Turkish PM welcomes shelving of US 'genocide' bill

Monday November 5, 2007
Raw Story, MA

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while he is holding the gun at the USA, says do you believe the truth or believe what I say? What a shame! Erdogan you are so transparent! America you have seen better days! The bastion of freedom no more, down you go with Turkey!

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday welcomed a decision by US lawmakers to shelve debate on a bill labeling Ottoman Empire massacres of Armenians during World War I as "genocide."

Speaking after talks here with President George W. Bush, Erdogan said the House of Representatives resolution on "the so-called Armenia genocide ... has the potential to deeply damage our strategic cooperation."

Fierce pressure from Turkey and the White House appears to have paid off for now, with the resolution's Democratic authors agreeing late last month to delay a full House of Representatives vote after the bill was upheld by the foreign affairs committee.

"We view this with cautious optimism," Erdogan said at the National Press Club, thanking the Bush administration and House members who had spoken out against the resolution for fear of its damage to ties with Turkey.

"We are ready to settle accounts with our history, but our documents indicate that no such genocide took place. In fact our values do not permit our people to commit genocide," the Turkish leader said.

"Those who claim it, must prove it," he said, renewing his offer to the Armenian government to set up a joint historical commission to examine the claims of genocide dating from the dying years of the Ottoman Empire.

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.

An Ex-Leader in Congress Is Now Turkey’s Man in the Lobbies of Capitol Hill

By MARILYN W. THOMPSON
Published: October 17, 2007
The New York Times

Turkey is America's ally and its lobbying effort has made America its accomplice. Now that the vote on the genocide resolution is delayed how much more money will Turkey sink in? May be America will give them more still to spend on lobbying so the lobbyists can get richer. How can a sovereign country allow a foreign country to divert its course on such a moral issue?

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 — Since leaving Capitol Hill in 1999, former Representative Robert L. Livingston has been the main lobbyist for Turkey in blocking Congressional efforts to pass an Armenian genocide resolution.

Turkey has paid former Representative Robert L. Livingston, top, more than $12 million to lobby against Armenian genocide resolutions. Former Representative Richard A. Gephardt, who was the House majority leader, has also received payments.

After succeeding twice before — and collecting more than $12 million in fees for his firm, the Livingston Group — he is pushing once again for his client.

In recent months, Mr. Livingston, [...] escorted Turkish dignitaries to Capitol Hill to warn that the resolution threatened to destroy a strong Iraq war alliance.

He made a phone call that helped persuade a Louisiana member to change his position and got other Republicans to remove their names from a growing list of co-sponsors. And he courted a powerful Democrat, Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, who earlier this year asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democrat, not to bring the measure up for a House vote.

Mr. Livingston has also showered money on House and Senate members, the National Republican Congressional Committee and other political causes. He and his firm gave more than $200,000 in campaign donations in the last election cycle, records show.

[...]

The issue has pitted Turkey’s money and high-placed connections against a persistent and emotional campaign by Armenian-American citizens’ groups.

“The Turks have done everything they possibly could,” said former Representative Stephen J. Solarz, whose firm got $165,000 this summer lobbying for Turkey under an arrangement with Mr. Livingston. Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, a resolution sponsor, called Turkey’s lobbying “the most intense I’ve ever seen.”

[...]

Turkey has never mustered the intense grass-roots support in the United States that has been Armenia’s strength, with constituents pressing lawmakers to back the measure. Records show that Armenia has spent far less money on lobbying. Its largest expenditure went to the public relations firm of Burson-Marsteller, which earned about $300,000 from August 2006 to April 2007.

After Mr. Livingston resigned from the House in 1999 amid disclosures about an extramarital affair, Turkey retained the Livingston Group, his new bipartisan firm. It has built a large foreign practice, representing among others the governments of Azerbaijan, the Congo Republic and the Cayman Islands. More than a quarter of the firm’s income, which has totaled more than $71 million, has come from foreign clients, records show.

Mr. Livingston earned Turkey’s gratitude by helping stop two resolutions in 2000 and 2004. When Democrats took control of the House last year, Turkey continued to rely on him as its principal lobbyist, though it eventually brought in Mr. Gephardt’s firm. Reports on Mr. Gephardt’s activities have not been filed.

