Author: Nalbandian Albert

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Assembly of America
March 3, 2010
Contact: Press Department
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

BREAKING NEWS: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION APPROVED

Washington, DC – By a vote of 23 to 22 the U.S. House Foreign Affairs
Committee approved H.Res. 252, the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

The committee passed the motion despite a well-funded lobbying effort
by the Turkish government supported by major defense corporations
doing business with Turkey. Parliamentarians from Turkey and Turkey’s
ambassador to the U.S. personally weighed in on the committee and the
Obama Administration.

Major media reported that the Obama White House, which had remained
silent on the issue until the day of the hearing, asked Congress to
hold off on the resolution. If confirmed, the request would have been
a breach of the president’s campaign promise.

Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) opened the hearings in the
presence of three survivors, two nonagenarians and one centenarian.
As many Members spoke in favor of the resolution and the need to speak
the truth to genocide to prevent crimes against humanity, others
raised questions about the timing of the resolution.

Chairman Berman responded, "I have been in Congress 27 years and it
has never been the right time" to take up this resolution. The House
committee had approved similar measures in 2000 and 2007 and a
commemorative resolution was debated on the floor of the Senate in
1990.

Members rejected arguments by opponents linking passage of the
resolution to the recently negotiated protocols between Turkey and
Armenia, and stressed the resolution is about the U.S. record.

Reflecting bi-partisan support for the measure, Democratic
Representatives Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Jim Costa (D-CA), Donald Payne
(D-NJ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Keith Ellison
(D-MN), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA) and Republican
Representatives Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ed
Royce (R-CA), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) spoke in favor of the
resolution.

The debate raised questions about the Turkish government’s credibility
whose claim for reconciliation is contradicted by its persistent
opposition to affirming the U.S. record and which wages an
international campaign of denial, despite widespread international
recognition.

"The truth prevailed today, and the cause of genocide affirmation and
prevention has been furthered. The United States record on the
Armenian Genocide is clear, voluminous, and unambiguous, a matter
recognized by President Ronald Reagan and by President Obama in a
number of campaign statements. We commend the leadership of Chairman
Howard Berman and all those who supported the bill’s passage, which
was introduced by Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), George
Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL),"
stated Armenian Assembly of America Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

"I also want to acknowledge Representatives Brad Sherman, Anna Eshoo
(D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and Ed Royce for the pivotal role they
played throughout this process," added Ardouny. "The pan-Armenian
community letter sent a message to Congress that Armenian-Americans
speak with one voice when they call on their legislators to affirm the
historic U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide and to honor the memory
of the American diplomats and humanitarians that came to the rescue of
the survivors."

The resolution was supported by a broad range of Armenian-American
community organizations including: the Armenian Assembly of America,
Armenian Bar Association, Armenian Catholic Eparchy in the USA,
Armenian Council of America, Armenian Evangelical Union of North
America, Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian International
Women’s Association, Armenian Missionary Association of America,
Armenian National Committee of America, Armenian Relief Society,
Armenian Rights Council of America, Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America – East, Diocese of the Armenian Church of America – West,
Knights of Vartan, Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
– East, Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America – West,
and the World Armenian Congress.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#2010-18

TURKEY URGES US ADMINISTRATION TO WORK AGAINST RESOLUTION

Today’s Zaman
March 3 2010
Turkey

Murat Mercan (C), who is having talks with US officials ahead of a
vote in the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, and lawmaker Å~^ukru
Elekdag (L) spoke at the Turkish Embassy in Washington on Monday.

Turkey has called on the US administration to exert more effort in
order to prevent the passage of a resolution that would recognize the
World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide
by a US House of Representatives committee, warning that its passage
could jeopardize Turkish parliamentary approval of protocols that
Turkey and Armenia signed last year to normalize ties.

In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted on Tuesday
that what is at stake if the resolution is approved is also the state
of bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington.

"Turkish-US relations are experiencing their most successful period
in history," Erdogan said. "I hope that they will not be damaged by
such initiatives. I maintain trust in the leadership and common sense
of President [Barack] Obama, who has been closely following efforts
toward the normalization of ties with Armenia."

In Washington, Murat Mercan, head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign
Affairs Commission, which is having talks with US officials ahead
of the vote, and Å~^ukru Elekdag, a lawmaker and former Turkish
ambassador to the US, spoke to reporters at the Turkish Embassy in
Washington on Monday.

