OPERATION CONTINUES IN SEA NEAR SOCHI TO RAISE AIRLINER RECORDERS
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 17 2006
SOCHI, May 17 (Itar-Tass) – The third stage of the search operation is
under way at the A-320 airliner crash site in the Black Sea near Sochi.
According to the operational headquarters, the third, final, stage
of the operation has been continuing day and night in the area where
the Armenian airbus crashed. Groups of searchers are on duty there
for eight hours and replace each other.
The strong side wind that impeded the operation subsided at about
midnight to Wednesday.
The deep-water robot device sank to the seabed during the period from
01:00 till 06:00 on Wednesday to search for the airliner recorders.
Silt on the bottom complicates the work. The video camera and the
searchlights get dirty, and the team has to raise the robot to clean
them. Its sinking takes 40 minutes, and it takes the same time to
raise it, a source in the operational headquarters told Itar-Tass.
The search groups had a break in the work for some time on Wednesday
morning. If the weather does not worsen, the search will continue.
The rescue vessel Kapitan Beklemishev delivered the RT-1000 robot
from Novorossiisk to Sochi on Monday.
The robot did not participate in such operations before. It raised
only geological samples weighing up to 20 kilogrammes and did not
work at such depths.
The device is capable to lift fragments of the plane weighing up
to 12 kilogrammes and the two flight recorders, each weighing seven
kilogrammes, said the Russian sea and river transport department’s
head Alexander Davydenko.
The RT-1000 is a system consisting of control and lifting equipment
and the apparatus itself with photo and video equipment and a hydraulic
manipulator operating in all directions.
According to reports, the flight recorders are at the depth of 496
metres. The distance between them is about five metres.
The Armavia airline A-320 airbus fell into the sea on May 3 when
approaching Sochi’s airport in an attempt to land. The crash killed
113 people.
The operation to raise the fight recorders resumed late on Tuesday
night when the wind subsided.
The vessel Navigator with the robot aboard remained at the area on
Wednesday morning, the operational headquarters said.
On Tuesday, the strong side wind blew off the Navigator from the site
and did not allow resuming the work on the bottom.
The operation to find and raise the recorders may last three days.

STUDENTS EARN NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY ABROAD
Arizona State University, Tempe
May 17 2006
Next year, at least 21 ASU students will be studying abroad on
prestigious national scholarships, increasing the outreach and impact
of the university. Ten students have won Fulbright Scholarships,
and 11 undergraduates have won National Security Education Program
(NSEP) awards to study overseas.
ASU ranks among the top public universities in the country for both
awards, according to Janet Burke, associate dean of the Barrett Honors
College and director of the national scholarship advisement office. In
addition, five Fulbright applicants and six NSEP applicants from ASU
have been named alternates.
“The increased attention the university is paying to global studies,
the proliferation of foreign languages offered, and the cutting-edge
research in which so many faculty members are engaged all translate
into a student body that is well informed and well disposed to study
and research in foreign countries,” Burke says. “The faculty members
at ASU also tend to be very helpful to students in formulating their
plans and projects, and supportive in helping them establish the
necessary contacts overseas.
“Then there is the fact that success breeds interest. When one student
in a department or college wins a major award, I typically will see
a stream of students from that department coming into my office the
next year.”
Fulbright students apply for a particular country and find specialists
who are willing to work with them on their chosen course of study,
receiving full travel, living and academic expenses for an academic
year. The NSEP awards provide up to $20,000 for a year’s study
in countries that are outside Western Europe, Australia and New
Zealand. They provide a base of future leaders for the United States
who understand less familiar languages and cultures.
Two of the Fulbright students will study in Indonesia. Chris Lundry,
a doctoral student in political science, will study the country’s
success at incorporating ethnic and religious minorities on the
island of Sumba. Willow Paule, a fine arts graduate in photography,
will teach English and create a photography project.
Naomi Bellot, a doctoral student in justice studies, will study
the impact of HIV/AIDS on Carib women in Dominica. Boyd Branch, a
graduate in theater, will go to the Netherlands to study contemporary
Dutch and European theater at the University of Utrecht. He also will
intern with a leading Dutch theater festival.
Kate Murray, doctoral student in clinical psychology, will spend the
year in Australia studying the effects of resettlement programs on
refugees, compared to those in Phoenix. Noah Theriault, graduating in
anthropology, will study a coastal resource management project in the
Philippines. Christopher Graham, graduate in environmental studies,
will research drought in Mauritius .
