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In Turkey, Obama Seeks To Sidestep Question Of Genocide

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  • In Turkey, Obama Seeks To Sidestep Question Of Genocide

    IN TURKEY, OBAMA SEEKS TO SIDESTEP QUESTION OF GENOCIDE
    By Steven Thomma

    Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
    Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service
    April 6, 2009 Monday

    ANKARA, Turkey _ Navigating between domestic politics and international
    diplomacy, President Barack Obama said Monday that he hadn't changed
    his mind about what he once called a Turkish genocide against the
    Armenians, but he avoided repeating the word.

    "I have not changed views," he said when he was asked about his stance
    with Turkish President Abdullah Gul standing beside him.

    He didn't use the word "genocide," however, nor did he repeat the
    condemnation he made as a presidential candidate while he was courting
    Armenian-Americans.

    The question underscored the diplomatic challenge that Obama faced
    as he wrapped up a five-country, eight-day trip with visits to the
    Turkish capital and later Istanbul: Would he fulfill a campaign
    promise that could offend his hosts?

    As a presidential candidate, Obama bluntly characterized the deaths
    of Armenians here nearly a century ago as genocide. Saying the word
    as president, however, would chill relations and perhaps even cost
    support from Turkey, which he deems crucial to the wars in Iraq
    and Afghanistan.

    Speaking later to the Turkish Parliament, he sidestepped the question
    of genocide, referring to it only as "the terrible events of 1915."

    "While there has been a good deal of commentary about my views, this
    is really about how the Turkish and Armenian people deal with the
    past," he said. "We have already seen historic and courageous steps
    taken by Turkish and Armenian leaders. These contacts hold out the
    promise of a new day."

    The flash point is the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands
    of the Turks in 1915, as World War I raged and the Ottoman Empire
    started to break apart.

    The descendants of the Armenians, many of them in California and
    elsewhere around the United States, have long sought a formal
    recognition of what they and many historians say was a planned
    genocide. A resolution is pending in Congress.

    The Turks, however, have called the Armenians victims of a civil war,
    and reject the characterization.

    It was different when Obama was seeking the votes of
    Armenian-Americans.

    "There was a genocide that did take place against the Armenian people,"
    Obama said during the campaign. "It is one of these situations where
    we have seen a constant denial on the part of the Turkish government
    and others that this occurred."

    While President Ronald Reagan issued a statement recognizing genocide,
    other presidents have made such a promise while campaigning only to
    abandon it once in office.

    Samantha Power, who was then a top foreign-policy adviser to Obama
    and the author of a book about genocide, made a videotaped appeal to
    Armenian-Americans that Obama wasn't just another politician currying
    favor and that he would follow through.

    "He's a true friend of the Armenian people and an acknowledger of
    the history," she said. "I hope you in the Armenian community will
    take my word for it, but if not ... pay attention ... to everything
    that comes out of that person's mouth, Barack Obama's mouth, because
    he's a person who can actually be trusted."

    Armenian-Americans were hopeful that Obama would fulfill his promise,
    if not in Turkey, then in time for the annual recognition of the
    Armenian deaths on April 24.

    The Armenian National Committee of America urged Obama this week to
    break from the "gag rule" that Turkey has imposed on the United States.

    "The biggest issue on the U.S.-Turkish agenda ... is the
    Armenian-genocide resolution," said Bulent Aliriza, the director of
    the Turkey Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
    International Studies, a national-security research center.

    "The Turks are worried that, having committed himself to supporting
    the resolution during the campaign as a candidate, President Obama
    may not follow the example of Presidents Clinton and Bush in opposing
    the resolution and may, in fact, use the word 'genocide' himself."

    The diplomatic consequences would be significant at a time that
    the United States is steadily improving relations after the chill
    following Turkey's refusal to allow American troops to go through
    the country en route to invading Iraq.

    The United States is particularly keen on better relations as it seeks
    Turkey's help in winding down American involvement in Iraq and steps
    up the war in Afghanistan.

    Also, Obama is reaching out to the Muslim world; Turkey is largely
    Muslim. He told the Turkish Parliament, "The United States is not
    at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world
    is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all
    faiths reject."

    He added, however, that he seeks a better relationship with the Muslim
    world beyond fighting the al-Qaida terrorist network.

    "We will listen carefully, bridge misunderstanding and seek common
    ground," he said. "We will be respectful, even when we do not agree."

    Aliriza warned, however, that the word genocide, either from Obama's
    lips in Turkey or in a congressional resolution later this month,
    could set back those efforts.

    "None of the areas of cooperation ... will materialize if (the genocide
    resolution) passes," Aliriza said. "The Turks will undoubtedly
    retaliate, and we may go into a deep freeze in the U.S.-Turkish
    relationship if it passes."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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