Author: Varosian Antranik

Boston Globe, MA
Oct 13 2007

Inflaming the Turks
October 13, 2007

THE HISTORICAL evidence shows that the 1915-1917 massacres of
Armenians in eastern Turkey constituted what the world now knows as
genocide, and Turkey ought to acknowledge this reality. But a
resolution before Congress has provoked an upsurge of nationalism
that threatens US interests and would do nothing to lift Turkey’s
willful amnesia. It should not be pursued at this time.

"There’s never a good time," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week.
She supports the resolution, which was approved by the Foreign
Affairs Committee Wednesday and is now before the full House. That
committee vote, just one step in the legislative process, prompted
protests in Turkey and caused the government to summon its ambassador
home. Also this week, unrelated to the vote, the Turkish government
sought parliamentary approval for raids into Iraq to pursue Kurdish
guerrillas there. And as they have done for over four years, US
supply planes shuttled across Turkish air space, via the base at
Incirlik, to supply US forces in Iraq.

Approval of the resolution by the House would threaten use of the
base and make it harder for US diplomats to persuade the Turkish
government to stay out of Iraq. Eight former secretaries of state
have warned that its passage would harm US security interests.

This page recognizes the truth of the Armenian genocide, but with the
nation embroiled in Iraq, we agree that Congress should not
inadvertently complicate the mission of American forces.

The Armenian Assembly of America is right to contend that Turkish
denial of the genocide "seeks to rehabilitate the perpetrators and
demonize the victims." After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in
World War I, the Turkish government created a nationalist history
that made the Turkish sections of the empire the victims of allied
aggression, abetted by the Armenians. Acknowledging the genocide
today would tarnish that national image. To discourage revisionist
inquiries and control dissent, Turkey enforces a law against
insulting "Turkishness." This week, two editors were convicted of
violating that law because they reprinted articles stating that the
massacres of Armenians constituted genocide. Those articles had been
written by another editor, Hrant Dink, who was murdered in January
for speaking the truth.

The Turks need to begin an honest dialogue about the birth of their
nation and repeal the "Turkishness" laws. Others can help by
reminding Turkey, in nongovernmental settings, about the reality of
the genocide and by supporting Turks willing to examine their past.
Europeans are positioned to take the lead because of Turkey’s
aspirations to join the European Union. The House resolution, by
inciting the worst aspects of Turkish nationalism and creating
government-to-government friction, would delay a reckoning with
history.

October 13, 2007

Rice Urges Turkey to Show Restraint

By REUTERS

Filed at 2:25 p.m. ET

MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said on Saturday she had urged Turkey to refrain from any major
military operation in northern Iraq.

"I urged restraint," Rice, on a visit to Moscow, told reporters of her
telephone conversations on Friday with Turkey’s president, prime
minister and foreign minister.

Two senior U.S. officials met Turkish officials in Ankara to try to
ease strains after a Congressional resolution branded as genocide
massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Some analysts believe the vote could weaken Washington’s influence on
fellow NATO member Turkey and increase the likelihood of a Turkish
incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels.

Rice said she told the Turkish officials "that we all have an interest
in a stable Iraq and that anything that is destabilizing is going to
be to the detriment of both of our interests."

Rice acknowledged strains following the U.S. Congressional committee
vote on the Armenian massacres. The Bush administration would strive
to stop it being approved by the full U.S. Congress, she said.

"It is a tough time," she told reporters. "It’s not an easy time for
the relationship and it was perfectly predictable."

In Ankara, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and
Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman faced criticism from Turkish
officials over the resolution. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the
United States for consultations this week.

"We told him (Edelman) that if the resolution passed in the House it
would lead to irreparable damage in our relationship with the United
States," a high-level Turkish diplomatic source who attended the
meeting told Reuters.

The source, who declined to be named, said Turkish-U.S. cooperation
within NATO would also be damaged.

Turkish diplomatic sources said Edelman had promised to remind Iraq of
their obligations under the United Nations charter to protect their
borders and fight terrorism.

The possibility of a major Turkish military incursion into northern
Iraq is troubling to U.S. officials, who fear this could destabilize a
relatively peaceful area of Iraq.