Others who will teach English while pursuing their research interests
are Liz Dreeland, graduate in Spanish, teaching in Uruguay; Naomi
Moland, doctoral student in multicultural languages and literacy,
in Spain; and Akshai Patel, master’s student in curriculum and
instruction, in Chile.
Of the NSEP award winners, all but two of them are undergraduates
enrolled in the Barrett Honors College, and most of them have double
majors in other ASU colleges. They will be studying languages and
cultures in Asia , the Middle East and eastern Europe.
They include Steven Cottam, majoring in world religions and history,
and Erin Hutchinson, international relations and history, both going
to Armenia; Natalia Anker-Lagos, philosophy and Slavic languages,
and Scott Legler, Slavic languages and literatures, both going to
Tatarstan; and John Wulsin, economics and Chinese languages, and Jia
Yi, finance and marketing, both going to China.
Others are Melissa Archibald, political science and Slavic languages,
who will study in Russia; Eva Farnsworth, environmental engineering,
Jordan; Jamie Forseth, political science and music, Poland; Hannah
Mensing, mechanical engineering, Turkey; and Madelyn Yribarren,
social anthropology, Egypt.

TAJIK DEPUTY DEFENCE MINISTER OFF TO RUSSIA FOR CIS SECURITY BODY TALKS
Asia-Plus news agency website, Dushanbe
17 May 06
Dushanbe, 17 May: The first deputy defence minister, the chief of the
General Staff of the Tajik armed forces, Lt-Gen Ramil Nodirov, has left
for the Russian capital [Moscow]. A working meeting of chiefs of staff
of the armed forces of CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]
member states will take place in the CSTO’s unified headquarters in
Moscow on 18 May.
A source in the Tajik Defence Ministry has told Asia-Plus that the
participants in the meeting intend to discuss prospects for the
development of the CSTO’s military component. In particular, the
training of national [military] contingents, as well as improvement
of the system of commanding the collective rapid deployment forces
of the Central Asian region will be discussed.
Chiefs of staff of the armed forces of Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will participate in the meeting.

TURKS FUMING OVER VICTORIAN GENOCIDE CLAIM
By Rick Wallace
Advertiser Adelaide, Australia
Queensland Sunday Mail, Australia
NEWS.com.au, Australia
May 17 2006
A LABOR MP of Greek descent who raised genocide allegations in
the Victorian parliament has sparked an international row with the
Turkish Government.
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned backbencher Jenny
Mikakos against accusing Turkey of committing a “holocaust” comparable
to Adolf Hitler’s.
“This claim is just the distortion of historical facts,” it said
in a statement issued to The Australian yesterday that is likely to
infuriate the Greek Government and Greeks throughout the world.
“These baseless claims are counter-productive and in contrast with
co-operation and (the) dialogue spirit which we endeavour to develop
between Greece and Turkey.”
Ms Mikakos’s comments also incensed a fellow Labor MP, Michael
Leighton, who is the son of a holocaust survivor whose relatives died
in Hitler’s wartime slaughter of Jewish people.
The row started when Ms Mikakos called on Turkey to apologise for the
alleged killing of more than 350,000 Greeks in the so-called Pontian
genocide between 1916 and 1923.
“Unlike Germany, which has taken responsibility for the Jewish
holocaust, Turkey has never apologised to its victims,” she said.
Ms Mikakos defied Premier Steve Bracks’s efforts to quell the row
yesterday by releasing a statement repeating her accusations of
genocide, although she dropped any mention of the holocaust.
Labor sources said Mr Bracks privately “carpeted” Ms Mikakos for her
comments last week amid fears they would spark race-based bickering
within the party in the lead-up to the November election.
The two Labor MPs of Turkish descent in the parliament, John Eren and
Adem Somyurek, who interjected during her speech on May 4, refused to
fan the row yesterday, despite Ms Mikakos repeating the genocide claim.
“I raised the genocide of Pontic Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians in the
Victorian parliament in the lead-up to this Friday’s commemoration,”
she said.
“I have never vilified any community.”
Her comments relate to incidents during and after World War I,
a period when Turkey and Greece were fighting each other.