"My impression is that the [Obama] administration is not fighting
against it very effectively," Elekdag said, while emphasizing that
Turkish cooperation with the United States was at risk if the measure
passed.

Also in Washington, The Hill, a congressional newspaper that publishes
daily when Congress is in session, reported on Tuesday that a trio of
House lawmakers have been encouraging their colleagues to stop the
genocide resolution before the key committee vote on Thursday. In
a Feb. 22 letter to committee members, the three co-chairs of the
Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey Relations asked their colleagues
to reject the resolution, warning that it will "have significant
negative consequences on current and future relations with Turkey."

At a time when doubts have been raised over whether the Jewish lobby,
which has extended a crucial hand in stopping past resolutions,
would rush to Turkey’s aid this time, as Erdogan angered many Jews
when he accused Israel of "inhumane" treatment of Palestinians,
the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
(JINSA) announced on Monday that the resolution "should be opposed
and defeated."

"The Congress of the United States is not the place to debate the
history of other people in other times. It would be unacceptable for
Brazil to pass a resolution condemning 19th century American slavery
or Latvia to pass one on the War of 1812," JINSA said in a statement
posted on its Web site.

In Ä°stanbul, the Turkish-Jewish community said: "If members of
the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs accept
the resolution about the events of 1915, they will damage Turkey-US
relations. They are not making any contributions to Turkey-Armenia
relations."

YEREVAN HAILS RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER OPENING
Tigran Avetisian, Sargis Harutyunyan

le/1972669.html
02.03.2010

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian welcomed on Tuesday the reopening
of Georgia’s main border crossing with Russia and confirmed reports
that a Russian-Georgian agreement to that effect was reached under
Armenian mediation.

"I can confirm that [Russian-Georgian] negotiations indeed took place
in Armenia and with Armenia’s mediation," Nalbandian told journalists.

"And now that the checkpoint is operational it can be said that that
[agreement] is a big success for Russia and Georgia in the first
instance and, of course, for Armenia as well."

Russian and Georgian officials reportedly held indirect negotiations
in Yerevan last October. Their governments announced in late December
that they have agreed to reopen the Upper Lars crossing on March 1.

Traffic through the narrow pass in the Caucasus Mountains resumed as
planned on Monday.

Upper Lars is the only land border crossing that does not go through
Georgia’s Russian-backed breakaway regions of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. It served as Armenia’s sole overland route to the former
Soviet Union and Europe until being controversially shut down by the
Russian authorities in June 2006, at the height of a Russian-Georgian
spy scandal.

With Russian-Georgian trade having steadily declined over the past
decade, the Upper Lars closure primarily hit trading companies shipping
goods to and from Armenia. Armenian exporters of agricultural produce
were particularly reliant on the crossing. They had to re-route their
deliveries through the more expensive and time-consuming rail-ferry
services between Georgia and Russia and Ukraine.

Arsen Ghazarian, chairman of the Armenian Union of Industrialists
and Entrepreneurs, predicted on Monday the reopening of the
Russian-Georgian border will boost exports of Armenian fruits and
vegetables already this year. He said it would reduce transportation
costs incurred by the exporters by at least 25 percent.

According to Ghazarian, who also owns a cargo shipment company, a
single truck laden with agricultural products takes at least 23 days
to reach Russia through the rail-ferry link. Going through Upper Lars
will cut shipping time by half, he told journalists.

RECONSTRUCTION OF DELIVERY WARD AT ABOVIAN MATERNITY HOSPITAL

Aysor
March 2 2010
Armenia

The Maternity Hospital of Abovian, in Armenia’s Kotayk Region, became
the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s latest beneficiary this month, as the
fund began to rebuild the facility’s Delivery Ward. The initiative is
sponsored by the fund’s Canada (Montreal) affiliate, with financing
by local benefactors Vrej and Imasdouhi Nigoghossian.

With demolition work already completed, construction crews are
currently building new partitions at the Delivery Ward. The other
components of the project include the renovation and retiling of the
floors as well as the replacement of all doors and windows.

Commenting on the much-anticipated reconstruction, Dr. Larissa Madoyan,
chief physician of the Maternity Hospital, said that the 25-year-old
facility’s grave disrepair has had an adverse effect on the quality of
healthcare. "In terms of inspiring a sense of security and confidence
among expectant mothers, the improved conditions of the ward will be
of foremost importance," Dr. Madoyan explained. "In turn, a mother’s
well-being is crucial equally to her newborn and the medical staff
caring for her." Dr. Madoyan added that already this year 193 babies
were delivered at the hospital.

