats
and intense diplomatic and political pressure from the government
of China. "If we can stand up to China why on earth we are afraid of
standing up to Turkey," Ardouny said.

"The community commends House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for standing
strong in the face of such threats and for her willingness to bring
this long-delayed resolution to a vote before the full House. As she
said over the weekend, this resolution is long overdue and it’s time
for Congress to stand up and speak out forcefully on a human rights
issue that will reverberate for generations," added Ardouny.

The resolution, H.R. 106, is non-binding and has been introduced in
several previous sessions of Congress. It was approved 27-21 last
week by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO 100th ANNIVERSARY OF FRENCH ARMENIAN PAINTER ZAREH MUTAFIAN TO OPEN IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Oct 18 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. An exhibition dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the French Armenian painter Zareh Mutafian (1907-1980)
will open at the National Picture Gallery of Armenia on October 19. Art
critic Shahen Khachatrian said at the October 18 press conference
that the exhibition will display about 40 paintings by Z. Mutafian,
17 of which have been brought from France by his son, historian
Armen-Claude Mutafian. In his words, the exhibition is a reflection
of Z. Mutafian’s human feelings, dreams of a man who lost his homeland.

According to S. Khachatrian, the painting style of Zareh Mutafian is
close to impressionism and speaks in warm and sonorous colors. Drawing
and color are linked in his paintings. Although Z. Mutafian created
works of various genres, landscape paintings prevail. "Bravely
mixing colors, the painter’s brush gives an inner fluttering to the
surroundings full of vegetation," the art critic noted.

Z. Mutafian was one of the first Diasporan Armenian artists to be
invited to Armenia in 1967 and organize a personal exhibition in his
house. According to S. Khachatrian, the first meeting of the painter
with native land inspired an inexpressible creative energy. "With great
inspiration, he created native landscape paintings: mountains covered
with snow, monasteries on hills," he said, adding that these works
were feelings of his infinite love for the homeland found once again.

Z. Mutafian created more than a thousand canvases and held dozens of
exhibitions in Paris, New York and other cities.

MARGARITA SARUKHANIAN FROM YEREVAN AWARDED TIILE "MISS ARMENIA – 2007"

Noyan Tapan
Oct 17 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The "Miss Armenia – 2007" contest,
in which 18 girls aged 18-25 took part, was held in the Al. Spendiarian
Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater on October 16. Margarita
Sarukhanian from Yerevan won in the contest and was awarded the
"Miss Armenia – 2007" title. She was also awarded the "Sympathy of
Spectators" prize. Arpine Atoyan was awarded with the first "Vice
Miss" and "Miss Press" titles, Sveta Mirzoyan with the second "Vice
Miss" title. Ashkhen Karavardanian received the "Miss Attraction"
title and Nazlu Baroyan was awarded with the "Miss Solidarity" one.

ARMENIAN PONTIFF SHOWS HUMBLE SIDE DURING BOCA VISIT
By Lona O’Connor

Palm Beach Post, FL
Oct 16 2007

BOCA RATON – The Supreme Patriarch was late. Adult church members of
St. David’s Armenian Church began to roll their eyes and talk about
"Armenian time," which is elastic. The children, all dressed up for
the Patriarch, Karekin II, were allowed to eat their pizza before
meeting his Holiness. Children with full stomachs can forgive a lot.

Fortified by their pizza and juice, they were happily waving Armenian,
American and purple flags emblazoned with the patriarch’s gold insignia
when he finally arrived this evening.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, can be excused for his tardiness. He is in the middle of
visiting 18 U.S. cities in 28 days. So far, he has led the U.S.

Congress in prayer, met with influential Armenian Americans and
other high-powered activities befitting the spiritual leader of seven
million Armenians worldwide.

Yet he chose to spend an hour talking to about 50 children at
St. David’s, listening to them sing the Armenian and American national
anthems and smiling upon a girl in traditional dress who recited a
poem in Armenian.

