American-Turks parade in New York

Monday, May 21, 2007
Turkish Daily News
ELİF ÖZMENEK - NEW YORK

"Nowadays the Turkish Day Parade, which thousand of Turks from different parts of the U.S. attend, is a platform to pay tribute to the old homeland, strengthen the Turkish American community in the U.S. and promote Turkey to Americans. Every year around 100 floats in the cortege from soccer clubs to Turkish American Associations and folklore dance groups, to try to present different cultural aspects of their community. Gathering and marching are both political statements and cultural displays. They signify group identity and solidarity against others by taking part in a collective act and statement.
...
the 26th Turkish Day Parade managed to draw many Azerbaijanis, Turkmens, Crimean Turks, Circassians, Cypriot Turks, Karacay Turks, and even Albanians and Bosnians to the parade."

This weekend the 26th Annual Turkish Day Parade organized by the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA) took place in New York. Thousands of Turkish flags decorated the city's famous Madison Avenue and more than fifteen thousand Turkish-Americans either marched along the main avenues of Manhattan or cheered for the parade despite the rainy day.

Over the years the meaning of the parade for Turkish American community has changed dramatically. The first official Turkish Day Parade in the city was held on April 23 1980. Those who attended that parade remember vividly that there were only two flags in the 150 people cortege. The FTAA could not get a permit for the parade for security reasons. As a result the small group had to walk on the sidewalk of New York's famous 5th Avenue. New York Police Department was very concerned also because the first informal Turkish Day Parade was organized to protest the murders The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) had committed. ASALA was a terrorist organization that aimed to compel the Turkish government to acknowledge publicly its alleged responsibility for the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, pay reparations, and cede territory to Armenia. During its ten years of activity ASALA killed 39 Turkish diplomats and politicians in Western Europe, in the United States and the Middle East.

The FTAA could not get a permit for the parade in 1981 either. In 1982 however, with support from Ankara FTAA was able to get the permit to organize first official Turkish Day Parade. It was decided that the parade would take place on the weekend that is closest to May 19th, the Youth Day of Turkey.

In the 1980s the parade was a platform where Turkish Americans tried to draw the attention of American public to some of Turkey's international conflicts such as those with Armenia and Greek Cyprus. As years passed, the parade grew and around the mid-1990s became notably large. Over time, this one day event has been turned into a month long cultural festival.

Nowadays the Turkish Day Parade, which thousand of Turks from different parts of the U.S. attend, is a platform to pay tribute to the old homeland, strengthen the Turkish American community in the U.S. and promote Turkey to Americans. Every year around 100 floats in the cortege from soccer clubs to Turkish American Associations and folklore dance groups, to try to present different cultural aspects of their community. Gathering and marching are both political statements and cultural displays. They signify group identity and solidarity against others by taking part in a collective act and statement.

Sociologist Ilhan Kaya says that the Turkish Day Parade represents an opportunity to present the elements that constitute an ethnic identity.

“The very act of organizing a formal cultural parade that depicts the language, religion, food, sports, dances, clothing, history, music, and politics of a group ensures that their ethnic identity will remain a salient issue for the foreseeable future. These events allow Turkish Americans to influence the ways they will be understood by outsiders. These events serve as opportunities for communities to inform non-members about their distinctive traditions, culture, and history,” Kaya says.

This years' crowd of 15,000 is not a satisfactory participation rate for many. In the past four-five years the numbers reached 50,000. The rainy weather is blamed for lower participation however according to general public opinion the scandals within the FTAA and the recent political developments in Turkey estranged many from attending to this year's parade.

Furthermore because of early election rush in Turkey there was relatively low protocol participation from ministers and parliamentarians as well.

On the contrary the 26th Turkish Day Parade managed to draw many Azerbaijanis, Turkmens, Crimean Turks, Circassians, Cypriot Turks, Karacay Turks, and even Albanians and Bosnians to the parade.

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.