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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.
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.