"It shows us how humble a personality he has, how wonderful a character
he is," said Father Nareg Berberian, pastor of St. David’s Armenian
Church, who was part of the south Florida group hosting the pontiff
in south Florida.

The pontiff, gray-haired, bearded and wearing the pointed black capelet
symbolizing celibacy, serves as the visible symbol of the Armenian
people and their plight over the last century. The defining event
in the history of this small nation is the killing of 1.5 million
Armenians by Turkish soldiers in 1915. Karekin’s prayer before the
Congress happened on Wednesday, the day of a controversial resolution
that seeks to label the massacre as a genocide. Lobbyists for the
Turkish government strove to halt the resolution, a major embarrassment
to Turkey, a key ally of the United States in the Iraq war. But on
Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the resolution
and sent it to the full House for a vote sometime in November.

Another task on Karekin’s visit is to consolidate support for the
rebuilding of the Armenian social structure, which is recovering
from its years under the Soviet Union, when the number of Armenian
churches and clergy decreased drastically. Since his Holiness’ tenure
began in 1999, the Armenian Church has opened dozens of churches as
well as orphanages, soup kitchens, hospitals and youth centers. He
has also led a Habitat for Humanity program in Armenia.

His other task is to lead the strengthening of family values in
Armenians all over the world. Hence, the pizza party. Then he returned
to his more formal role, at a service at St. David that includes 20
local religious leaders: Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Russian Orthodox
and Buddhist, to name a few.

About one million Armenians live in the United States, with about
15,000 of those in south Florida. Tuesday the Armenian pontiff
travels to St. Mary Armenian Church in Hollywood, where he will bless
traditional Armenian stone crosses on the church altar. Then he travels
to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., Dallas and cities in the Midwest.

ACCORDING TO COURT, "ROYAL ARMENIA" OWNER WILL FLEE

Panorama.am
20:58 15/10/2007

Today Armenia’s higher court maintained its decision to imprison
"Royal Armenia" owner Gagik Hakopyan for obstruction of justice.

The court believes Hakopyan might avoid charges and flee.

We remind that after 1.9 years in prison, the first instance court
cleared Hakopyan of all charges, after which he left for Spain to
undergo treatment for health problems. He had first asked the court to
delay proceedings for one month, so he could undergo the treatments and
then return to Armenia and take part in the proceedings. Even though
he had given the address he could be found, judge Surik Ghazaryan
said Hakopyan was guilty of obstruction and should be imprisoned. As
promised, Hakopyan returned to Armenian on October 3, but was arrested
upon reached the airport.

Attorney Ashot Sargsyan filed a complaint, saying Ghazaryan hadn’t
been objective in his decision, saying, "Hakopyan was left unaware
of the decision by Ghazaryan’s court, which was made in secret."

The attorney is convinced that the judge is doing all in his power to
keep his position, bringing up the example of judge Barkev Ohanyan,
who made the earlier decision to free Hakopyan, and who apparently
has since run into professional difficulties. Sargsyan also noted that
nothing important passed in the courtroom during Hakopyan’s absence,
making the obstruction charges even more ridiculous.

The high court decided Sargsyan’s complaint was unfounded. This
decision was backed by other prosecutors.

Making difficult situations worse

Leader

Friday October 12, 2007

The Guardian

Outside Turkey there is a broad consensus that the massacre and forced
deportations of more than a million Armenians in the latter years of
the Ottoman empire were nothing less than genocide. Last year France
voted to make it a crime to deny that, and on Wednesday a US
congressional panel approved a bill describing the massacres as
genocide. But the country where this debate matters most is Turkey –
and officially it continues to claim that as many Turks as Armenians
died in the civil unrest of the crumbling empire. The real test of the
vote by the US house committee on foreign affairs is whether or not a
Turkish reassessment of the events of 1917 is likely to happen.