In 2009 there were 1,422 births at the Delivery Ward. In addition,
247 walk-in patients received care, 347 women underwent various
surgical procedures, and 17,656 pregnant women were provided with
medical consultation at the Maternity Hospital, which serves seven
urban areas and close to 60 rural communities of Kotayk.

"Every parent seeks to ensure the healthiest and most comfortable
environment possible for their newborn child," said Ara Vardanyan,
executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. "With this
in mind, the renovation and, in this case, reconstruction of our
homeland’s aging maternity wards is an area of high priority for
the fund."

"Perhaps the most heartwarming testament to the benefits of such
projects is the marked increase of new births in a given community,"
Vardanyan concluded.

Apart from the Abovian Maternity Hospital initiative, the
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is currently implementing several
healthcare-development projects in Armenia. They include the
construction of the Zangezur Cardiology Center in Goris and the
reconstruction of the Noyemberian Hospital, the Delivery and Postnatal
Department of the Maternity Ward at Surb Astvatsamayr Medical Center in
Yerevan, and a wing of the Nork-Marash Medical Center, also in Yerevan.

WASHINGTON HAS SPECIAL PLAN TO WEAKEN TURKEY

news.az
March 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Vafa Guluzade Azerbaijani political scientist Vafa Guluzade has
commented on the upcoming discussion of the resolution on "Armenian
genocide" in the US Congress.

"In case Americans recognize "genocide" the whole geopolitical angle of
the region may change. Anti-American sentiments may cover a big area
from the Black to the Caspian Sea. Considering strained relations of
the United States with Iran and Syria and the fact that they are stuck
in Afghanistan and Iraq, the adoption of the resolution on "genocide"
may also worsen their relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan".

"I do not know what the US leadership relies upon. Probably, Washington
has a special plan to weaken Turkey. They needed Turkey in the times
of the Cold War as the southern flank of NATO but after its completion
the role of this country has dropped, especially after it started to
incline to the Islamic world, which has become an alert for Washington.

US presidents are ‘showmen’, they are manipulated by ‘puppeteers
‘ who do not love to show themselves. It seems that they have a
plan to weaken Turkey and Obama fulfills their order. But in case
this resolution is adopted I do not rule out the creation of the
Moscow-Ankara-Tehran military union. But Americans seem not to fear
this perspective. Though Turkey is a powerful state, it does not even
have nuclear power stations and weapon and Americans know that it is
vulnerable. Washington has long been viewing Ankara as a secondary
partner in NATO and has not strengthened it, unlike other countries
of the Alliance", he said.

Meanwhile, Guluzade does not think that Washington will decide to
surrender its old ally to Russia.

"It would be silly on their part. On April 24 Obama will make the most
threatening statements addressed to Turkey, call for immediate opening
of borders with Armenia, but he will not say the word ‘genocide. They
still need Turkey in the light of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Iranian nuclear program, therefore Washington will not risk so far",
Guluzade said.

COMMENTARY: BRIDGING THE DIASPORA – ARMENIA GAP
Hrant Katarikyan

-diaspora-armenia-gap/
2010/03/01 | 16:20

It’s the people of the RoA who suffer from "strained relations"

There’s a conference taking place in Washington D.C. these days on
the state of Diaspora-Armenia relations during the past twenty years
since independence. Now that’s a pretty big bite to chew off and
digest in a few days, but I wish them success.

This meeting of the minds is being organized by the Policy Forum
Armenia (PFA), a think-tank, if you will, of the brightest young
Armenian minds in a variety of professions and academic fields.

A visit to the PFA website reads, as way of introduction that
"Armenia-Diaspora relations have never been so strained in the
20 years since independence." An obvious reference to Armenia’s
initiatives regarding the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations,
the Protocols and the sense of uncertainty among wide segments of the
Diaspora regarding Armenia’s "questionable" foreign relations strategy.

I imagine that the conference will attempt to describe just how
these strains manifest themselves since many would venture to say
the relations between the Diaspora and Armenia have been "low keyed"
and bordering on "nearly invisible" for many years now.