Edelman also held talks with deputy chief of general staff, General
Ergin Saygun, a Turkish diplomat said.

The Turkish government is to seek approval from parliament next week
for a major operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants
based in the mountains of northern Iraq.

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on
Wednesday a resolution labeling the 1915 killings genocide. Turkey
denies genocide but says many died in inter-ethnic fighting.

CONFERENCE CANCELLED

Turkish officials say foreign ministry and military officials met
after the resolution was approved to discuss potential measures
against the United States.

In initial repercussions, a U.S. visit by Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen
was cancelled, along with a conference being held by the Turkish-U.S.
Business Council in the United States.

Other potential moves may include blocking U.S. access to Incirlik air
base, cancelling procurement contracts, downscaling bilateral visits,
denying airspace to U.S. aircraft, and halting joint military
exercises, analysts and diplomats say.

The United States relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war
effort in Iraq, where more than 160,000 U.S. troops are trying to
restore stability more than four years after the invasion that toppled
former dictator Saddam Hussein.

Ankara has long complained Washington has not done enough on its own
or through the Iraqi government to crack down on PKK rebels who use
northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkey.

The PKK said on Friday its guerrillas were crossing back into Turkey
to target politicians and police after the prospect of a cross-border
military operation emerged.

Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since
the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in
southeast Turkey in 1984.

Source: -turkey-iraq.html

Agence France Presse
Oct 12 2007

Ottoman history comes dangerously alive for US

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fallout from a massacre in the dying days of
the Ottoman Empire has hit the United States, as ancient enmities
fuse with modern political theater to infuriate a crucial ally and
imperil the Iraq war.

Caught between a hostile Congress and an implacable Turkey outraged
at being accused of "genocide," the White House is scrambling to head
off diplomatic fallout that could radiate far and wide.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said 70 percent of air cargo, 30
percent of fuel shipments and 95 percent of new mine-resistant
vehicles destined for US forces in Iraq go through Turkey.

"The Turks have been quite clear about some of the measures they
would have to take if this resolution passes," he said, citing the
example of Turkish military sanctions against France.

But some observers said Turkey could be over-reacting to a
non-binding resolution in the House of Representatives, and US
Democrats eager to give President George W. Bush a bloody nose.

George Harris, a former State Department expert on Turkey, said the
country’s decision Thursday to recall its US ambassador for
consultations "shows a certain amount of seriousness."

But the Middle East Institute analyst added: "There’s a lot of
politicking going on. They have tied their hands a little bit by
stirring up such a hornet’s nest in Turkish public opinion."

Defying an unprecedented level of lobbying from both the US and
Turkish governments, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted
Wednesday to label the World War I massacre of up to 1.5 million
Ottoman Armenians as "genocide."

"This resolution was passed by the committee (in 2005) but it didn’t
go anywhere as the Republicans were in charge and they didn’t want to
embarrass President Bush," Harris said.

"(House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi has no such qualms about embarrassing
the president," he said.

Pelosi and several Democratic members of the House committee have
sizeable communities of ethnic Armenians concentrated in their
California districts.

The question now exercising the US administration is whether Turkey
will carry through on veiled threats of reprisals, such as shutting
off or restricting access to the sprawling Incirlik airbase.

"Those who claim Turkey is bluffing should not mock Turkey on live
TV," Egemen Bagis, vice chairman of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s AKP party, warned in Washington.

He noted that French military planes are no longer allowed to fly
over Turkish airspace, since France’s parliament last year declared
the Armenians’ post-1915 suffering to be a genocide.

If Turkey withdraws US access to Incirlik, "just imagine what this
will do to the United States," Bagis said.

Those consequences must not be underestimated, according to Steven
Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, who believes
the Turks are in deadly earnest.

"I don’t think this is a diplomatic pas de deux. What the resolution
has done is inflame Turkish public opinion," he said.

"The Turks have been saying for a long time that there are going to
be tangible consequences of this."

For Michael Rubin, a Turkey expert at the American Enterprise
Institute, the genocide dispute represents a "perfect storm" coming
as the Erdogan government agitates to go after Kurdish rebels in
northern Iraq.

