Tweet
SWEEK CALLS ON U.S. CONGRESS "NOT TO HAMPER ARMENIAN-TURKISH RECONCILIATION"
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 11:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With a fresh resolution calling on the United
States to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, the U.S. Congress
should not repeat the same cycle of events if an Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement is desired, according to a Newsweek article.
"It's almost April, so Washington is gearing up for another
performance of the "Armenian Genocide Resolution Spectacular,"
a regular event since 1984. Here's the historical plotline: the
Armenian-American lobby gets a few U.S. congressmen to sponsor a
resolution recognizing the 1915 massacre of Armenians in what is now
Eastern Turkey as a genocide. Then other members of the House are
induced to support it. (Members of the House may not be history buffs,
but they understand the importance of stroking a powerful domestic
lobby.) Next, the Turkish government says Turkey is too important
to be insulted like this. In response, the American administration,
recognizing that Turkey is indeed a critical NATO ally whose Incirlik
Air Base is vital to the Iraq mission, starts twisting congressional
arms to abandon the resolution. Offstage, the Israeli lobby, generally
keen to boost Turkish-Israeli relations (though less so this year),
works against the resolution. Finally, the House leadership reluctantly
shelves the whole thing and the curtain falls," the article says.
It says that "before staging this year's performance, however, Congress
should note that hitherto frozen relations between Armenia and Turkey
are now showing signs of melting, and that this may be the first step
toward reconciling the Turkish and Armenian peoples."
"In September, Turkish President Abdullah Gul attended a Turkey-Armenia
football match in Yerevan at the invitation of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan, who recently met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in Davos. The two foreign ministers, Turkey's Ali
Babacan and Armenia's Edward Nalbandian have also been meeting. Both
have made optimistic noises," the article goes on.
"Progress has been possible because the Armenians have focused on
the concrete issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border - a vital
matter to them since none of their other neighbors (Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Iran) can offer a viable trade route to the West. Both
sides have wisely avoided the genocide dispute, surely recognizing it
will have to be dealt with eventually but that developing economic ties
will make it easier to do so. Lingering in the background, however,
is the Armenian diaspora's passionate insistence that there was a
genocide - and its mirror image in the fury of the Turkish people
denying it. Right or wrong is not the point. No Turkish government
could contemplate opening the Armenian border with this issue front
and center, and Congress should recognize that a genocide resolution
would put it there.
"In all probability, Turkey and Armenia can only resolve the genocide
dispute if they recognize that "was it a genocide?" may be the ultimate
question, but it is not the most important one today. To those aiming
for reconciliation, two questions outrank it: what common facts can
Turks and Armenians be brought to accept, and is the common ground
sufficient for both sides to start binding up the wounds? To this
end, Erdogan's proposal to establish a joint historical commission
should be pursued. Though Armenia has rejected the idea so far-largely
because it is winning its argument on the world stage - the government
has softened its stance recently. If the aim is reconciliation,
persuading the Turks to abandon the blanket denial they are taught
as schoolchildren is what counts.
"Progress is not as implausible as it sounds. In the early days of the
Republic, Kemal Ataturk, who was not personally implicated, described
the Armenian massacres as "shameful acts." No ex-Ottoman officials
were investigated, however, as Turkey needed the newly minted heroes
of its War of Independence to have no stain on their characters. Today,
Erdogan will accept an investigation. In return, Armenia must accept a
reciprocal investigation into the Ottoman Armenians, who fought with
the sultan's Russian enemy, and their responsibility for massacres
of Turks and Kurds. Weaving together these two violently opposed
historical perspectives will take time and patience. As important as
the final answer, however, is the development of empathy across the
divide," it says.
According to the author, Congress can help keep the path to
reconciliation open if it is willing to deny the Armenian-American
lobby the instant gratification of a genocide resolution. "Surely
doing so would be far better than repeating the exercises of the
last 25 years over and over again until a resolution finally passes
and all the House's leverage over Turkey evaporates, along with most
of the good will in the Turkish-American alliance, and maybe even
the alliance itself. For its part, the Armenian diaspora might even
support reconciliation if only as its second choice. Finally, good
relations between Turkey and Armenia would further U.S. objectives
in the Caucasus. The proposed hydrocarbon corridor through the
Caucasus from Central Asia looks much more secure in the context of
Turkish-Armenian friendship, and it might give Armenia the confidence
to break with the status quo in the longstanding Nagorno Karabakh
dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan.