The issue is not just a lightning rod for nationalists, but a litmus
test for the human-rights agenda on which EU entry talks depend. The
Nobel prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted under article
301, a law that makes insulting the republic punishable by up to three
years in prison. He had said in an interview with a Swiss newspaper
that the Armenian massacres and the killings of over 30,000 Kurds in
the 1990s were taboo topics in Turkey. A Turkish-Armenian journalist,
Hrant Dink, was shot dead outside his newspaper in January for saying
the killings were genocide; he had been prosecuted under article 301,
and yesterday his son Aram received a suspended sentence under the
same law. The US vote is unlikely to make it easier for Turkey’s
president, Abdullah Gul, to amend article 301, as he would wish; in
fact it will reinforce nationalist support for it.

The tangled web of cause and effect does not stop there. Turkey has
yet to respond to attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) which
have killed 15 soldiers and 12 civilians in the past 10 days. There
are about 3,000 PKK guerrillas, many operating from camps in the
Qandil mountains in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, and the US is
desperate to stop a Turkish incursion. Ankara says that if neither the
leadership in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq nor the US is able to
curb the PKK, its troops will. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, succumbed this week to months of pressure from the army chief
of staff, agreeing that cross-border raids may have to happen. Should
they do so, the stability of the only area of Iraq untouched by civil
war would be under threat.

Mr Erdogan is a moderate on the Armenian and Kurdish questions, but he
knows that Turkish support for US regional policy is a house of cards
waiting to collapse. The US Democrats may hope to pick up easy votes
>From the Armenian diaspora for their own election battles in 2008. But
they should bear in mind that more than just domestic politics are at
stake: another country’s people is looking on.

Source: ,,2 189467,00.html

AS ARK. GOVERNOR, HUCKABEE NOTED ARMENIAN DEATHS AS ‘GENOCIDE’

Pine Bluff Commercial, AR
/ap-state-ar/d8s97jq80.txt
t/
Oct 15 2007

LITTLE ROCK – As Arkansas’ governor, Republican presidential hopeful
Mike Huckabee’s action labeling the World War I-era killings of
Armenians by Turks genocide drew no criticism.

That’s not the case for Congress. A decision by the House Foreign
Affairs Committee to send a similar resolution to a full vote drew
condemnation from Turkish officials and sent Turkey’s U.S. ambassador
back to Ankara this week for consultations.

President Bush opposes the bill, worried it would fracture a fragile
relationship with Turkey, a Middle East ally as the war in Iraq
continues.

Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee signed a proclamation declaring a "Day
of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide" on March 7, 2001. The
proclamation also said the current Turkish government "engages in a
campaign of ‘denial of the Armenian Genocide.’"

Huckabee also proclaimed April 23 as "Turkish Heritage and Children’s
Day" and April 24 as a "Day of Remembrance of the Turkish and Armenian
Tragedy."

Leo Stepanian, the son of Armenian immigrants, said he requested
Huckabee sign the recognition. However, the Fort Smith resident remains
indignant over the other proclamations. He said his mother lost four
brothers and his father lost nearly his entire family in the killings.

"It was not a tragedy. It was a genocide," Stepanian said.

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman
Turks around the time of World War I. Scholars view it as the first
genocide of the 20th century, but Turkey says the toll has been
inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Huckabee, said the former governor
had "no intention to make a political point" with the proclamation.

"The 2001 proclamations were like many proclamations requested by
Arkansas citizens," Stewart said.

DIE WELT
12. Oktober 2007

Türkei reagiert mit Empörung auf Armenien-Resolution

US-Kongress fordert von Ankara Anerkennung des historischen
Massenmordes – Streit belastet Beziehungen – Medien: "Idiotische
Amerikaner"

Von Boris Kalnoky

Istanbul – Als am Mittwoch der außenpolitische Ausschuss des
US-Kongresses zusammentrat, um über eine Resolution zur Anerkennung
des türkischen Genozids an den Armeniern 1915-17 zu befinden, da
herrschten keine Zweifel über den Ausgang der Abstimmung. Wie alle
türkischen Zeitungen empört berichteten, eröffnete der armenische
Patriarch die Sitzung des Gremiums mit einem Gebet. Entsprechend ging
der vorgeschlagene Text durch, mit 27 Jastimmen bei 21 Ablehnungen.