An anti-US firestorm in Turkey risks drowning out the Bush
administration’s vocal misgivings about a cross-border incursion
against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

"We’re in election season right now," Rubin added, reflecting on the
White House’s failure to head off the vote Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, many people in Congress are more concerned with
posturing than consequences."

PBS –
Oct 12 2007

Turkey Lashes Out at U.S. Lawmakers for Armenian ‘Genocide’ Measure

Turkey criticized U.S. lawmakers and recalled its ambassador after a
House panel voted to approve a measure that recognizes the killings
of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as "genocide." A
congressman and a former U.S. diplomat explain the issues at hand.

KWAME HOLMAN: In Turkey today, there were street protests decrying a
vote by a committee of the U.S. Congress. That vote labeled as
"genocide" the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the
early 20th century.

Turkish politicians joined demonstrators in Istanbul, denouncing the
vote of American politicians. Erkan Onsel is vice president of
Turkey’s Labor Party.

ERKAN ONSEL, Vice President, Turkish Labor Party (through
translator): The United States of America legitimized the Armenian
genocide claim, which has swung over Turkey’s head like a stick and
which has posed a threat to Turkey for years. The U.S. has made it
clear once again that it targets Turkey.

KWAME HOLMAN: Turkey’s president, Abdullah Gul, also harshly
criticized the non-binding resolution, telling the state-run news
agency Anatolia, "Some politicians in the United States have once
again sacrificed important matters to petty domestic politics,
despite all calls to common sense."

And late today, the Turks recalled their ambassador to Washington.

The Bush administration had lobbied hard against a resolution sure to
upset a key American ally that plays a crucial support role for U.S.
forces in Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: We all deeply regret
the tragic suffering of the Armenian people that began in 1915, but
this resolution is not the right response to these historic mass
killings.

ROBERT GATES, Secretary of Defense: Seventy percent of all air cargo
going into Iraq goes through Turkey. About a third of the fuel that
they consume goes through Turkey or comes from Turkey.

KWAME HOLMAN: But despite the administration’s pressure, the
Democratic-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the
resolution by a vote of 27-21.

REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D), California: There are those who’d say that,
every time we discuss this resolution in committee, it’s an irritant
to our relationship with Turkey. That’s the best reason to vote for
it here and on the floor. Let us do this and be done with it. We will
get a few angry words out of Ankara for a few days, and then it’s
over.

KWAME HOLMAN: Some Republicans voted for the resolution, but most
opposed it, saying the timing was particularly bad.

REP. DAN BURTON (R), Indiana: The strongest ally in the area, and has
been for over 50 years, is Turkey. And I just don’t understand why
we’re going to cut our nose off, shoot ourselves in the foot at a
time when we need this ally.

KWAME HOLMAN: Democratic leaders say they will bring the measure
before the full House within weeks, a promise welcomed by the
country’s several hundred thousand Armenian-Americans, some of whom
were on hand for the committee vote.

ARTIN MANOUKIAN, Armenian-American: My grandfather was a survivor. I
think it’s a day of relief somehow, and I think I’m starting getting
that quest for justice. And I hope that, down the road, we will have
that.

HAIG HOVSEPIAN, Armenian National Committee: We were standing strong
on this historical record. We were not being coaxed into being silent
by somebody who calls themselves an ally of ours.

KWAME HOLMAN: The dispute came amid rising tensions along the
Turkish-Iraqi border, where Turkish troops have been skirmishing with
Kurdish nationalist guerrillas. Within days, President Gul is
expected to ask parliament for authority to cross the Iraqi border
and engage Kurdish guerrillas, known as the PKK.

Mark Parris
Former Ambassador to Turkey

I don’t think that anybody who’s ever visited Turkey can be in any
doubt that Turks, at all levels, of all levels of education and all
parts of the country, view this kind of a resolution as criticism.

"Not aimed" at modern Turkey
RAY SUAREZ: Margaret Warner takes the story from there.

MARGARET WARNER: And for more on all this, we get two views.
California Democrat Tom Lantos is the chairman of the House Committee
on Foreign Affairs. He voted for the resolution yesterday.

And Mark Parris, a retired career diplomat, served as U.S. ambassador
to Turkey during the Clinton administration. He’s now a visiting
fellow at the Brookings Institution and directs their project on
Turkey.

