ON EMPIRES AND THEIR DESTINY
By Fehmi Koru
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 24 2007
Wherever I go in Washington and whoever I talk with, I hear that
Congress will certainly pass the Armenian resolution, regardless of
possible reactions from all the pertinent bodies and personalities,
including President George W. Bush. The Armenian lobby is going to be
successful this time around; so my sources tell me. But I also hear the
opposite: that the Congress will not give way to the Armenian lobby’s
demand in a time the US is in dire need of Turkey’s assistance in a
region beset with problems that the US has a huge stake in. As it was
the case many times previously, the president will write a letter to
the Congress as well as place a call to Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the
house, giving a detailed account of Turkey’s importance and asking
to postpone the proposed resolution. "Don’t worry," people in the
know say, "The resolution will not pass."
Now you hear it, now you don’t.
I have never seen the Turks living in the US capital so gloomy. The
Armenian resolution is an issue taking up all the energies and
efforts of Turkey’s representatives in a country where there are
higher objectives to achieve for the benefit of both sides. Turkey
can easily adapt itself for a mandate which would be a tremendous
help to the US in its endeavor to reach a workable status in the
Middle East. Turkey, with its highly respected democratic government,
can also show the US how to handle the problem of its constant image
deterioration in the eyes of the Muslim world.
I have great doubts about the resolution of historical events with
modern political tools. The Armenian resolution will do no good to any
of the parties involved, apart from the satisfaction it would bestow
to fanatics and bigots. What did happen in 1915 can not be undone
with a resolution passed by a third party’s parliament. How can the
misery and tribulations of the Armenians who suffered badly during
a war which also caused the extinction of the lives of millions of
other people be rectified by a simple declaration of parliamentarians
who close their ears to the suffering of masses all over the world?
More than 800,000 people have lost their lives in a bloody war declared
by the US Congress almost unilaterally and the same Congress will pass
a declaration condemning the Armenian losses in a war too distant to
remember. What a grave contradiction!
During my extended sojourn in the US capital this time around, I found
myself in an unwanted position of attracting interest. Those who follow
events relating to Turkey closely in Washington wonder what would
happen if the Armenian resolution is accepted by the Congress. What
would be the public reaction in Turkey? In which direction will the
reactions be channeled? Would the Turkish government stimulate the
aggravation or try to allay the public’s outburst?
I answered all these questions positively: Yes, there will be a public
uproar if and when the resolution is passed. There will be calls
for total boycotts of anything American and officials in Turkey will
find it very difficult to convince the people to side with American
positions when the necessity arises.
Turkey will lose face, but the Americans will suffer most from the
Armenian resolution if it passes through Congress.
Let us assume that the resolution passes — what will it be achieved
by this development? The only change likely to occur is its possible
shadow cast over Turkish-US relations. The bilateral relations
between the two have never been easy; there have been turbulences
along the way, but both countries have managed to remain friends
nevertheless. Up until now. With the resolution’s passing, from now
on nothing will be the same.
During my stay in Washington, I have consistently been asked the
same question: According to opinion polls, the Turkish public is
the most anti-American in the world, with only 9 percent showing
some sympathy toward the US — what would it change with one more
negative development?
The change will be enormous: the lack of sympathy in Turkey toward
the US stems from American involvement in regional problems and will
evaporate when the situation changes; with passing of the Armenian
resolution by Congress, the Turkish public’s regard for the US will
diminish completely. Our feelings, negative or positive, toward the
US are powerful; this alone must be a cause of concern for Washington.
Of course the issue between the Turks and the Armenians has to be
solved, and solved justly. We, the people of Turkey, will find a
way to make amends with the Armenian people in the future. Turkey
will extend its hand toward Armenia, using the presence of Turkish
citizens of Armenian extraction in Turkey to both countries’ benefit.
We feel sorry for all the losses during an unfortunate war which cost
us more dearly. We lost not only a large chunk of our compatriots,
we also lost our empire.
I expect to see some understanding from the US, in a time when its
own empire faces grave difficulties.