"27 idiotische Amerikaner" titelte die Zeitung "Vatan", wobei man
sich über die Feinheiten des Wortsinnes des Adjektivs "sersem"
streiten kann – es könnte auch als "bekloppt" durchgehen und
umschreibt den Geisteszustand, in den man gelangt, wenn man mit dem
Knüppel auf den Kopf geschlagen wird. Die islamisch orientierte
Zeitung "Vakit" sprach von amerikanischer "Hurerei", das Massenblatt
"Hürriyet" von einem "Gesetz des Hasses". Staatspräsident Abdullah
Gül nannte die US-Politiker "kleinlich" und das Außenministerium
verteilte eine Erklärung, die die amerikanischen Volksvertreter
"verantwortungslos" nennt.

Nun wird die Resolution dem US-Kongress vorgelegt. Er soll
feststellen, dass zwischen 1915 und 1923 das Osmanische Reich
Völkermord an seiner armenischen Bevölkerung beging, wobei 1,5
Millionen Armenier ihr Leben verloren, und dass dies später Adolf
Hitler inspirierte. Wenn die Resolution durchgeht, bedeutet das einen
herben Schlag für die fieberhaften Bemühungen der türkischen
Außenpolitik, das Stigma des Genozidvorwurfs in der internationalen
Arena abzuschwächen.

Das Ringen um die Gunst des Kongresses wurde in Washington zu einer
Schlacht der Lobbyisten. Ankara investierte laut Medienberichten in
den letzten Jahren 13 Millionen Dollar, um sich die Dienste
professioneller Lobbyisten und PR-Agenturen zu sichern. Am Ende wird
all das womöglich ebenso wenig geholfen haben wie die scharfen
Warnungen von US-Präsident George W. Bush, der den Kongress darauf
hinwies, dass eine solche Entscheidung die USA um einen wichtigen
Verbündeten im Nahen Osten und im Kampf gegen den Terror bringen
könnte. Staatssekretär Nicholas Burns kritisierte den Kongress und
äußerte die Hoffnung, der "wertvolle Verbündete" Türkei werde von
"konkreten" Reaktionen absehen.

Freilich, auch die Türkei "hofft", dass der "wertvolle Verbündete"
USA ihr das Messer nicht in den Rücken steckt. Die türkische
Regierung ist bemüht, die politischen Folgen einer Anerkennung des
"Genozids" in möglichst düsterem Licht zu zeichnen. Zu den denkbaren
Folgen gehören die Schließung der amerikanischen Nachschubwege in den
Irak, die Beendigung der amerikanischen Nutzung des
Luftwaffenstützpunkts Incirlik und die Sperrung des türkischen
Luftraums für US-Flugzeuge. 60 Prozent der amerikanischen Luftfracht
nach Irak läuft über die Türkei und 25 Prozent des Benzinnachschubs
für die US-Truppen. Die Türkei bereitet gerade einen eventuellen
Militäreinsatz im Nordirak vor, und auch dies könnte den Amerikanern
Probleme bereiten, wenn es eine der wenigen einigermaßen friedlichen
Regionen des Irak destabilisieren sollte.

Nach Auffassung Ankaras war die armenische Tragödie im ersten
Weltkrieg weder ein Genozid, noch starben 1,5 Millionen Armenier –
sondern, nach türkischer Meinung, rund 300 000, und etwa ebenso viele
Türken als Folgen armenischer Aufstände im Rahmen des Weltkrieges,
die darauf abzielten, auf osmanischem Boden einen eigenen Staat zu
errichten.

Unter Historikern gibt es keinen Konsens zu dem Thema. Der führende
Historiker Bernard Lewis lehnt den Begriff Genozid für die
armenischen Massaker ab, andere internationale Studien haben die Zahl
von 1,5 Millionen armenischen Opfern in Zweifel gezogen und gehen
eher von der Hälfte aus.