Welcome to you both.

Congressman Lantos, this happened nearly 100 years ago. The House has
passed this same resolution twice, once in the ’70s and once in the
’80s. Why do this now? What are you trying to accomplish?

REP. TOM LANTOS (D), California: Well, let’s put it in perspective.
Nazi Germany was responsible for the Holocaust, and the Ottoman
Empire was responsible for this genocide. We have the highest respect
for and the best friendship with the democratic modern Germany and
with the democratic and modern Turkey.

This is not a criticism of Turkey. This is not a criticism of the
Turkish people today or of the Turkish government today, and our
Turkish friends know this.

This is one of those events, Margaret, which has to be settled once
and for all: 1.5 million utterly innocent Armenian men, women and
children were slaughtered. And the Turkish government, until now, has
intimidated the Congress of the United States from taking this
measure.

This is not aimed at them, and they know it very well. I’m glad that
the ambassador was called back for consultation. Hopefully, he will
be able to explain to his colleagues that this has nothing to do with
contemporary Turkey.

MARGARET WARNER: Mr. Ambassador, why has Turkey reacted so sharply to
this resolution, which, as the congressman says, was not aimed at
what Turkey is today, modern Turkey, which wasn’t even a country
then?

MARK PARRIS, Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey: I think, inevitably,
criticism is in the eyes of the beholder. And you visited Turkey. You
visited Turkey, as well. I don’t think that anybody who’s ever
visited Turkey can be in any doubt that Turks, at all levels, of all
levels of education and all parts of the country, view this kind of a
resolution as criticism and, frankly, as interference in their own
responsibility for coming to terms with their own history.

There are a lot of Turks who recognize and, frankly, admit — and use
words like "genocide" — that this is a part of their history that
they’ve got to come to terms with. I don’t know any of them who
believe that this will assist that discussion going forward or make
it easier for them to deal with neighboring Armenia.

All of them believe this will be a major setback, because it is
perceived as a major insult to Turkish credibility, honor by a
long-standing ally. So why do they feel this way? They’re human
beings; they know something terrible happened.

At some level, I’m sure that they’ve recognized that that’s going to
have to be dealt with. But they don’t appreciate third parties coming
in and legislating the means by which they should reconcile
themselves with their own history and with their neighbors.

Tom Lantos
D-Calif

I think they understand that we are allies, we have been NATO
partners for over half a century. And I think it is demeaning to the
Turks to claim that they will take such an irresponsible action.

Fallout from the measure
MARGARET WARNER: All right, let me stay with you and ask you, so what
is the likely fallout, other than recalling the ambassador?

MARK PARRIS: Well, we don’t know. And my guess is that the Turkish
government, as we sit here today, doesn’t know. If this were
happening in a vacuum, they would look at this issue and their
interests and how to deal with it.

It comes at a time when they’re also dealing with another problem
relating to the United States, as your lead-in suggested, the loss of
over 30 citizens in the last two weeks to PKK terrorists that they
believe we haven’t done…

MARGARET WARNER: Kurdish.

MARK PARRIS: … Kurdish terrorists — our part to deal with in Iraq.

MARGARET WARNER: Defense Secretary Gates, Congressman, raised the
specter that Turkey might yank its support or its approval for the
United States to use an important air base in southern Turkey to
bring in material and supplies into the troops in Iraq.

REP. TOM LANTOS: I have a much higher regard for the intelligence of
our Turkish friends and for their sense of responsibility than to
predict that. I don’t think they will do that. I think they
understand that we are allies, we have been NATO partners for over
half a century. And I think it is demeaning to the Turks to claim
that they will take such an irresponsible action.

Let me give you another example, if I may, of just a few weeks ago.
The imperial Japanese government used tens of thousands of young
Asian women and girls as military prostitutes. We passed the
resolution in my committee denouncing this.

This was not aimed at the current democratic government of Japan; it
was aimed at the wartime military government of Japan. And while the
Japanese government made some critical comments briefly, the whole
thing has blown over. This will blow over.

I think it’s important, at a time when genocides are going on in
Darfur and elsewhere, not to be an accomplice in sweeping an
important genocide under the rug.