Mr. Livingston contacted Mr. Rove on Nov. 28, 2006, just after a Livingston Group lobbyist attended a weekend retreat at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia for key Congressional supporters of Turkey. In January, Mr. Livingston talked with a Cheney aide and prepared for Capitol Hill visits by Ambassador Nabi Sensoy of Turkey and other officials.

[...]

In December 2006, Mr. Livingston and an associate contributed $10,000 to Mr. Jindal’s campaign for governor of Louisiana. Mr. Jindal’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Livingston’s courtship of Mr. Murtha began in February. After a meeting with Mr. Livingston and another lobbyist from the firm, Mr. Murtha was among a group of members who met with Mr. Livingston, Mr. Sensoy and the Turkish foreign minister, Abdullah Gul. Long opposed to a genocide resolution, Mr. Murtha wrote Ms. Pelosi on Feb. 8 asking her not to allow a floor vote.

Mr. Livingston contributed $3,000 to Mr. Murtha’s campaign in February. A Murtha aide said the contribution reflects support for his record on the issue.

On April 24, the annual observance of the Armenian genocide, President Bush made a brief tribute to the dead, avoiding the term genocide. In Congress, attention focused on the Iraq war.

The resolution soon rebounded. Mr. Livingston made a concerted, though unsuccessful, effort to win over Representative Tom Lantos, Democrat of California, a Holocaust survivor and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. Lantos had opposed a similar resolution in 2000.

[...]

Mr. Livingston’s logs end at July 31. His firm will file another report detailing activities up to and including the House committee vote in favor of the resolution. Since then, a Republican and a group of Democrats have dropped their backing.

Kitty Bennett contributed reporting.

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He who pays the piper…

25 October 2007
The Socialist
KEVIN PARSLOW

"Gephardt who secured a $1.2 million contract to lobby for Turkey had previously co-sponsored an earlier genocide resolution."

Dear Richard Gephardt, what is the rate of inflation since Judas took 30 pieces of silver to denounce Jesus? Thirty pieces now equal to $1.2. Shame on you!

THE RECENT furore in the US Congress over a resolution condemning the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey during World War One has revealed the powerful lobbying system entrenched in US politics.

Initially it seemed that a 'non-binding resolution' condemning the atrocity, passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would find an easy passage through Congress.

However, former Republican Representative Robert Livingston - who since leaving Capitol Hill in 1999 has earned $12 million in fees from Turkey to block such resolutions - successfully got fellow Republicans to remove their names from the resolution's sponsorship. Livingston argued, along with George Bush, that 'national security concerns' were paramount ie Turkey's threat to invade northern Iraq.

Livingston's effort has been joined by another lobbyist, former Democrat and House majority leader Richard Gephardt. Gephardt who secured a $1.2 million contract to lobby for Turkey had previously co-sponsored an earlier genocide 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.

Turkish PM: There was no Armenian genocide

Sep 29, 2007
Jerusalem Post, Israel
By MICHAL LANDO, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
NEW YORK

Isn't this a big surprise that the Turkish PM denies the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks? The whole issue by Turkey's PR is to change the fact of the Armenian genocide into a debate. It is also so clear how the pressure put by Turkey on Israel and the US is allowing Erdogan to deny the genocide with impunity. The genocide denial is a matter for all people. It is not a question between Armenia and Turkey. So please stop pulling the wool on the eyes of the readers.

In a meeting with representatives of the Jewish community, Turkey's prime minister rejected allegations that the massacre of Armenians during WWI was an act of genocide.

Speaking with officials from the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Congress and other groups, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the genocide claims were not supported by any scientific or historical documentation.

Erdogan also reiterated Turkey's call to Armenia to establish a joint commission to study historical facts, and asked the Jewish representatives to continue to support good relations between Turkey and the US Jewish community, according to a statement released following the meeting.

After disagreement between its New England chapter and national headquarters, the ADL in August recognized the massacres of Armenians as "tantamount to genocide," reversing the organization's longstanding refusal to do so. ADL's recognition stopped short of supporting two congressional resolutions that would call on the US to formally recognize the genocide.