Sure there have been those self-serving Armenia-Diaspora conferences
every few years in Yerevan but let’s face it, they were basically
"gab sessions" and self-serving podiums to publicize one’s views on
this or that. They were never really effective forums for debate and
nothing tangible ever resulted, or precious little.

It wouldn’t be too off the mark to argue that for many years now,
relations between the Diaspora and Armenia, that’s to say successive
RoA regimes, has been on the level of "to each his or her own"; i.e.

don’t meddle in my affairs and I’ll return the favour.

This "see no evil, hear no evil" approach was manifestly apparent
surrounding the questionable February, 2008, presidential elections
and their aftermath – the civic unrest of March 1, ten dead Armenians
and the imposition of a "State of Emergency" in Armenia.

On the whole, aside from some tepid and mealy-mouthed whimpering from
the traditional organizations in the Diaspora and their leadership
regarding the violations taking place in Armenia little was done. The
hue and cry and intense outpouring of emotion and opposition in the
Diaspora that followed the signing of the Protocols was near absent
when the dust settled in Yerevan on March 2, 2008, and it became
apparent that ten Armenians had been murdered. And the fact that the
guilty still have to be identified and brought to justice, two years
after the fact, hasn’t to my knowledge at least, raised many eyebrows,
let alone demands for accountability, in the Diaspora.

Now, to be sure there are many in the Diaspora who are concerned with
these and other negative aspects of life in present-day Armenia. But
what about those in so-called leadership positions? Then too, there is
still a sizeable element in the Diaspora that believes Armenia’s "dirty
laundry" shouldn’t be washed in public. That there are overriding
issues like "national unity in the face of external pressures and
challenges" that take priority and must, out of necessity, relegate
such internal matters to the back-burner.

You would have thought, and it seems more than natural, for any
"strained relations" between the Diaspora and Armenia to be based on
disagreements and discord regarding Armenia itself, its progress,
or lack of, on the road towards socio-economic development and
democracy, the rule of law and attempts to bridge the gap between
the two overriding Armenian realities – the RoA and the Diaspora.

That it was relations with a third country, Turkey, that seems to
have awakened this rush towards a review and reanalysis of relations
amongst the various sectors and institutions of the Armenian nation,
speaks volumes about the task that lies ahead.

When was the last time you heard the Diaspora raise its collective
voice to protest the fact that there haven’t been free and fair
presidential elections in Armenia, other than the first, since
independence?

While many in the Diaspora have a general conception of the ills
plaguing Armenia – corruption, a monopolized economy, restrictions
on the freedom of expression and assembly – most haven’t a clue how
these impact citizens in Armenia on a daily basis, in the course of
trying to make ends meet.

How many in the Diaspora are aware of how the government, via eminent
domain, has evicted hundreds of average families from their homes in
Yerevan and paid them pennies in return. How many know that many of
these evicted families are even stripped of their right to vote because
once their homes were razed they lost their residency registration?

In this "strained" relationship between the Diaspora and the government
of Armenia, it is the people of Armenia who are suffering.

This is the inescapable fact of reality on the ground.

Let’s face it. The Armenian government is in no rush to improve
relations with the Diaspora to the point that it would actually permit
criticism of its actions from Beirut, Los Angeles or Paris regarding
internal government policy. The Protocols were another matter and
President Sargsyan’s whirlwind tour of the Diaspora was symbolic
acknowledgment that he at least had to feign listening to its concerns.

Has the Diaspora, through its silence and inaction, let successive
Armenian governments wriggle its way free of taking responsibility for
its actions on the ground? Actions that prompted hundreds of thousands
of average Armenians to take to the streets two years ago in protest?

In the end, what the Diaspora must ultimately decide is what its role
should be in terms of shaping and impacting state policy and civic
institutions in Armenia, and how it should best go about implementing
such a long-term strategy. The approach should be one based on what’s
in the best interest of the Armenian nation, not the current or future
possible government in power.

In the best of scenarios, the RoA government would also see fit to
collaborate in such an effort, to guarantee the future peace and
prosperity of the Armenian state and the people at its core.

The time is long overdue, for sincere and dedicated people on both
side of the divide to work jointly for the common good.

Is it too much to hope that the conference in Washington will make
a contribution, however small, in this effort and will prompt others
to follow?