Mark Parris
Former Ambassador to Turkey

I think a lot depends on what happens on the House floor, if it comes
to a vote. And I think one of the reasons that the Turkish initial
response will probably be restrained is that they want to see what
will happen there.

Waiting on a House floor vote
MARGARET WARNER: Mr. Ambassador, do you think this will blow over in
Turkey?

MARK PARRIS: I’d be surprised. I think a lot depends on what happens
on the House floor, if it comes to a vote. And I think one of the
reasons that the Turkish initial response will probably be restrained
is that they want to see what will happen there. And they wanted to
decide, frankly, what they’re going to do about this PKK problem on
their border.

MARGARET WARNER: Is the government under any pressure to do more?
What is the feeling among the Turkish sort of body politic about the
cooperation that Turkey is giving the United States in the Iraq war?

MARK PARRIS: Well, there’s a sense that they are playing an important
role. I think the fact is that more Turks have died in Iraq than any
other nationality, because their truck drivers are an important part
of the supply effort there. And our use of their facilities in
Incirlik and the port in Adana to bring in heavy transport is
critical.

There is, therefore, a very strong expectation among the Turkish
public that this cannot be allowed simply to blow over. They’re
expecting their leadership to do something to show that third
countries’ legislatures cannot interfere in their history.

MARGARET WARNER: So if this doesn’t blow over, are you saying,
Congressman, that this nonetheless was worth the risk?

REP. TOM LANTOS: One of the worst things that happened to the United
States in recent years has been the plummeting globally of our moral
authority. This is a significant step in restoring the moral
authority of U.S. foreign policy.

U.S. foreign policy was strong when it was based on a sound
foundation of a moral authority. It’s Abu Ghraib and similar episodes
which have diminished our standing globally. And the international
community is not critical of the fact that the United States calls a
genocide a genocide.

Tom Lantos
D-Calif

We shall explain in exquisite detail that we consider Turkey our
friend, our democratic ally, and we expect to be that for generations
to come. This is an ugly chapter in Turkish history which the House
Foreign Affairs Committee described as such.

Pro-contemporary Turkey resolution
MARGARET WARNER: So if the Turkish government makes clear — as the
ambassador seems to be suggesting — that a vote in the full House
could really put the cooperation at risk, it sounds like you would
not recommend holding back?

REP. TOM LANTOS: Well, let me say one other thing, if I may. Next
week, I am bringing to the committee a very strong pro-contemporary
Turkey resolution. We shall explain in exquisite detail that we
consider Turkey our friend, our democratic ally, and we expect to be
that for generations to come. This is an ugly chapter in Turkish
history which the House Foreign Affairs Committee described as such.

MARGARET WARNER: Would that allay Turkish concerns?

MARK PARRIS: With due respect to the congressman who I’ve known for a
long time, it simply won’t wash. The Turks — the fine distinctions
here are going to be totally lost on the Turkish general population
and their politicians and the military. They will view this as part
of a pattern of American ignoring of Turkish interests, including the
problem in northern Iraq, which is resulting in killing of Turkish
citizens and soldiers as we speak today.

MARGARET WARNER: So are you saying — briefly, are you saying that a
vote in the full House, that’s the red line for Turkey’s government?

MARK PARRIS: You can see graduated responses up to a vote in the
House to indicate that the Turks are serious about this. I think a
vote in the House will precipitate something that the Turkish
political leadership can take to its population and say, "We’ve shown
we’re serious; honor is served."

MARGARET WARNER: Former Ambassador Mark Parris, Congressman Tom
Lantos, thank you.

REP. TOM LANTOS: It’s a pleasure.

TURKEY TEMPORARILY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON FOLLOWING U.S. GENOCIDE VOTE

CBC, Canada
Oct 12 2007

Turkey on Thursday asked its ambassador to Washington to return to
Ankara for consultations on a U.S. congressional panel’s decision
to approve a measure recognizing the mass killings of Armenians
as genocide.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman said the ambassador
would stay in Turkey for up to 10 days.

"We are not withdrawing our ambassador. We have asked him to come to
Turkey for some consultations," he said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives’ foreign affairs
committee narrowly voted to pass a resolution describing the 1915
killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide. The
measure will now head to Congress for a vote within weeks.

