Turkey intensifies counter-attack against genocide claims

01.03.2007
Today's Zaman
ERCAN YAVUZ
ANKARA

Turkey finally, as the article below states, is realizing that threats to USA, a sovereign country, are counter productive. It is surprising that Turkey just put a booklet together explaining its defense against recognizing the genocide. What was Turkey doing while 26 countries passed resolutions recognizing the genocide? If Turkey did not present those countries with their defense then it sourly was remiss in its duty. If it did provide the information but in a file, and now is putting the information together in a booklet as the novel idea that hit Akgül recently as stated in this article, then it is kind of an insult to the members of the USA Congress.

As the US House of Representatives sets to hear on the Armenian genocide resolution, the Turkish Parliament has published booklets to be sent to US congressmen containing documents that invalidate genocide claims.

An initiative of the Turkish Parliament's Office of the Speaker, the booklets will first be distributed to 550 members of the US Congress. Printed in Turkish, English, German, Italian and French, the booklets will also be sent to legislators of other countries.

Having decided to send three separate parliamentary delegations to the US for lobbying against the Armenian genocide resolution, to be discussed in the House of Representative in April, the Turkish parliament has sponsored the preparation of a booklet instead of a comprehensive book so that it be can easily read.

Published under the guidance of Egemen Bağış, chairman of the Turkish-American Interparliamentary Friendship Group, and Professor Aziz Akgül, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Diyarbakır deputy, the evidentiary documents were obtained from the Turkish History Institute.

The first four pages state the historic events between 1915 and 1918 cannot be considered as genocide while 14 pages contain documents refuting Armenian genocide claims.

Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a genocide. The Turkish government has said Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the disarray surrounding the empire's collapse.

Arguing that the resolution will not be accepted in the House of Representatives, Bağış said, "In my opinion, the bill will not pass. I don't think the US will make such a big mistake. Common sense will eventually rule. The US will not be trapped by the Armenian diaspora."

The US administration has opposed previous attempts by members of Congress to pass resolutions recognizing the killings of Armenians as an organized genocide. But US President George Bush will have to persuade the new Democrat-controlled Congress, which does not need presidential approval for such a resolution. The resolution was introduced on Jan. 30 at the US Congress, and currently has 170 co-sponsors.

Akgül noted that the idea of publishing a booklet against the Armenian claims came at his meetings with some of the US congressmen. He said, "During the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and OECD meetings, I was with two US representatives. In connection with the bill, they confessed that virtually all representatives did not have even the simplest historic facts concerning the issue."

Meanwhile, a six-person Turkish parliamentary delegation carried on meetings at the US House of Representatives. The delegation, which consists of four members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and two deputies from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), had meetings with six representatives from both the Democratic and the Republican parties in Congress.

In delegation talks, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza reiterated the US administration's opposition to the resolution.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.