ADL national director Abraham Foxman reiterated Wednesday that the issue should not be the subject of congressional resolution, according to MSNBC.

"We believe that a matter between Turkey and Armenia related to history should be tackled between the two parties, not in the US Congress or the parliament of any other country," he said. "This is not a political matter and those in the Congress are not historians."

"I believe that we should focus on the future, not the past. If the Jewish community, the United States and the Congress are willing to assist, they should bring together Turkey and Armenia for the [sake of the] grandchildren of the two parties," Foxman said.

ADL's national policy-making body is expected to discuss the congressional resolutions at its annual meeting on November 1.

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.

Former U.S. Secretaries of State oppose Armenian Genocide Resolution

27.09.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

Fearing an imminent vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106), Turkey’s multi-million dollar lobbyists have solicited the assistance of eight former U.S. Secretaries of State in seeking to derail this human rights legislation, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)

"Facing a growing bipartisan Congressional majority demanding passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey’s lobbyists - out of desperation and a never ending desire to squeeze more billing dollars out of Ankara – have turned to the very architects of our government’s failed policy of appeasing Turkey," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "Sadly, successive U.S. administrations have found themselves lacking the moral courage to end the cycle of genocide – from Cambodia, to Rwanda and, today in Darfur – precisely because of their legacy of caving in to, rather than confronting genocidal regimes."

"We are, as Americans, especially troubled that, in warning Congress not to make a simple anti-genocide statement for fear of upsetting Turkey, these officials would outsource our nation’s moral conscience to a foreign government," added Hamparian.

In their September 25th jointly-signed letter, former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, Laurence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Jr., Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and George Schultz, urged Speaker Pelosi to, "prevent the resolution from reaching the House Floor," thereby denying House
Members an opportunity to vote their conscience on the Armenian Genocide. The former State Department officials expressed concern that passage of the resolution "could endanger our national security interests in the region, including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and damage efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey."

Introduced on January 30th by Rep. Adam Schiff along with Representative George Radanovich (R-CA), Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), the Armenian Genocide resolution calls upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide. The resolution is cosponsored by 226 Members of Congress from 39 states. A similar resolution in the Senate (S.Res.106), introduced by Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) currently has 31 cosponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

! Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to «PanARMENIAN.Net».

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.

Anti-Armenian Sentiment Grows in Turkey

Armenian Weekly, MA
Volume 73, No. 38, September 22, 2007

The Turkish politicians are hitting a new low by holding the Turkish Armenians as hostages to force the hand of the Armenian Diaspora to stop their legitimate demand for the recognition of the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks. Their present behaviour is a glaring example of continuing the genocidal policy of their ancestors. The world sees the Turkish government for what they are.

WASHINGTON—The ANCA this week alerted Members of Congress to the growing wave of anti-Armenian sentiment orchestrated by the Turkish government as part of its drive to block legislation before the U.S. House and Senate recognizing the Armenian genocide. The dramatic increase in pressure against the Armenian community coincides with Turkey’s growing frustration over its inability—either directly or through its highly paid lobbyists—to arrest the growing bipartisan momentum toward the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106/S.Res.106).

Patriarch of Constantinople to Visit Washington

With the number of House co-sponsors clearing the 50 percent mark and the recent reversal of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) longstanding refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide, the Turkish government has resorted to a series of increasingly strident—even desperate—measures. Amid these efforts by Ankara comes a visit to Washington, D.C. this week by His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob II, Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, who has been constrained from speaking openly about the Armenian genocide. The Patriarch has been subjected to a number of high profile death threats, including a July plot to assassinate both him and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I by a criminal organization of retired officers, known as the Union of National Forces.

The Patriarch, who in a sharp departure from traditional Armenian religious practice will apparently not be visiting with local Armenian churches or the city’s faithful, is scheduled to speak at a series of public policy engagements on Capitol Hill, Georgetown University, and elsewhere in the nation’s capital. Among these are an Iftar dinner on Capitol Hill hosted by the Rumi Forum, a Turkish-American organization with a stated mission to “foster interfaith and intercultural dialogue.”