Zahlreiche Parlamente haben den Genozid anerkannt, zuletzt 2006 das
französische Parlament. Die türkische Reaktion waren
Boykott-Drohungen und ein Abbruch der militärischen Beziehungen. In
den USA wird man die wirtschaftlichen Folgen vermutlich als belanglos
bewerten: Der türkische Handel mit Frankreich ist seit der
französischen Genozid-Resolution eher gewachsen. Die militärischen
Folgen allerdings könnten die ohnehin permanent strapazierte
amerikanische Irak-Politik vor neue Probleme stellen.

Ankara schlägt vor, alle Archive zu öffnen – die türkischen sind es
bereits – und eine internationale Historikerkommission damit zu
betrauen, die Genozid-Frage ein für alle Mal zu klären. Allerdings
weigert sich Armenien bislang sowohl seine Archive zu öffnen als auch
im Rahmen einer Historiker-Kommission über den "Genozid" zu
diskutieren, da die Fakten ohnehin klar seien.

Die Grundangst der türkischen Politik bei alldem ist, dass ein
Einlenken Ankaras in der Schuldfrage zu umfangreichen armenischen
Kompensationsforderungen führen wird.

Seite 8: Kopfnote

"Diese inakzeptable Entscheidung hat für die türkische Nation keine
Gültigkeit" Präsident Abdullah Gül

Media Matters for America, DC
Oct 13 2007

NY Times again omitted Bush’s 2000 pledge to "properly recognize[]"
"genocidal campaign" against Armenians

Summary: An October 12 New York Times article about a House of
Representatives resolution labeling the killing of Armenians by the
Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 as genocide reported that the Bush
administration opposed the resolution. However, the article did not
mention that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent a letter
to the Armenian National Committee of America, in which, according to
a press release on the organization’s website, he wrote that "[t]he
Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies
comprehension" and that if elected president, he "would ensure that
our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian
people." An October 11 Times article also did not mention the letter.

An October 12 New York Times article about the resolution approved by
the House Foreign Affairs Committee on October 10 — labeling the
killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 as genocide
— reported that the Bush administration opposed the resolution
without mentioning that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush
sent a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America, in
which, according to a press release on the organization’s website, he
wrote that "[t]he Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign
that defies comprehension." According to the excerpt of the letter
posted on the website, Bush also said that if elected president, he
"would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic
suffering of the Armenian people," as Media Matters for America
documented. The New York Times also did not mention Bush’s pledge in
an October 11 article about Bush’s objection to the House committee’s
resolution. Similarly, two separate reports on the October 11 edition
of CNN’s The Situation Room noted the administration’s objections to
the resolution without mentioning Bush’s reported promise in 2000 to
"properly recognize[]" the Armenian people’s "tragic suffering."
During the 5 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room on October 10, CNN
senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre noted:

At issue, a House resolution labeling the killings of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I genocide.

President Bush used that word himself as a candidate back in 2000,
but says now the timing couldn’t be worse.

McIntyre did not note Bush’s 2000 pledge, and CNN has not mentioned
the fact that Bush had previously used the term "genocidal campaign"
to describe the Ottoman Empire’s treatment of the Armenians since
McIntyre’s report on the October 10 edition of The Situation Room.

In an October 10 statement, Bush urged members of the House "to
oppose the Armenian genocide resolution":

On another issue before Congress, I urge members to oppose the
Armenian genocide resolution now being considered by the House
Foreign Affairs Committee. We all deeply regret the tragic suffering
of the Armenian people that began in 1915. This resolution is not the
right response to these historic mass killings, and its passage would
do great harm to our relations with a key ally in NATO and in the
global war on terror.

>From the October 12 New York Times article:

The committee vote in the House, though nonbinding and largely
symbolic, rebuffed an intense campaign by the White House and earlier
warnings from Turkey’s government that such a vote would gravely
strain relations with the United States.

In Washington, the Bush administration tried to ease the hard
feelings between the countries, and vowed to try to defeat the
resolution on Capitol Hill.