Turkey denies the First World War-era incident was a genocide, saying
the numbers have been inflated and that those killed were victims
of civil war. Ankara has threatened sanctions against countries that
use the term genocide in connection with the incident.

Hours before Wednesday’s vote, U.S. President George W. Bush urged
lawmakers to reject the measure, warning it could damage relations
with one of its key allies in the Middle East.

Analysts have pointed out that a Turkish backlash against the
U.S. could lead to restrictions on crucial supply routes to Iraq and
Afghanistan, and the closure of the U.S. Air Force base at Incirlik.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul called the measure’s passage
"unacceptable," and the government issued an official statement
on Thursday.

"It is not possible to accept such an accusation of a crime which
was never committed by the Turkish nation," the statement said. "It
is blatantly obvious that the House Committee on Foreign Affairs does
not have a task or function to rewrite history by distorting a matter
which specifically concerns the common history of Turks and Armenians."

Turkish newspapers decried the U.S. decision, publishing headlines
such as "27 foolish Americans" and "Bill of Hatred."

The U.S. Embassy urged Americans in Turkey to be alert for violent
repercussions.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian welcomed the vote, saying:
"We hope this process will lead to a full recognition by the United
States of America … of the genocide."

Canada passed a parliamentary resolution recognizing the Armenian
genocide in 2004. France and Germany have issued similar resolutions.

0/11/turkey-us.html

HOUSE PANEL BACKS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

Radio Liberty, Czech rep.
Oct 11 2007

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress’ House of
Representatives on Wednesday approved by 27 votes to 21 Resolution
106 describing the World War I-era killings of Armenians in Ottoman
Turkey as genocide.

Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America,
lauded "a historic day" after the committee’s vote.

"It is long past time for the US government to acknowledge and affirm
this horrible chapter of history — the first genocide of the 20th
century and a part of history that we must never forget," he said.

The text of the resolution says the killings of up to 1.5 million
Armenians was a genocide that should be acknowledged fully in
U.S. foreign policy towards Turkey, along with "the consequences of
the failure to realize a just resolution."

The House panel approved the resolution despite opposition from the
Bush administration that said "it may do grave harm to US-Turkish
relations and to US interests in Europe and the Middle East."

But despite the warnings, the resolution’s backers warned the issue
could not be ignored as they drew parallels to the Holocaust and the
present-day bloodshed in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

"We’ve been told the timing is bad," Democratic House member Gary
Ackerman said in an emotional hearing that lasted nearly four hours.

"But the timing was bad for the Armenian people in 1915."

Republican Representative Christopher Smith said the resolution was
not a slight on modern Turkey, adding: "Friends don’t let friends
commit crimes against humanity."

Republican lawmaker Dan Burton, however, said passage of the genocide
resolution could endanger US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We’re in the middle of two wars. We have troops out there who are
at risk. And we’re talking about kicking an ally in the teeth. It
is crazy."

The measure is likely to be sent on to a vote in the full
Democratic-led House, where a majority has already signed on to the
resolution. A parallel measure is in the Senate pipeline.

On Thursday, on behalf of Armenian parliamentarians, Armenian
Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosian expressed gratitude to the American
congressmen on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for approving the
genocide resolution.

Opening the Armenian parliament’s session today he stated: "On behalf
of the parliament I want to express my gratitude to the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress’s House of Representatives who,
having shown high moral qualities not to succumb to various pressures,
voted for the genocide resolution."

Armenian President Robert Kocharian also hailed "the efforts of
U.S. congressmen to recognize the Armenian genocide."

"The recognition of historical justice cannot damage the U.S.-Turkey
bilateral relationship," Kocharian said in Brussels, responding to the
concerns voiced by certain congressmen on the committee on Wednesday.

The Armenian president also added that despite the tension that once
emerged in the Turkish-French relations after France recognized the
Armenian genocide, trade between the two countries grew 1.5 times
only a year later.

Kocharian also advocated starting a dialogue with Turkey without
any pre-set conditions which he called "the easiest formula" for
reconciliation between the two neighbors.