A second, titled, “The Impasse Between Armenians and Turks Must Be Broken,” will be at Georgetown University, again sponsored by the Rumi Forum, along with Georgetown’s Woodstock Theological Center.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the lead author of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, commented on the growing pressure on Turkey’s remaining Armenians, noting that “In order to perpetuate its campaign of denial, Turkey seeks to intimidate all Armenians worldwide, but especially the Armenians in Turkey who must live with daily threats. It is a criminal offense to merely speak about the Armenian genocide, let alone advocate for the passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution before the Congress. The editor of the last Armenian-language newspaper in Turkey, Hrant Dink, was assassinated for writing about the genocide this year, and a popular video now being circulated in Turkey celebrates his killers and threatens Armenians.”

“It should come as no surprise then that the Bishop of the Armenian community in Turkey, who states that he is under daily threat, cannot speak about the genocide or support any efforts to recognize the genocide including those efforts in our country. To do so would be to place a target on his head and threaten his community even further. What is a disturbing surprise, however, is the exploitation of the vulnerable Armenian community in Turkey by opponents of the resolution.”

The ANCA, in a letter circulated yesterday to Congressional offices, explained that, “Patriarch Mutafyan—like the leaders of all religious minorities in Turkey—lives in constant fear of acts of discrimination and retribution by a Turkish government that actively persecutes those who speak freely on human rights and other ‘sensitive’ issues. As a virtual hostage, the Patriarch—whose life has been threatened on many occasions—will, as he has in the past, be forced to follow the Turkish government’s line. It is truly shameful that Turkey has resorted to using naked coercion—cynically taking advantage of the concern of Patriarch Mesrob for the safety of his flock—in a last ditch bid to block the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.”

YouTube Video Glorifying Dink Assassination

A highly popular online Turkish video, posted on the video sharing service YouTube last week, praises the assassination of Hrant Dink and illustrates the type of dangerous and hate-filled environment that Patriarch Mutafyan will return to after his orchestrated visit to the United States.

The video, which was originally taken down from YouTube but has resurfaced in a number of different forms and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands in Turkey, depicts images of the Dink’s killing with a lyric refrain: “If a person betrays the country, he is finished off.” It goes on to show “patriotic” photos of confessed assassin Ogan Samast glorified in front of the Turkish flag. Video lyrics also include the chilling warning: “The only good Armenian or Kurd is a dead Armenian or Kurd.”

A similar video showing Turkish police proudly posing with Samast shortly following his January incarceration for the murder was leaked to the Turkish press and made headlines worldwide.

Dink was gunned down in broad daylight on Jan. 19 in front of his Agos newspaper office in Istanbul. He had been prosecuted multiple times under Turkey’s repressive Article 301 laws, which criminalize reference to the Armenian genocide for “insulting Turkishness.” Since his murder, Turkey’s writers and historians, including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, historian Taner Akcam and author Elif Shafak who have spoken honestly about this crime against humanity, have been the target of death threats.

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.

Patriarch’s speech postponed under US Armenian pressure

21.09.2007
Today's Zaman Ankara

A theological center at Georgetown University has indefinitely postponed a presentation by Patriarch Mesrob II (Mutafyan), the spiritual leader of Turkey's Armenian Orthodox community, citing "logistical conflicts" as the reason.

Yet statements by an influential lobby group of the Armenian diaspora in the United States clearly indicate that the reason for the postponement was strong pressure from the Armenian diaspora, which is at odds with the conciliatory attitude of Mesrob II concerning the Armenian allegations of genocide.

The presentation by Mesrob II entitled "The Impasse between Turks and Armenians Must Be Broken" was scheduled to take place at the Woodstock Theological Center of Georgetown University on Thursday afternoon. The presentation was to be a joint activity held in collaboration with the Rumi Forum, established by Turks living in Washington, D.C., to enhance inter-religious and intercultural dialogue.

The influential Armenian National Committee of America recently sent a letter to all members of the US Congress regarding the ongoing visit of the Armenian patriarch, Armenian media reported. Meanwhile, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian told the Armenian media that the letter stressed the following: "The patriarch -- like the leaders of all religious minorities in Turkey -- lives in constant fear of acts of discrimination and retribution by a Turkish government that actively persecutes those who speak freely on human rights and other 'sensitive' issues. As a virtual hostage, the patriarch -- whose life has been threatened on many occasions -- will, as he has in the past, be forced to follow the Turkish government's line. It is truly shameful that Turkey has resorted to using coercion -- cynically taking advantage of the concern of Patriarch Mesrob for the safety of his flock -- in a last ditch attempt to block the adoption of the Armenian genocide resolution."