“Between 1916 and 1923 over 353,000 Pontic Greeks living in Asia Minor
and in Pontos, which is near the Black Sea, died as a result of the
20th century’s first but less known genocide,” she told parliament.
“Over a million Pontic Greeks were forced into exile. In the preceding
years, 1.5 million Armenians and 750,000 Assyrians in various parts
of Turkey also perished.
“Most victims died from exhaustion or dehydration on forced marches
or work in the so-called labour battalions.”
But the Turkish Government continues to deny that a holocaust involving
Pontian Greeks, Armenians or Assyrian Christians took place. “The
so-called Pontian genocide is devoid of historical basis,” the Foreign
Ministry told The Australian.
“We suggest that the Greek authorities and scholars evaluate the
historical events in an objective manner instead of coming forward
with these kind of allegations which would damage the Turkish-Greek
bilateral relations.”
The two countries have vastly improved their relationship in recent
years with Greece now supporting Turkey’s inclusion in the European
Union.
.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19162503%255E421,00.h tml

ARMENIAN MINISTER SAYS LEADERS’ TALKS POSSIBLE
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 17 2006
Baku, May 16, AssA-Irada
The OSCE mediators brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict are due to visit the region May 25-26,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian has told the press.
Unlike previous separate visits, all the three co-chairman of the
Minsk Group will hold talks in the two countries, he said.
Commenting on some reports suggesting that Armenian President Robert
Kocharian has refused to meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart
Ilham Aliyev, Oskanian said such a meeting is not ruled out. “This
will depend on the upcoming meeting of the two countries’ foreign
ministers in Strasbourg and the outcomes of the intermediaries’
visit to the region.”
The parties failed to agree upon the issues of principle during
the latest talks held by the two leaders in Rambouillet, France in
February, which was followed by mutual threats.
The Armenian diplomat said the mediators have laid out several new
ideas to the conflicting sides, which will be discussed in France at
a meeting of the foreign ministers with the co-chairs. He avoided
revealing the gist of the proposals, but said they include both
advantages and downsides. Therefore, all the disputed issues should
be resolved during the negotiations, Oskanian said.
“We will try to maximally bring our positions closer at the Strasbourg
meeting,” the Armenian official added.

TURKISH-REFORM FATIGUE TROUBLES EU
By Peter Ford and Yigal Schleifer
Christian Science Monitor
Deseret News, Utah
May 17 2006
PARIS AND ISTANBUL, Turkey – Barely six months after the European
Union ended years of indecision by starting talks aimed at allowing
Turkey to join the club, doubts about the wisdom of that move are
coming to the fore on both sides of the table.
A series of well-publicized court cases, including one Tuesday,
against Turkish writers has made Europeans wonder anew whether Ankara
really shares their understanding of freedom of speech. Many Turks,
meanwhile, see a double standard over head scarf bans and a proposed
French law that would ban any suggestion that the Armenians did not
suffer genocide in 1915.
The dubious mood clouding the “talks about talks” that Turkish
and EU officials have been holding since the beginning of the year
indicates just how long and bumpy the process of turning Turkey into
a full-fledged European nation will be, say observers on both sides
of the Bosphorus.
“There is a sense that the political will in Ankara is not as strong
as it was, if there’s any left at all, to invest in this process
with Europe,” says one EU diplomat in the Turkish capital, who asked
to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue. “The
commitment . . . that they are still professing is less convincing
because it is not being reflected by their actions on the ground.”
Especially worrying to the Europeans is the way prosecutors have used
a controversial article of Turkey’s revised penal code against writers
accused of insulting state institutions or Turkish identity. A number
of these cases, such as the one against author Orhan Pamuk, have been
dropped after sharp EU criticism. But Tuesday, the trial began of an
Armenian-Turkish newspaper editor who is charged with “attempting to
influence the judiciary” against the penal code. The editor, Hrant
Dink, was met with shouts of “traitor” as he entered the courtroom.
Rights activists also fear that a planned anti-terror bill,
which would allow the imprisonment of journalists found guilty of
“propagating terrorism,” might be used against anyone expressing
support for Kurdish separatists. A recent upsurge in violence in
the majority-Kurdish southeast of Turkey, meanwhile, could lead the
military to reassert itself in domestic affairs.