"One of the reasons we opposed the resolution in the House yesterday
is that the president has expressed on behalf of the American people
our horror at the tragedy of 1915," said Dana Perino, President
Bush’s chief spokeswoman. "But at the same time, we have national
security concerns, and many of our troops and supplies go through
Turkey. They are a very important ally in the war on terror, and we
are going to continue to try to work with them. And we hope that the
House does not put forward a full vote."

[…]

For his part, Ross Wilson, the United States ambassador to Turkey,
also tried to calm relations, issuing a statement on Thursday saying
that the partnership between Turkey and the United States was strong
and would remain so. He added that he, President Bush and Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice regretted the committee decision.

During the 4 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room, anchor Wolf Blitzer
stated that "the Bush administration is warning of some major
consequences, ramifications, if the full House moves forward with
this legislation." In the 5 p.m. ET hour of the program, CNN State
Department correspondent Zain Verjee reported that Rice will be "be
reaching out to top House leaders, trying to convince them not to let
the resolution go through in the full House." Neither Blitzer nor
Verjee mentioned the pledge Bush reportedly made in 2000.

According to the Armenian National Committee of America’s press
release, Bush called the Turkish killing of Armenians a "genocidal
campaign" and vowed that the United States would "properly
recognize[]" the event. The blog Think Progress highlighted the press
release on October 10. Despite his pledge as a candidate to "ensure"
this recognition, as president, Bush does not appear to have used the
term "genocide" — or a variant thereof — to describe the killings,
according to a search of the White House website. From the "partial
text" of Bush’s letter on the Armenian National Committee of America
website:

The twentieth century was marred by wars of unimaginable brutality,
mass murder and genocide. History records that the Armenians were the
first people of the last century to have endured these cruelties. The
Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies
comprehension and commands all decent people to remember and
acknowledge the facts and lessons of an awful crime in a century of
bloody crimes against humanity. If elected President, I would ensure
that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the
Armenian people.

>From the 4 p.m. ET hour of CNN’s The Situation Room on October 11:

BLITZER: Turkey recalling its ambassador to the United States. The
announcement coming after a House panel approved a bill describing
mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on the Hill. She’s
watching this story for us.

Dana, the Bush administration is warning of some major consequences,
ramifications, if the full House moves forward with this legislation.

BASH: They sure are, Wolf. But you know, a small but very vocal
Armenian-American community, they have been lobbying Congress for
decades to call the mass killings actually genocide.

In the past, congressional leaders simply have not voted for it
because of that kind of pressure from the Turks and from presidents,
Democrats and Republicans, and the intense lobbying from high-powered
lobbyists that the Turks hired in order to do that. But that pressure
is not swaying the Democratic leaders now running Congress.

[begin video clip]

BASH: Mass killings of Armenians by the Turks took place nearly a
century ago. So why is the House moving to label it genocide now?

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Because now — there’s never a
good time. And all of us in the Democratic leadership have supported
— are making — reiterating Americans’ acknowledgement of a
genocide.

BASH: Defiant Democratic leaders say they view this as part of their
mandate, restoring America’s moral authority around the world.

REP. TOM LANTOS (D-CA): When the Turkish government says there was no
genocide of Armenians, we have to set them straight.

BASH: For Foreign Affairs chairman Tom Lantos, fighting for human
rights is personal.

BASH: You escaped two labor camps in Hungary?

LANTOS: Yes, yes.

BASH: And you were how old?

LANTOS: Well, by that time, I was 16.

BASH: He is the only Holocaust survivor in Congress.

LANTOS: I feel that I have a tremendous opportunity as a survivor of
the Holocaust to bring a moral dimension to our foreign policy.

BASH: Lantos pushed the symbolic resolution calling Armenian killings
genocide despite intense pressure against it from the Bush
administration. He dismisses Turkish warnings this could jeopardize
U.S. relations with Turkey, a critical Mideast ally that insists the
Armenian deaths were not genocide.

BASH: What if it says, "You’re not going to be able to use our air
space anymore," or, "You’re not going to be able to use our country
to get critical supplies to the men and women who are fighting in
Iraq"?

