STARBUCKS BECOMES FLASHPOINT BETWEEN TURKS, ARMENIANS
Al-Monitor
March 4 2015
by Pinar Tremblay
Posted March 3, 2015
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) posted on Feb. 18 a
picture of women with traditional Armenian gear, holding a Starbucks
coffee cup, under the Turkish crescent and star flags on their Facebook
account. Under the photo, which was displayed at the Mulholland and
Calabasas stores in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, ANCA
posed the question: “Why is Starbucks selling coffee using an image
of women, dressed in traditional Armenian costumes, celebrating a
Turkish state that systematically victimized Armenian women during
the Armenian genocide, and that still denies this crime against all
humanity?” Starbucks, known as a rather liberal establishment, promptly
issued an apology and removed the posters, which were displayed in
a couple of locations in Southern California.
The photographer responsible for the design of the poster, Timothy
Rose, also issued an apology on his Web page explaining that he had
not known the women were Armenian.
When asked for the sentiments of Armenian-Americans about the
Starbucks posters, Aram Hamparian, the executive director of ANCA,
told Al-Monitor, “We felt that the Starbucks ad inappropriately used
images of women dressed in traditional Armenian costumes to glorify
a Turkish state that brutally persecuted Armenian women during the
Armenian genocide and that still, to this day, denies this crime
against all humanity.” Indeed, the reaction was so strong, Hamparian
informed Al-Monitor, that the entire campaign to remove the posters
lasted about five hours. He said, “Armenian-Americans are generally
a highly networked community that follows Armenian issues closely
and that is quick to react to misrepresentations in politics, media
or advertising. Social media, of course, helps Armenians to more
quickly connect to one another and to more effectively communicate
our collective concerns. We saw this on the morning of the Starbucks
poster. In the course of just a few hours, we were alerted to the ads,
developed quick graphics, generated protests, engaged Starbucks and
resolved the issue to everyone’s satisfaction.”
Several pundits agree it was just a marketing effort gone wrong.
Although the swift resolution of the matter must have pleased
Armenian-Americans and Americans in general, there was another group
that was not pleased: some misinformed Turks.
The news was reported quite differently in Turkey. One report alleged
Starbucks branches in Los Angeles had female hostesses dressed in
Turkish traditional dress and flags serving coffee, and this is what
had angered Armenian-Americans. On Feb. 22, Adana Mayor Huseyin Sozlu
had the municipal police hang Turkish flags in Starbucks branches
as customers clapped. Sozlu told the press, “As April 24 approaches,
the Armenian diaspora will be increasing its attacks on Turkey and the
Turkish nation. On the 100th year of the alleged Armenian genocide,
they launched an operation to remove the Turkish flag. And here in
Adana, we hung up our honorable flag in front of Starbucks branches
to retaliate.”
Turks were divided on social media about the appropriate reaction to
the episode. One tweeted: “After this point, I suspect the loyalty
to Turkey of anyone who steps into a Starbucks.” Others were more
cynical. One tweeted: “The mindset is tragic and comical. Those who
fail to protect their flag within their own borders are now putting
up flags with the police force at Starbucks storefronts.”
Yet, due to the incorrect translation of the news, the majority of
the Turkish public, who do not know English, were under the impression
that the Armenian-Americans were upset about a Turkish flag.
Some protests turned out to be rather counterproductive. For example,
on Feb. 22, several events were held in Turkey and cities around
the world to commemorate the Khojaly Massacre of February 1992,
when about 160 ethnic Azerbaijani civilians were killed during the
Nagorno-Karabakh war. Agos Daily, a Turkish Armenian newspaper,
reported on “racist posters in different corners of Turkey.” While
the goal was to remember the victims of the horrible events, a
group called “Genc Atsizlar,” self-described as “accepting Turkish
nationalism in their hearts,” took the idea of commemoration in a
different direction. Their hate-filled slogans tacitly accept the
Armenian genocide. For example, one of them reads “We celebrate
the 100th anniversary of cleansing our country from Armenians. We
are proud of our honorable ancestors.” This racist banner was hung
in several cities in a perplexing admission of ethnic cleansing
and genocide. These protests, unlike others in Turkey, prompted no
police reaction, raising questions about the kind of relationship
these ultranationalistic groups have with the Turkish state. We
cannot help but question: How many people agree with such racist,
hateful commentary about the Armenians in Turkey?
Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Harut Sassounian, a prominent
researcher and publisher of the California Courier, broke the
story Feb. 23, reporting, “ANCA-[Western Region] announced that
Los Angeles World Airports [LAWA], a wholly-owned entity of the
City of Los Angeles, has decided to terminate its contract worth
over $845,000 with the Gephardt Group.” This story did not find its
way into the Turkish news. Only one online publication, on Feb. 8,
announced that the Armenian lobby in the United States is targeting
companies that have business links with Turkey. Even in this brief
report, credit was given to the meticulous and transparent work of
dedicated Armenian-American activists for their cause. The plans of
the Turkish government to recover from this important setback for
Turkish lobbyists in the United States are unknown.
Sassounian told Al-Monitor that the Gephardt Group is one of the
major lobbying firms for Turkey and highlighted the fact that
former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt has been a supporter of
Armenian-Americans’ efforts for the United States to recognize the
Armenian genocide. Yet once Gephardt retired, this support wavered.
Sassounian said, “The latest contract on file with the US Justice
Department reveals that the Gephardt Group is paid $1.4 million a year
to lobby for Turkey in Washington.” Sassounian and his team have been
raising red flags about the Gephardt Group since August 2014.
Sassounian told Al-Monitor that the Gephardt Group has not responded
to his article. So far, the group has not responded to the inquiries
from Al-Monitor, either.
Whether we agree with the motivations of the Armenian diaspora or not,
the victory by Armenian-Americans over the Gephardt Group should be
acknowledged as a significant accomplishment. In the short month of
February, we have witnessed the Starbucks public relations fiasco,
which led to an angry outburst in Turkey, a commemoration ceremony
for the Khojaly Massacre, which evolved into a racist platform with
counterproductive slogans, followed by a successful campaign to deter
businesses lobbying for Turkey.
When we read all these events together, we see that Armenian-Americans
form a unified, determined group of activists with clear goals. They
are well organized. Their success is the result of years of tenacious
efforts. There are significant lessons to be learned from their
civilian activism experience — not only for Turks, but for many
different groups.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/turkey-armenia-starbucks-discord.html#