The EU last month urged the Turkish authorities “to make sure that
the security forces show the necessary restraint” in the wake of
street clashes that left 16 people dead and 36 children in jail,
some facing 24 years in prison.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has brushed aside charges of
“reform fatigue,” insisting recently that “our reform efforts aimed
at raising standards and practices in all areas of life to the highest
contemporary standards will resolutely continue.”
But the approach of elections next year, coupled with a drop in public
support for EU membership to 50 percent from 80 percent two years ago,
means that leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
“don’t want to take risks,” says Mensur Akgun with the Turkish Economic
and Social Studies Foundation, a think tank in Istanbul.
The government “is focusing on elections and on the mood in the
country, and that mood is very inward-looking,” says the European
diplomat. “Instead of showing the way and leadership, the government
is listening much more to these ghosts that have been haunting Turkey
for decades.”
“There is a rising nationalism in the country,” adds Akgun, and the AKP
“has a constituency that is rather conservative in a nationalist sense,
and they have to reciprocate to their feelings.”
That nationalism has been fed by two rebuffs from the EU.
Ankara is galled that the Turkish-populated half of the divided
Mediterranean island of Cyprus remains under economic embargo even
though Turkish Cypriots accepted a UN plan to reunite the two sides.
Late last year, religious Turks were upset when a European Court
of Human Rights ruling upheld Turkey’s head scarf ban in public
universities.
Turks have also been angered by a vote next Thursday in the French
Parliament on a bill that would criminalize any statement casting doubt
on the Armenians’ claim that they suffered genocide at Turkish hands in
1915. The bill would impose jail sentences and a fine on historians,
journalists or others who challenge Armenians’ version of events, in
the same way French law punished revisionists who deny the Holocaust.
The bill is unlikely to pass, but it reflects longstanding mistrust of
Turkey in Europe. That mistrust is fed by freedom-of-expression cases
being brought against writers, says Joost Lagendijk, who heads the
European Parliament delegation to the joint EU-Turkey parliamentary
committee.
“The mood in Europe is that nothing has happened in Turkey since
October except setbacks,” warns Mr. Lagendijk. Quietly, Turkish and
EU civil servants have been reviewing the 35 “chapters” of Turkish
legislation that will have to be brought into line with EU law,
and have agreed on negotiating points for 19 of them, officials
say. Substantive negotiations on education and science are due to
begin next month.
Nobody expects Turkey to join the EU until 2015, even if things go
well. That, says Lagendijk, is a good thing, since EU citizens are
displaying doubts about the union’s future and purpose.
“We have some time ourselves to solve our own problems before we have
to deal with Turkey,” he says. “In the meantime, the negotiations
will continue behind the scenes.”
,124 9,635208056,00.html

TURKEY WARNS FRANCE NOT TO PASS ARMENIAN BILL
Turkish Press
May 17 2006
Press Review
Turkiye
The French Parliament is set to vote a bill tomorrow which would
criminalizes questioning the so-called Armenian genocide. In the
runup to the vote, Turkey has sent messages to that country saying
that if the bill passes, bilateral relations will be hurt. Ankara
underlined that the French government would be responsible for any
crises in the aftermath of the bill passing, adding that economic
relations between the two countries, including French firms’ vying
for defense and nuclear power plant projects, would be reviewed. In
related news, speaking at his parliamentary group meeting, opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal sharply criticized
the bill, stressing that Turkey would defend its rights and honor to
the end.

I DON’T EXCLUDE THAT DEPUTIES CAN LEAVE THE RPA, TOO
Anna Israelian
Aravot.am
17 May 06
The RPA and NA deputy chairman Tigran Torosian says.
Last year when there were a lot of affirmations that the coalition
would stop its existence in the pre-electoral year Robert Kocharian
ordered the coalition to work till May of 2007 as a matter of
honor. “The coalition is so called political agreement among 4
subjects; 3 parties and the President. And it is an agreement for four
years. We have obligation and responsibility towards people till May
2007”. In your opinion who is guilty for stopping the obligations of
the agreement?
There is no need to find guilty persons here, as we don’t deal with
criminals. There was a political situation and a solution has been
found. I think all parts of the coalition are sincere in marking that
situation. And all parties would like to continue those relations
till next elections. But a civil and honorable solution was found in
that situation.
The NA deputy chairman Vahan Hovhannisian described the behavior of
the OEP businessmen by this parallel that the political building of
that structure is based on sands. Is it a right description? Besides
don’t you think that the overwhelming majority is on that same “sand”
and this situation can be repeated in your party, too?