ROAD POLICE LIMITS MOVEMENT OF MICROBUSES FROM LORI REGION TO YEREVAN

ArmInfo
2010-03-01 14:52:00

ArmInfo. The Road Police hinders movement of microbuses by the
following route: Vanadzor-Yerevan, Alaverdi-Yerevan, Tashir-Yerevan,
Spitak-Yerevan and Stepanavan-Yerevan.

As one of the drivers of Stepanavan-Yerevan microbus told ArmInfo,
the drivers were warned from early morning that they would not work
today since the opposition rally would be held in Yerevan.

To recall, two years have passed since the tragic events in Yerevan.

To also recall, the tragic events followed after the presidential
election of 2008, as a result of which ten people died and hundreds
of people were injured. A state of emergency was introduced in the
Armenian capital in the evening of the same day by the decree of
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan. The state of emergency lasted
till March 20. The Armenian National Congress, headed by the first
President of Armenia Levon Ter- Petrosyan, organizes a rally and
procession today, on the anniversary of the tragic events. The rally
will start at 5:00 PM near Matenadaran.

JAVAHKH DIASPORA OF RUSSIA CALLS ON AUTHORITIES OF GEORGIA TO STOP DISCRIMINATION POLICY TOWARDS ARMENIANS OF JAVAHKH

ArmInfo
2010-03-01 10:56:00

ArmInfo. The Javahkh Diaspora of Russia is calling on the authorities
of Georgia and Armenia as well as all the independent democratic
institutions to take urgent measures on stopping the discrimination
policy of the Georgian authorities towards Armenians of Javahkh and
guarantee security of the Armenian population, the petition of the
Javahkh Diaspora of Russia says.

It also says that stemming from the reality, the administrative and
territorial composition of the region Samtskhe-Javakheti should be
immediately revised and Tsalka municipal administration should be
involved in the region. Constitution of Georgia should be also revised,
after which ir will be possible to declare the Samtskhe-Jacakheti
region as an autonomous region ‘Javahkh Autonomous Region’.

It is also necessary to give the Armenian language the status of the
regional language at the territory of Javahkh Autonomous Region and
to stop forcible assimilation. To give legal status to the Armenian
Apostolic Church in Georgia and to return Armenian churches and
historical monuments. To immediately stop the police persecutions in
the region and stop criminal persecutions of the Armenian activists
of the region. ‘We are calling on all the public and political
forces of Armenia and Diaspora as well as public representatives,
which are concerned about the problem of preservation of Armenians in
the Samtskhe-Javahkh-Tsalka region, to start jointly fighting for the
rights and interests of the Armenians of Javakhk, to gradually arrange
creation of the fully-fledged conditions of the Armenians of Javahkh
to build their future at their native land’, – the petition says.

Youth wing of Hnchak: What happened in Sumgait is Genocide

26.02.2010 23:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The youth wing of the Social Democratic Hnchak Party
in connection with the 22nd anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms of
Armenians, issued a statement saying that the events in Sumgait were a
well-planned Genocide. Until and unless the international community
gives a clear assessment to the Genocide of Armenians in Sumgait, such
events cannot be excluded in the future," the statement says.

"What happened in Sumgait is the Genocide, foundations of which were
laid down in the beginning of the last century," the statement says.

The Sumgait pogroms (also known as the Sumgait Massacre or February
Events) was an Azeri-led pogroms of the Armenian population of
Azerbaijani Sumgait from 26 to 29 February 1988. On February 27, 1988,
large mobs made up of Azeris formed into groups that went on to attack
and killed Armenians both on the streets and in their apartments.
Sumgait pogroms lasted three days and were accompanied by widespread
violence, looting and murder. Sumgait events signaled the beginning of
another unprecedented wave of anti-Armenian persecutions and violence
in Azerbaijan, a new genocide. The victims of this of anti-Armenian
persecutions and violence were Armenians of Kirovabad, Kazakhs,
Khanlar, Dashkesan, Mingechaur, Baku and other towns and villages of
Azerbaijan. This has led to floods of refugees from Azerbaijan in
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.