LANTOS: Well, with all due respect to the Turkish government, the
Turkish-American relationship is infinitely more valuable to Turkey
than it is to the United States. The Turkish government will not act
against the United States because that would be against their own
interests. I’m convinced of this.

[end video clip]

BASH: But the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
disagrees, and that Democratic chairman, Ike Skelton [D-MO], Wolf,
wrote this letter to the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, which CNN has
obtained. And in it, he warns that the Armenian resolution could
actually hinder the Democrats’ chief goal in this Congress, and that
is bringing troops home from Iraq. He says that is because Turkey, of
course, is a key transfer port — point, I should say, for getting
troops home from Iraq.

BLITZER: Dana Bash on the Hill for us. Thanks, Dana, very much.

>From the 5 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room on October 11:

BLITZER: A strong reaction from Turkey right now. The Turkish
government pulling its ambassador from the United States. That after
a House committee passed a resolution saying Turkey committed
genocide in World War I against Armenians.

Our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, is following this
story for us, and it’s escalating literally by the hour, Zain. What’s
going on?

VERJEE: It is, Wolf. Here at the State Department, officials are
doing a lot of damage control. The big worry here today at the State
Department is that could Turkey turn from a friend into an enemy.

[begin video clip]

VERJEE: Turks take to the streets, tired of supporting the U.S. and
having little to show for it. Turkish officials say they just don’t
trust the U.S., which they thought was their closest ally. They feel
betrayed by a congressional committee vote calling the killing of
Armenians by Turks in World War I genocide. Turkey warned of
consequences, and now it’s making good on its threat, recalling its
ambassador the U.S. for consultations.

TOM CASEY (State Department spokesman): That is their decision. I
think that it certainly will not do anything to limit our efforts to
continue on reach out to Turkish officials.

VERJEE: Turkey is threatening more action if the resolution passes
the full House.

EGEMAN BAGIS (foreign policy adviser to Turkish prime minister):
Despite our warnings, U.S. Congress wanted to play hardball. We now
have to play hardball, as well.

VERJEE: Like cutting off its air space to the U.S. military, like it
did with France and Canada, who passed similar measures. It could
also end access to Incirlik Air Base, which the U.S. military uses to
transport critical cargo and fuel supplies to Iraq.

RICE: The passage of this resolution at this time would, indeed, be
very problematic for everything that we are trying to do in the
Middle East.

VERJEE: And might open a dangerous new front in the Iraq war. Turkey
wants to destroy Kurdish rebels, called the PKK, that have launched
cross-border attacks from northern Iraq, killing Turks.

BAGIS: PKK for us is what Al Qaeda is to you.

VERJEE: And Turkish officials say if the U.S. won’t go after the PKK,
Turkey will. Turkish helicopters crossed into Iraqi airspace
Thursday, and troops are dangerously poised along the border.

[end video clip]

VERJEE: And secretary of state, Wolf, Condoleezza Rice is reaching
out to the top Turkish leadership, trying to assure them that the
U.S. is a strong friend and a very good ally and that Turkey is
important to the U.S. She’s also going to be reaching out to top
House leaders, trying to convince them not to let the resolution go
through in the full House. Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, lots at stake right now.

>From the 5 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room on October 10:

BLITZER: The Bush administration right now is in a tense standoff
with Congress over a resolution that would pin the genocide label on
Turkey for mass killings carried out during the First World War. The
White House and military commanders are deeply worried about the
impact on the current war in Iraq by what’s happening in the House of
Representatives right now.

Let’s go to live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie
McIntyre. He’s watching this story. Why is the Pentagon, in
particular, Jamie, so concerned?

McINTYRE: Well, it’s coming at a really bad time. Turkey sent
warplanes and attack helicopters into northern Iraq today to pound
Kurdish rebel positions, a possible prelude to an incursion. The U.S.
is urging restraint on Turkey, and, at the same time, the Bush
administration is accusing Congress of making things worse.

[begin video clip]

PELOSI: The House will be in order.