Artistic and figurative formulations are attractive. But I think
it will be better to give political remarks. Everybody has a right
to give remarks on different demonstrations. But I’m sure that this
period when the OEP declared about its leave will be a 20-30 day trial
period for all parties of the coalition. It is interesting for me
who and how will behave himself. It is also a trial. And it will be
better for us to go out from this situation with dignity. As regards
the presence of businessmen deputies in the parliament I think all
of them shouldn’t be marked in the same way. A businessman can be a
party member and become ac deputy during his party activities. So I
can’t exclude that some people can leave the RPA, too. Everybody must
be marked according to his behavior, irrespective of the circumstance
whether he is a businessman or not.
The pro-authority mass media produce such interpretations as if Arthur
Baghdasarian’s bright future turned into sad past in a day.
I don’t admit situational approaches. And I want to repeat that this
is a trial for all of us. The life isn’t over today. We worked with
the OEP 3 years having successes and omissions.
Why did the NA speaker’s position about becoming the EU member get
such negative replies when all our leaders admit the necessity of
close integration to such structures in their declaration?
Undoubtedly. Discrepancies on this occasion aren’t principal, as
integration into the EU has been declared as the aim and a superior
direction in foreign policy of our country. Discrepancies referred
to the appraisals how it must be done and how. The main discrepancy
appeared on the occasion of the declaration about NATO membership. We
must admit that the NATO membership hasn’t been declared as the
aim. It isn’t fair when some people try to find discrepancies here
because there are EU member countries, which aren’t the NATO members.
But all these don’t exclude that a party can declare NATO membership
as an aim for it, for the future of Armenia.

THE TIME OF PROFESSIONALS
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot.am
17 May 06
We had an acquaintance in my youth who filled a high post in the soviet
hierarchy. It happened so that he was dismissed from his post and that
50 years old person grew old in a day and lost the interest towards
the life. He even didn’t want to take his cloths on and was staying
in bed for days. Finally he hung himself in some months. There are
professional politicians and nomenclature officials in the developed
social order. That professionalism has its positive and negative sides.
Non [professionals appear in revolutionary period, which is natural,
change of elite is made. “Karabakh” committee consisted of such
“amateurs”. And that “amateurishness” as everything in the world,
has its positive and negative demonstrations and frankly speaking,
I like it. The brightest example of that “non-professionalism” gives
the Ra first president Levon Ter-Petrosian from whom 10 years of state
and political activities are temporary interval for his main scientific
work. The professional politician will never say, ”national ideology
is a false political category” /though it is true for me/. And it
is specific that only Vazgen Manoukian has remained from “Karabakh”
committee.
The revolution was over, perhaps in 94-95 and professionals occupied
the sphere. Besides the above-mentioned populism, egocentrism
is an important specific for the political professional, they
are sure that the whole world is interested in them, the extreme
uncertainty and paranoia as a result. On this occasion our most
professional politicians are Paruyr Hayrikian, Artashes Geghamian,
Aram Karapetian. The latter is sure that the whole interests of the
NSS are to know his secrets. Or Artashes Geghamian can’t even suppose
that Serge Sargsian thinks of other thing than how to trust in him,
Geghamian.
Robert Kocharian and Serge Sargsian are professional members of
nomenclature. Certainly I don’t admit, that they will hang themselves
without a post. But it is difficult to believe that they will work
with pleasure as an engineer or a teacher of Armenian language. The
same is our former colleague Sergo Yeritsian; he doesn’t want any more
or can’t make TV programs. Like Aghvan Vardanian to write articles
or poems or Vahan Hovhannisian to excavate things.
They have already smoked the hashish of the authority and have got
used to it.
And for avoiding ”breaking” /lomka/ that do their best for getting
a new doze.
–Boundary_(ID_V7soxkqGS9wDLXvJLDbHrA)–

HARPER’S COMMENTS DAMAGING TO A VITAL ALLY
by Scott Taylor, Osprey News Network
Pembroke Observer (Ontario)
May 17, 2006 Wednesday
Final Edition
As this is obviously an incredibly sensitive issue for all of those
involved, I wish to state from the outset that I have close contact
and a good relationship with a number of senior Turkish officials.