Two separate resolutions are pending in the US Senate and House of Representatives urging the administration to recognize the World War I-era killings of Anatolian Armenians as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolutions in the US Congress would seriously harm relations with Washington and hence impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US administration has said it is opposed to the resolution, but the congressional process is an independent one.

"The Armenian genocide resolution pending in the US Congress disrupts both the relations between Turkish people and Armenians in Turkey and between Turkey and Armenia," Mesrob II said in an exclusive interview published in Today's Zaman on Monday.

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.

It is truly shameful that Turkey coerces Patriarch Mutafyan to oppose Armenian Genocide Resolution

19.09.2007 15:30

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - The Armenian National Committee of America recently sent a letter to all 535 Congressional offices regarding the upcoming visit of Patriarch Mutafyan of Constantinople.

As ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the letter stresses that: "the Patriarch - like the leaders of all religious minorities in Turkey - lives in constant fear of acts of discrimination and retribution by a Turkish government that actively persecutes those who speak freely on human rights and other “sensitive” issues. As a virtual hostage, the Patriarch - whose life has been threatened on many occasions - will, as has in the past, be forced to follow the Turkish government’s line. It is truly shameful that Turkey has resorted to using coercion - cynically taking advantage of the concern of Patriach Mesrob for the safety of his flock - in a last ditch bid to block the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution."

Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead author of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, commented on the growing pressure on Turkey’s remaining Armenians, noting that, "In order to perpetuate its campaign of denial, Turkey seeks to intimidate all Armenians worldwide, but especially the Armenians in Turkey who must live with daily threats. It is a criminal offense to merely speak about the Armenian Genocide, let alone advocate for the passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution before the Congress. The editor of the last Armenian-language newspaper in Turkey, Hrant Dink, was assassinated for writing about the genocide this year, and a popular video now being circulated in Turkey celebrates his killers and threatens Armenians."

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.

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.

GEPHARDT REVERSES PRIOR SUPPORT FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION TO SERVE AS FOREIGN AGENT FOR TURKEY

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918 * Fax. (202) 775-5648 * Email.anca@anca.org

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release ~ 2007-05-11
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian ~ Tel: (202) 775-1918

Pallone, Schiff, and Eshoo Alert their House Colleagues of Gephardt's Past Support for Armenian Genocide Resolution


WASHINGTON, DC - Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, who recently closed a major deal to serve as a foreign agent for the Turkish government, has already begun lobbying on behalf of his new client against the very same Armenian Genocide Resolution that he once vigorously supported while a Member of Congress, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Gephardt's sharp departure from his principled stand for Armenian Genocide recognition was highlighted this week in a Dear Colleague letter circulated to all Members of Congress by Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the Co-Chairman of the Armenian Caucus, Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the only Armenian American serving in the U.S. Congress. In their letter, they wrote: "Former Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) is now employed by the Turkish government to dissuade Members of Congress from supporting H.Res.106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution. But in 2000, as a Member of Congress, he wrote to Speaker Hastert urging immediate floor consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, claiming ‘this issue requires little if any additional deliberation by the House.’"

"Armenian Americans appreciate Representatives Eshoo, Schiff and Pallone alerting their colleagues that the same Dick Gephardt who is now on the Turkish government's payroll was - during his long tenure as an elected official - a principled supporter of the Armenian Genocide Resolution," said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. "We are all saddened by the spectacle of Dick Gephardt - for the price of a lobbying contract - publicly compromising his own integrity and, even worse, seeking to prevent a broad, bipartisan Congressional majority from voting on this long overdue human rights legislation in order to appease Turkish threats."

As noted in the Dear Colleague letter, in September of 2000, Gephardt had joined with Sam Gejdensen, the Ranking Democrat on the International Relations Committee, and Frank Pallone in urging the Speaker at the time, Dennis Hastert (R-IL), to schedule an "immediate" vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution. The three legislators stressed that, "Armenian Americans communities throughout the nation have waited long enough for Congress to recognize the horrible genocide endured by many of their predecessors."