McINTYRE: As if to underscore her defiance of the Bush
administration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled the House to order with
a prayer by an Armenian chaplain.

CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II (Armenian Apostolic Church): With a solemn
burden of history, we remember the victims of the genocide of the
Armenians.

McINTYRE: That historical note has become a testy confrontation with
the White House. At issue, a House resolution labeling the killings
of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World
War I genocide.

President Bush used that word himself as a candidate back in 2000,
but says now the timing couldn’t be worse.

BUSH: This resolution is not the right response to these historic
mass killings, and its passage would do great harm to our relations
with a key ally in NATO.

McINTYRE: The Pentagon argues the resolution would anger Turkey and
hamper the war effort in Iraq. Seventy percent of air cargo,
including armored MRAP vehicles, as well as 30 percent of fuel, fly
by way of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

– K.H.

=h_latest

Middle East Times, Egypt
Oct 12 2007

Turkey puts pressure on US over Armenian genocide bill
AFP

October 12, 2007

ANKARA — Turkey hopes its decision to recall its US ambassador will
be enough to block a resolution labeling the 1915 to 1917 massacres
of Armenians a genocide from going to a full vote in the US House of
Representatives, experts say.

Ankara called back its ambassador late Thursday to protest against
the adoption of the resolution by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made it clear she will
submit the bill to a full vote, despite Turkey’s staunch opposition.

Turkey is trying to demonstrate that "we are not bluffing," a senior
Turkish diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The resolution runs contrary to the strategic ties forged with the
United States, and we must make the Americans understand this," he
said. "In diplomacy, we work with the mind, not with the heart."

But feelings are what surge forth when the Turks are accused of
committing genocide against the Armenians, who were appreciated under
the Ottoman Empire as "the faithful nation" until they allied
themselves with the Russian enemy during World War I.

The Turks admit to mass killings and deportations, but categorically
reject the genocide tag.

Ankara strongly criticized the committee’s vote Wednesday, saying it
was "unacceptable that the Turkish nation be accused of a crime it
never committed."

It is now trying to limit the damage with a series of diplomatic
measures, such as canceling joint military exercises and official
visits, to prevent the bill being adopted by the House.

The first move was to call back Turkey’s ambassador in Washington,
Nabi Sensoy, Thursday.

"On Ankara’s instructions, I will return to Turkey this weekend,
Sensoy told the Anatolia news agency, adding that he would stay "as
long as consultations continue," while the White House said it hoped
for the envoy’s speedy return to his post.

On Friday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan downplayed the move,
saying a permanent withdrawal of the envoy was "out of the question.

"He is coming for consultations," he said.

Turkish sources said Admiral Metin Atac, commander in chief of the
Navy, has canceled a planned visit to the United States in protest.

Military ties between the two countries have been extremely close
since Turkey joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952,
and the two armies are engaged in several joint operations, including
in Afghanistan.

Media reports Friday said Erdogan could also cancel a planned visit
to the White House in November, despite the fact that President
George W. Bush threw the entire weight of his administration behind a
‘no’ vote on the genocide resolution.

"We will pursue our action to prevent the bill going before the
House," Erdogan said. "If it does, there are other measures we can
take, but it is too early to talk about them for the time."

Members of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party have
already threatened to close Turkey’s southern Incirlik air force base
to US planes that supply troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Iraq was already a serious source of friction, with Turkey accusing
the US of not doing enough to curb Turkish Kurd rebels, based in
northern Iraq, from conducting deadly attacks in Turkish territory.

The Turks are threatening unilateral military action against bases in
the northern Iraqi mountains of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’
Party, and parliament is expected to authorize the government to send
troops abroad in a vote next week.

"It is because bilateral ties are at a historic nadir that the
[genocide] bill is likely to be voted by the House," commented Sedat
Laciner of the USAK strategic studies institute, here.

"Turkey must demonstrate that it is serious, and that the bill is
harmful to US interests," columnist Taha Akyol wrote Friday in the
liberal daily Milliyet.