Atlas Shrugs
February 26, 2010 Friday 11:24 PM EST

Muslim Congressmen Ellison Won’t Call Armenian Genocide Instead Calls
On America to Recognize "Its Own Genocide"

by Pamela Geller
Feb. 26, 2010

In today’s , Hurriyet Turkey’s English Daily, Keith Ellison, the
only devout Muslim member of Congress, was asked about how he would
vote on Armenian Genocide Resolution. An interesting question to pose
to a Muslim considering it was a jihad against millions of Armenians.
It was the genocide that preceded the Holocaust.The Mufti of
Jerusalem, practiced genocide first, in the Armenian genocide — the
systematic genocide of the Armenian population under the Islamic
Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. The use of
massacres and deportations involving forced marches under conditions
designed to lead to the death of the deportees led to a total number
of Armenian deaths of one-and-a-half to two million. Mufti Amin
Al-Husseini swore allegiance to the Ottoman Empire during the
Armenian genocide [i] .

[ii] He was an officer stationed in Smyrna and participates first-hand
in the Armenian genocide. One and a half million Christians were
slaughtered under the sword of Islamic Jihad by the Ottoman Army.
Allegiance to Ottoman Empire and Islamic world take-over was echoed by
Osama Bin Laden in his post-September 11 declaration. Osama Bin Laden
makes direct reference to end of Ottoman Empire and thus proclaims his
allegiance to its notion of Islamic dominion. Ellison’s answer to
the question of how he would vote on the House Foreign Relations
Committee’s , Armenian Genocide Resolution, H. Res. 252, e on March
4th, is particularly disgusting – not because he slithers out, "I am
still developing my position. I would like to know how this affects
Turkey and Armenias relationship. Is it going to help the
relationship, improve it or degrade it? I need to know the answer on
that before I decide on this resolution…." What difference does that
make? A genocide is a genocide, no matter what. Period. What contempt
the devout Ellison has for the Christian dead. It was jihad and
Ellison is a believer.But wait, it gets worse. He spreads taqiya and
hate and lies for America. He goes on to equate America, the best of
humanity with the worst of humanity, "America still has not recognized
its own genocide or genocides that it committee."He then goes on to
extol the plurality and tolerance of the newly fundamental Islamicized
Turkey. I kind you not. Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo??an
rejected attempts to call Turkey the representative of moderate Islam.
"It is unacceptable for us to agree with such a definition. Turkey has
never been a country to represent such a concept. Moreover, Islam
cannot be classified as moderate or not," Erdo??an said, speaking at
the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

It astounds me that this first time Congressman sits on the House
Foreign Relations Committee. Now that’s frightening.
Congressman Keith Ellison: ‘Turkey is a country on the forefront’

I had a chance to have a conversation with Congressman Keith Ellison,
the first Muslim congressman in the history of the United States, this
week at the U.S. House of Representatives. Ellison won the open seat
for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in 2006 and is also the
first African-American elected to the House from Minnesota.

In addition to being the first and still-only Muslim congressman, Mr.
Ellison is also member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, a key
committee that will take the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H. Res.
252, to vote on March 4.

I was both curious to hear his story so far as a Muslim congressman,
but also wanted to get in touch with him before the voting day and
hear about his position over the issue first hand.

I started the interview by first asking his position on the resolution
because of the urgency of the matter. He said: "I am still developing
my position. I would like to know how this affects Turkey and Armenias
relationship. Is it going to help the relationship, improve it or
degrade it? I need to know the answer on that before I decide on this
resolution… Is this resolution going to improve the well-being of
people in Armenia or Turkey or anywhere?"

Congressman Ellison also said America still has not recognized its own
genocide or genocides that it committed, yet tries to give lessons to
the other countries. Ellison said: "And you know, we have not
acknowledged yet the genocide that was committed against the Native
American tribes."

Congressman Ellison basically was telling me that everybody should
clean his or her own house first before telling others what to do.
Ellison was clearly uncomfortable with the situation he is in and it
was pretty obvious to see from his attitude while discussing the
issue. Furthermore, it was also my impression from his statements that
he does not find the U.S. Congress is suitable and qualified taking a
such decision over the events that happened nearly 100 years ago and
in a country that is half-way around the world.

I also asked him how he would describe serving in the U.S. Congress as
a Muslim congressman and if there was any particular difficulty to
that. Ellison said: "Being a Muslim in the Congress has been a very
interesting perspective. I have been very well treated by my
colleagues, other than some occasional bad behavior and some ignorant
things said about Islam."

There was a huge controversy in America when the congressman first got
elected and announced his intention to use the Koran instead of the
Bible at his photo-op at the swearing in ceremony and this drew some
criticism especially from some conservative columnists.