As a member of the House, Gephardt cosponsored legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide, as recently as H.Res.193 in 2003, and dating all the way back to H.J.Res.192, more than 20 years ago, during the 99th Congress. In 1998, he offered remarks at the ANCA Armenian Genocide Observance on Capitol Hill.

To read the DLA Piper profile of Dick Gephardt, visit:
http://www.dlapiper.com/dick_gephardt

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Jewish groups lobby against ‘Armenian genocide’ resolution in US Congress

26.04.2007
Today's Zaman İstanbul

Below it says, "US-based Jewish groups demanded that voting on congressional resolutions urging the US administration to recognize an alleged genocide of Armenians be delayed. "

As if 92 years were not sufficient. Justice delayed is justice denied. At some point in time the US-based Jewish groups have to answer to their conscience.

In a letter addressing influential members of US Congress, including head of the House of Representatives' Foreign Relations Committee Tom Lantos, US-based Jewish groups demanded that voting on congressional resolutions urging the US administration to recognize an alleged genocide of Armenians be delayed.

The letter was jointly signed by B'nai B'rith International, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). The letter included an annex -- a letter signed by the Turkish Jewish Community -- which said maintenance of good relations between Turkey and Israel and among Turkey, the US and Israel were crucial at a time when the US faces troubles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Two separate resolutions are pending at the US Senate and the House of Representatives, urging the administration to recognize the World war I era killings of Anatolian Armenians as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolutions in the US Congress would seriously harm relations with Washington and impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US administration has said it was opposed to the resolution, yet the congressional process is an independent one. In his message for April 24, which Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire, US President George W. Bush remained adhered to the administration policy of not referring to the incidents as genocide.

"Each year on this day, we pause to remember the victims of one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, when as many as 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, many of them victims of mass killings and forced exile," Bush said. Turkey categorically rejects the claims of genocide and says as many Turks were killed when the Armenians took up arms against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the invading Russian army.

Bush, in his message, also called for the normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia: "Today, we remember the past and also look forward to a brighter future. We commend the individuals in Armenia and Turkey who are working to normalize the relationship between their two countries. A sincere and open examination of the historic events of the late-Ottoman period is an essential part of this process. The United States supports and encourages those in both countries who are working to build a shared understanding of history as a basis for a more hopeful future," he said.

The Bush administration dismissed its former ambassador in Yerevan last year after he violated the US policy and called the events "genocide." Ambassador John Evans was insistent on his stance when he spoke at the National Press Club in Washington and said Turkey should accept "historical facts." He also claimed that Turkey's efforts had played a role in the abrupt termination of his duty as the US ambassador in Yerevan.


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.

Pols sidestep debate over Armenian genocide

April 24, 2007
The Politico
By: Ryan Grim

This article says "The Turkish government is backing up its talk with serious lobbying power. The Livingston Group -- the powerful firm of former Louisiana Republican congressman Bob Livingston -- represents Turkey and is fighting the resolution. According to the watchdog group Public Citizen, Turkey paid the Livingston Group $9 million between 2000 and 2004, and Turkey recently hired DLA Piper, the firm of former House minority leader Dick Gephardt, to provide access to Democrats."

Is it OK for an outside country to influence a sovereign country by paying lobbyists? May be for USA it is since Americans are keeping silent. What then makes USA a powerful country?

By regional standards, the Armenian genocide happened yesterday. Or, if you're the government of Turkey or the United States, there was no genocide.

Now Congress is weighing in, and the diplomatic foray has gotten messy.

The Bush administration, like others before it, refuses to use the word "genocide." Beginning in 1915, more than 1.5 million Armenians died when the Ottoman government forced the relocation of the population. President Bush has a reason not to call it genocide: That would anger the Turkish government, an ally and a Muslim democracy which has threatened to revoke permission for the U.S. to use an important air base over the issue, among other repercussions.

Resolutions recognizing and condemning the genocide have been introduced in both the House and the Senate, and the administration is vigorously opposing them. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a joint letter that the resolution could "harm American troops in the field."