Turkish intelligence officers successfully negotiated my release from
Iraqi insurgents in September 2004 and, having visited the Turkish
residency in Ottawa on numerous formal and informal occasions, I
consider Ambassador Aydemir Erman to be a personal friend. The fact
that Erman has temporarily been recalled to Ankara in protest over
comments made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has therefore hit
close to home.
That being said, I honestly believe that the recent statement made by
Harper concerning the Armenian tragedy of 1915 was not only damaging
to Turkish-Canadian relations, but also completely unnecessary.
Two years ago, Bloc MP Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral brought forward
a bill condemning the mass deportation of Armenians from eastern
Anatolia during the First World War, which resulted in the death of
hundreds of thousands. According to the bill, it was a deliberate
genocide on the part of the Ottoman Empire.
While some may question why Canadian parliamentarians would spend their
time passing historical judgment on events that transpired 90 years
ago in the Middle East, Bill M-380 was actually passed on April 21,
2004 after a free vote in the House of Commons.
The Turkish government voiced its opposition to this ruling and offered
up its own version of events. While not denying that the Armenians
died in droves, the Turks pointed out that in 1915 eastern Anatolia
was being threatened by Czarist Russian troops, the Ottoman Empire
was crumbling on all sides, and Armenian nationalists chose to rise
up in open revolt. The forced relocation of the potentially hostile
Armenian population into northern Iraq and Syria was undertaken by
an Ottoman administration so cash-strapped and inept that some 80,000
Turkish troops died that same year on the Russian front from frostbite
and starvation.
The Armenians claim the resultant widespread death of their refugees
was a deliberate premeditated genocide, while the Turks maintain it
was a regrettable tragedy exacerbated by brutal wartime conditions.
Realizing that Bill M-380 was an impediment to Canadian-Turkish
relations, the cabinet of Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin voted
against the motion and the bill was considered non-binding.
In the interim, the Turkish government has proposed a joint commission
of historians from Armenia and Turkey to attempt to thoroughly
re-examine the past to determine a ‘true’ account of the 1915
tragedy. Although modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the ashes
of the Ottoman Empire, the actions of the former ruling Caliphate
leadership still impacts on the nationalist psyche of the Turks. For
this reason, Turkey has agreed to re-open the old archives and share
the documentation with the Armenians. Surprisingly, the Armenians
have yet to agree to participate in the study.
Nevertheless, on April 18 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan forwarded a letter to Stephen Harper urging him to support
the new academic study. Instead, Harper used the first opportunity to
reaffirm his support of M-380 at a Winnipeg press conference the next
day. Somewhat prophetically, Erdogan had written warning Harper that
“the Armenian lobby has not given up its intention to create problems
in Turkish-Canadian relations.”
Although the prime minister’s official Web site only briefly
displayed Harper’s statement concerning M-380 before removing it,
Armenian-Canadian Web sites continue to post the comments. Turkey
responded by officially (temporarily) recalling Ambassador Erman and
formally withdrawing from a joint NATO fighter jet exercise at Cold
Lake, Alberta.
While these actions may seem harmless and petty, it must be remembered
that Turkey is a key NATO ally and a vital partner to the mission
in Afghanistan. More importantly, if Stephen Harper is anxious to
mend fences with the U.S. State Department, he should have first
consulted their position on the Armenian issue. The U.S. does not
insist on using the word “genocide” and they are prepared to wait
for the results of the new study.
As a secular Muslim democracy – that recognizes the state of Israel –
Turkey is the cornerstone to America’s Middle East policies. Thus,
maintaining good relations with Ankara is a high priority for the U.S.
Closer to home, the fanatical elements of the Armenian nationalists
have not always resorted to diplomatic measures to bring attention
to their cause here in Canada. In 1982, an Armenian assailant gunned
down the Turkish military attache, and in 1985 the Turkish ambassador
narrowly escaped being murdered when Armenian gunmen forced their
way into the official residence.
Historical records are all too often written by the victors at the
expense of the vanquished. However, in the case of the Ottomans and
Armenians, both sides lost that war and suffered terrible casualties.
Clarification of this tragedy needs to be addressed by historians
examining the facts, not politicians appeasing a lobby group.
Canada’s current relations with a vital ally and trading partner should
have taken precedence over passing judgment on a 90-year-old incident.
Scott Taylor is a member of the Osprey Writers Group and is publisher
and editor of Esprit de Corps Books & Magazine in Ottawa.