TURKEY RECALLS US AMBASSADOR FOR TALKS
By C. Onur Ant

Associated Press
Oct 11 2007 – 2 Hours Ago

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey ordered its ambassador in Washington to
return to Turkey for consultations over a U.S. House panel’s approval
of a bill describing the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians
as genocide, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The ambassador would stay in Turkey for about a week or 10 days
for discussions about the measure, said Foreign Ministry spokesman
Levent Bilman.

"We are not withdrawing our ambassador. We have asked him to come to
Turkey for some consultations," he said. "The ambassador was given
instructions to return and will come at his earliest convenience."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey, said he was unaware of Turkey’s
decision, but said the United States wants to continue to have good
relations with Turkey.

"I’ll let the Turkish government speak for itself," he said. "I think
that the Turkish government has telegraphed for a long time, has been
very vocal and very public about its concerns about this and has said
that they did intend to act in very forceful way if this happens."

Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, was invited to
the Foreign Ministry, where Turkish officials conveyed their "unease"
over the bill, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the bill Wednesday despite
intense lobbying by Turkish officials and opposition from President
Bush. The vote was a triumph for well-organized Armenian-American
interest groups who have lobbied Congress for decades to pass a
resolution. The administration will now try to pressure Democratic
leaders in Congress not to schedule a vote, although it is expected
to pass.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates reiterated his opposition to the
resolution Thursday, saying the measure could hurt relations at a
time when U.S. forces in Iraq rely heavily on Turkish permission to
use their airspace for U.S. air cargo flights.

Relations are already strained by accusations that the U.S. is
unwilling to help Turkey fight Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

About 70 percent of U.S. air cargo headed for Iraq goes through
Turkey, as does about one-third of the fuel used by the U.S. military
in Iraq. U.S. bases also get water and other supplies by land from
Turkish truckers who cross into the northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Historians estimate up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying that
the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.

"It is not possible to accept such an accusation of a crime which
was never committed by the Turkish nation," the Turkish government
said Thursday. "It is blatantly obvious that the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs does not have a task or function to rewrite history
by distorting a matter which specifically concerns the common history
of Turks and Armenians."

Armenian President Robert Kocharian welcomed the vote, saying:
"We hope this process will lead to a full recognition by the United
States of America … of the genocide."

Speaking to reporters Thursday after meeting European Union foreign
policy chief Javier Solana, Kocharian also appealed to Turkey to join
talks on restoring bilateral relations.

Turkey is under no pressure from the EU to call the Armenian killings
genocide. The European Commission criticized France last year when
that country’s lower house voted to make it a crime to deny the
killings were genocide. The upper house did not take up the bill,
so it never became law.

Turkey has warned that relations with the United States will suffer
if the bill passes, but has not specified possible repercussions.

U.S. diplomats have been quietly preparing Turkish officials for
weeks for the likelihood that the resolution would pass, asking for
a muted response.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said the Turks "have not been
threatening anything specific" in response to the vote, and that he
hopes the "disappointment can be limited to statements."

Turkey ended its military ties with France over its bill last year.

But a decision to cut far more expansive military ties with the
United States could have serious consequences for Turkey’s standing
as a reliable ally of the West.

"I don’t think that Turkey will go so far as to put in doubt its
whole network of allied relations with the United States," said
Ruben Safrastian, director of the Institute of Eastern Studies of
the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. "In the end, not only is
the United States interested in Turkey, but Turkey is interested in
the United States."

Adding to tensions, Turkey is considering launching a military
offensive into Iraq against the Kurdish rebels – a move the United
States strongly opposes because it could destabilize one of the few
relatively peaceful areas in Iraq.

Iraq’s Kurdish region is heavily dependent on trade with Turkey, which
provides the region with electricity and oil products. Annual trade
at Habur gate, the main border crossing, is more than $10 billion.

In a recent letter, Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned there would
be "serious troubles" if Congress adopted the measure. He reacted
quickly Wednesday, saying "some politicians in the United States have
once again sacrificed important matters to petty domestic politics
despite all calls to common sense."

Turkish newspapers denounced the decision. "27 foolish Americans,"
the daily Vatan said on its front-page headline, in reference to
legislators who voted for the bill.