And Turkey's lobbying prowess has already forced four co-sponsors to back off the bill.

Nonetheless, backers of the nonbinding resolutions in Congress feel this could be the year it happens and have gained momentum from a Los Angeles Times editorial last weekend in support of the measure, which now has 190 co-sponsors in the House and 29 in the Senate version sponsored by Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

The International Association of Genocide Scholars, among numerous other reputable historical groups, has described the event as genocide, explaining in a 2005 letter to the Turkish government that, beginning in April 1915, "…under cover of World War I, the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic genocide of its Armenian citizens -- an unarmed Christian minority population. More than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing, starvation, torture and forced death marches…"

The Turkish government, which replaced the Ottomans, disputes the account and is fighting to prevent debate on the resolution. A Turkish Embassy spokesman said that the Armenian deaths -- they place the toll at 200,000 -- occurred during an armed revolt by Armenian rebels who opposed being relocated by the Ottoman government.

"We don't believe the term 'genocide' has anything to do with what happened in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. It's a very incriminating and serious claim," the spokesman said.

Turkey has long threatened repercussions in trade and diplomatic relations if the U.S. recognizes the genocide. "It's going to affect our cooperation," the embassy spokesman said. "We don't see what the advantages are for the United States in passing this. Only the enemies of the United States and Turkey would be happy."

The Turkish government is backing up its talk with serious lobbying power. The Livingston Group -- the powerful firm of former Louisiana Republican congressman Bob Livingston -- represents Turkey and is fighting the resolution. According to the watchdog group Public Citizen, Turkey paid the Livingston Group $9 million between 2000 and 2004, and Turkey recently hired DLA Piper, the firm of former House minority leader Dick Gephardt, to provide access to Democrats.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill feel the pressure. So far, four House members who initially co-sponsored the resolution, including Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), have withdrawn their support.

"I initially did it as a favor to Schiff," Scott said, referring to one of the bill's lead sponsors, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). "If I had known it would be this kind of a mess, I'd never have gotten into it. I wasn't there. I don't know what happened. Out of fairness, let them settle it."

Scott said he withdrew as a co-sponsor after meeting with a number of his Turkish-American constituents. (His district includes a sizable Turkish-American population.)

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) also supported the resolution before he withdrew as a co-sponsor. His office said he had "no official comment" on the flip-flop.

Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) also pulled his name, saying in a statement to The Politico, "…although I sympathize with the Armenian claims for justice, the timing of this resolution is unfortunate, given everything in the Middle East and our need to maintain a close engagement with our friends in Turkey. As we continue to work together to promote peace in the Middle East and Iraq, nothing should come between U.S. engagement with Turkey."

Republicans also see the resolution as an opportunity to paint Democrats as novices in international diplomacy. "It's another irresponsible foreign policy flap on the part of the majority on the heels of their trip to Syria," said Florida Rep. Adam Putnam, the third-ranking member in the Republican caucus.

The Bush administration "does not use the word 'genocide' to describe these events," the U.S. Embassy said in a March 13, 2007, statement. The administration, it clarified, "has never denied the mass murders and forced exile of up to 1.5 million Armenians" -- it just doesn't call it genocide.

"Unfortunately, the administration, rather than viewing it as a moral issue, puts it into U.S.-Turkish relations," said Aram Hambarian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

Schiff agrees, contending that the administration's opposition is "not a principled position to take." Refusing to acknowledge a 90-year-old genocide undercuts U.S. moral authority to end the genocide currently going on in Darfur, he added.

Hambarian said that Turkey's threats are bluffs, noting that it trades briskly with European nations that have condemned the genocide. He added that when the U.S. has previously bucked Turkey by mentioning the genocide, in several earlier House resolutions and a 1981 presidential proclamation by Ronald Reagan, the threats did not materialize.

"Every year the argument is made that this is not a good time," Schiff said. "It's been 90 years. If now is not the right time, when is?"

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.

GOP Criminal Flip-Flop: Was Denny Hastert Bribed By Turkish Agents?

August 04, 2005
Written by Balletshooz

Why exactly did Denny Hastert flip-flop at the last moment, derailing a Congressional resolution designating as genocide the killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1923? He initially attributed it to a letter from Bill Clinton, but new FBI wiretaps show Turkish foreign agents mentioning Hastert's name in the context of a bribe, right before the resolution was scheduled to pass.