Congress and others should recognize that this year holds real promise
for the beginning of reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian
peoples. If nothing comes of it, Congress can always return to a
resolution," the article says.
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 11:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With a fresh resolution calling on the United
States to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, the U.S. Congress
should not repeat the same cycle of events if an Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement is desired, according to a Newsweek article.
"It's almost April, so Washington is gearing up for another
performance of the "Armenian Genocide Resolution Spectacular,"
a regular event since 1984. Here's the historical plotline: the
Armenian-American lobby gets a few U.S. congressmen to sponsor a
resolution recognizing the 1915 massacre of Armenians in what is now
Eastern Turkey as a genocide. Then other members of the House are
induced to support it. (Members of the House may not be history buffs,
but they understand the importance of stroking a powerful domestic
lobby.) Next, the Turkish government says Turkey is too important
to be insulted like this. In response, the American administration,
recognizing that Turkey is indeed a critical NATO ally whose Incirlik
Air Base is vital to the Iraq mission, starts twisting congressional
arms to abandon the resolution. Offstage, the Israeli lobby, generally
keen to boost Turkish-Israeli relations (though less so this year),
works against the resolution. Finally, the House leadership reluctantly
shelves the whole thing and the curtain falls," the article says.
It says that "before staging this year's performance, however, Congress
should note that hitherto frozen relations between Armenia and Turkey
are now showing signs of melting, and that this may be the first step
toward reconciling the Turkish and Armenian peoples."
"In September, Turkish President Abdullah Gul attended a Turkey-Armenia
football match in Yerevan at the invitation of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan, who recently met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in Davos. The two foreign ministers, Turkey's Ali
Babacan and Armenia's Edward Nalbandian have also been meeting. Both
have made optimistic noises," the article goes on.
"Progress has been possible because the Armenians have focused on
the concrete issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border - a vital
matter to them since none of their other neighbors (Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Iran) can offer a viable trade route to the West. Both
sides have wisely avoided the genocide dispute, surely recognizing it
will have to be dealt with eventually but that developing economic ties
will make it easier to do so. Lingering in the background, however,
is the Armenian diaspora's passionate insistence that there was a
genocide - and its mirror image in the fury of the Turkish people
denying it. Right or wrong is not the point. No Turkish government
could contemplate opening the Armenian border with this issue front
and center, and Congress should recognize that a genocide resolution
would put it there.
"In all probability, Turkey and Armenia can only resolve the genocide
dispute if they recognize that "was it a genocide?" may be the ultimate
question, but it is not the most important one today. To those aiming
for reconciliation, two questions outrank it: what common facts can
Turks and Armenians be brought to accept, and is the common ground
sufficient for both sides to start binding up the wounds? To this
end, Erdogan's proposal to establish a joint historical commission
should be pursued. Though Armenia has rejected the idea so far-largely
because it is winning its argument on the world stage - the government
has softened its stance recently. If the aim is reconciliation,
persuading the Turks to abandon the blanket denial they are taught
as schoolchildren is what counts.
"Progress is not as implausible as it sounds. In the early days of the
Republic, Kemal Ataturk, who was not personally implicated, described
the Armenian massacres as "shameful acts." No ex-Ottoman officials
were investigated, however, as Turkey needed the newly minted heroes
of its War of Independence to have no stain on their characters. Today,
Erdogan will accept an investigation. In return, Armenia must accept a
reciprocal investigation into the Ottoman Armenians, who fought with
the sultan's Russian enemy, and their responsibility for massacres
of Turks and Kurds. Weaving together these two violently opposed
historical perspectives will take time and patience. As important as
the final answer, however, is the development of empathy across the
divide," it says.
According to the author, Congress can help keep the path to
reconciliation open if it is willing to deny the Armenian-American
lobby the instant gratification of a genocide resolution. "Surely
doing so would be far better than repeating the exercises of the
last 25 years over and over again until a resolution finally passes
and all the House's leverage over Turkey evaporates, along with most
of the good will in the Turkish-American alliance, and maybe even
the alliance itself. For its part, the Armenian diaspora might even
support reconciliation if only as its second choice. Finally, good
relations between Turkey and Armenia would further U.S. objectives
in the Caucasus. The proposed hydrocarbon corridor through the
Caucasus from Central Asia looks much more secure in the context of
Turkish-Armenian friendship, and it might give Armenia the confidence
to break with the status quo in the longstanding Nagorno Karabakh
dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan.
Congress and others should recognize that this year holds real promise
for the beginning of reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian
peoples. If nothing comes of it, Congress can always return to a
resolution," the article says.