Hurriyet called the resolution: "Bill of hatred."

The U.S. Embassy urged Americans in Turkey to be alert for violent
repercussions. Wilson said he regretted the committee’s decision and
said he hoped it would not be passed by the House.

KOND RESIDENTS DO NOT WANT TO APPEAR OUTDOORS

A1+
[01:23 pm] 10 October, 2007

Residents of Kond are concerned over the RA Government’s decision to
recognize the territory as a zone of alienation. Many are concerned
over certificates on property others fear to appear in the streets.

Ms Svetlana already possesses a certificate on property and inspires
great hopes from the Government’s recent decision. "I am at a
loss. Food prices have gone up while neither pension nor salary has
been increased."

"They promise the moon! But let’s live and see. I shall quit the
premises in case I am given a new flat or corresponding compensation. I
am not going to live outdoors like the residents of Northern Avenue,"
Ms Anahit says.

Reminder, the deadline of the alienation procedure is fixed January 1,
2009. RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan has assigned the Yerevan Mayor
to provide equal footing for all residents and to punish wrongdoers.

TURKISH MINISTER WARNS USA OF NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES IF ARMENIAN BILL ADOPTED

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Oct 9 2007

"TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS AGAINST "ACCIDENT" IN RELATIONS
WITH US"

ANKARA (A.A) -09.10.2007 -Turkish Foreign Minister and chief EU
negotiator Ali Babacan made a warning on Tuesday over a bill supporting
Armenian allegations at the US Congress on the incidents of 1915,
saying that the adoption of the bill would have negative consequences
for Turkish-US relations.

"As Turkey, we have made necessary warnings, but if an accident
happens, relations between Turkey and the US would be negatively
affected," Babacan told a live interview on private CNN-Turk channel
in Jordan.

Babacan also recalled that Turkey had offered to set up a joint
commission of Turkish and Armenian historians to study the incidents
of 1915.

"This issue cannot be decided by ‘yes’ or ‘no’ votes of the
parliamentarians and no parliament can write the history by mere
political decisions," Babacan said.

Armenia take a chance on trio
Tuesday 9 October 2007
by Khachik Chakhoyan from Yerevan

Armenia will bank on the fitness of Robert
Arzumanyan, Karen Dokhoyan and Artur Voskanyan after
naming their squad for the games against Serbia and
Belgium.

Former assistants
Vardan Minasyan and Tom Jones, the former assistants
of the late Armenia coach Ian Porterfield, have named
the trio in the squad even though all three have been
out of action for their clubs in recent weeks.
Goalkeeper Gevorg Kasparov is back after injury but
Arman Karamyan misses out as he is not playing regular
first-team football in Romania with FC Politehnica
1921 ªtiinþa Timiºoara. Having picked up seven points
>From their last three qualifiers, Armenia host Serbia
on 13 October before visiting Belgium four days later.

Armenia squad
Goalkeepers: Roman Berezovski (FC Khimki), Gevorg
Kasparov (FC Rahahan).

Defenders: Robert Arzumanyan (FC Pyunik), Karen
Dokhoyan (FC Pyunik), Sargis Hovsepyan (FC Pyunik),
Aleksander Tadevosyan (FC Pyunik), Vahagn Minasyan (FC
Ararat Yerevan), Hrajr Mkoyan (FC Ararat Yerevan),
Yegishe Melikyan (FC Banants), Ararat Arakelyan (FC
Banants).

Midfielders: Hamlet Mkhitaryan (FC Rahahan), Romik
Khachatryan (AFC Unirea Valahorum Urziceni), Artavazd
Karamyan (AFC Unirea Valahorum Urziceni), Levon
Pchajyan (FC Pyunik), Artur Minasyan (FC Ararat
Yerevan), Artur Voskanyan (FC Ararat Yerevan), Henrikh
Mkhitaryan (FC Pyunik), Agvan Lazarian (FC Pyunik).

Forwards: Gevorg Ghazaryan (FC Pyunik), Robert
Zebelyan (FC Khimki), Ara Hakobyan (CSF Zimbru
Chisinau), Samvel Melkonyan (FC Banants).

©uefa.com 1998-2007. All rights reserved.