Is Denny Hastert taking bribes from foreign officials and why is the Justice Department trying to squelch an investigation into the matter? What are they trying to hide? These new allegations, if allowed to surface, will make Tom Delay and Karl Rove look like Mother Teresa and Gandhi. Call it Genocide-Gate, Traitor-Gate, or Hastert-Gate, the American public and American law enforcement deserve to know and must take a close look at this unfolding scandal.

For many years, attempts had been made to get the House to pass the genocide resolution, but they never got anywhere until August 2000, when Hastert, as Speaker of the House, announced that he would give it his backing and see that it received a full House vote. Thanks to Hastert, the resolution, vehemently opposed by the Turks, passed. Then on October 19, minutes before the full House vote, Hastert suddenly and without explanation withdrew it.

Vanity Fair's September edition, which has yet to hit national newsstands, has an article about Sibel Edmonds, an FBI translator who has been gagged by the Bush administration from revealing information about conversations she translated surrounding a seemingly major corruption scandal involving Turkish nationals and U.S. lawmakers.

The following are some brief excerpts from RAW STORY surrounding the allegations Edmonds has made--some of which the FBI has confirmed--about the specifics surrounding her case:

· According to those briefed on the case, Edmonds says she has heard classified wiretaps, which indicate Turkish nationals tried to bribe lawmakers in Chicago and Washington.

· Edmonds was fired from the FBI after trying to persuade her bosses to investigate a Turkish family, the Dickersons, she said was trying to trade on her status as an FBI operative. She suspected that the American Turkish Council, which the family tried to persuade her to join, was a front group for criminal activity.

· On top of the usual prohibition against disclosing classified information, the Bush administration has smothered her case beneath the all-encompassing blanket of the "state-secrets privilege"--a Draconian and rarely used legal weapon that allows the government, merely by asserting a risk to national security, to prevent the lawsuits

· Edmonds has filed contesting her treatment from being heard in court at all. According to the Department of Justice, to allow Edmonds her day in court, even at a closed hearing attended only by personnel with full security clearance, "could reasonably be expected to cause serious damage to the foreign policy and national security of the United States."

Edmonds' attorney, who works for the ACLU, says: "It also begs a question: Just what in the world is the government trying to hide?" One counterintelligence official familiar with Edmonds's case has told Vanity Fair that the FBI opened an investigation into covert activity by Turkish nations and found evidence, mainly via wiretaps, of attempts to corrupt senior American politicians. One name apparently stood out--a man the Turkish callers often referred to by the nickname "Denny boy." According to some of the wiretaps it was Denny Hastert. The FBI's targets had arranged for thousands of dollars to be paid to Hastert's campaign funds in small checks. Under Federal Election Commission rules, donations of less than $200 are not required to be itemized in public filings.

An examination of Hastert's federal filings shows that the level of un-itemized payments his campaigns received over many years was very high. Between April 1996 and December 2002, un-itemized personal donations to the Hastert for Congress fund amounted to $483,000. In contrast, un-itemized contributions to the same period to the committee run on behalf of the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, were only $99,000. An analysis of the filings of four other senior Republicans shows that only one, Clay Shaw, of Florida declared a higher total of un-itemized donations than Hastert during the same period: $552,00.

Edmonds reportedly added that the recordings contained repeated references to Hastert's flip-flop in the fall of 2000, "over an issue which remains of intense concern to the Turkish government--the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the killings of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 a genocide." Hastert's spokesman denied the allegations that he was bribed by a foreign agent, and said he knew nothing of the Turkish group.

Hastert's defense is sounding a lot like some parallel Republican defenses to ongoing criminal investigations, namely Karl Rove, Tom DeLay, and Randy "Duke" Cunningham. They claim to have no involvement in the crime until it becomes obvious they are involved, and then they try to smear anyone willing to talk about it. This has become an ongoing pattern in the Republican administration and a danger to democracy. Only the justice system running its proper course can shed light on what crimes, if any, have been committed by Denny Hastert, and obstruction of the investigation should be roundly condemned by all.

Balletshooz

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.