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TURKEY CALLS FOR DIALOGUE AS TIME RUNS OUT ON US BILL
Today's Zaman
Dec 24 2010
Turkey
Photo: John Boehner, the soon-to-be speaker of the House of
Representatives, opposes the "genocide" resolution.
FM Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed the US Congress' decision against debating
a resolution to declare the killing of Armenians in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire a genocide, saying it was now time to resolve
disputes with Armenia.
"We are pleased that there was no development potentially dealing
a blow to Turkish-US and Turkish-Armenian ties in the US Congress
yesterday," Davutoglu told reporters on the sidelines of a regional
summit in İstanbul. Saying that "common sense has prevailed once
again," Davutoglu said Turkey was ready to face history and to work
for reconciliation with Armenians.
He added that efforts to pass resolutions on history at third-party
countries' parliaments and to use such resolutions to "blackmail"
Turkey were unacceptable. "Such efforts lead to a completely
unnecessary waste of time and energy," said Davutoglu, referring to
intense Turkish efforts since Friday, when the resolution issue first
came up, to convince the US lawmakers not to take up the measure. "It
is now time for dialogue and compromise. We must intensify efforts
to that effect in order to bring peace to our region," he said.
Davutoglu noted that Turkey not only wanted the normalization of ties
with estranged neighbor Armenia but also the establishment of ties
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, who fought a war over Nagorno-Karabakh
in the early 1990s. Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 in show of solidarity with regional ally Azerbaijan.
In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their
relations. The protocols call for a joint commission, also including
international experts, to examine the "historical dimension" of the
two countries' relations. Ankara has repeatedly said outside countries
should stay out of the dispute on genocide claims.
Supporters of the resolution on genocide claims made a push for
approval in the final days of the US Congress, despite opposition from
the Obama administration. The measure was opposed strongly by Turkey,
and the administration feared it would have damaged relations with
the NATO ally.
Instead, the House of Representatives ended its two-year term
Wednesday without taking up the matter. It is unlikely to be passed
after Republicans take control of the chamber in January because the
new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, opposes it.
Proponents of the resolution had been optimistic about passing it
because outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was a longtime
supporter who had advocated approval. One Armenian-American group on
Wednesday blamed Pelosi for not scheduling a vote. "Her decision to
not move this legislation forward during her four years as speaker
represents a failure of the congressional leadership on human rights,"
said Ken Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee
of America.
Turkey has said frequently that the resolution would drive a wedge
in its relations with the United States. In March, after the House
Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the proposed resolution, Turkey,
which sees the measure as a historical affront, withdrew its ambassador
from Washington. This week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent
US President Barack Obama a letter asking that he prevent a vote on
the measure. On Wednesday, Turkey's Ambassador to Washington, Namık
Tan, thanked Obama in a statement for arguing against the measure. "As
decades-long friends and allies, Turkey and the US will continue to
work for global peace, prosperity and stability," Tan said.
The issue is awkward for Obama, who pledged as a presidential candidate
to recognize the Armenian deaths as genocide. Armenians claim up to
1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic genocide campaign
during the World War I years. Turkey, on the other hand, denies that
the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated
and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
Dec 24 2010
Turkey
Photo: John Boehner, the soon-to-be speaker of the House of
Representatives, opposes the "genocide" resolution.
FM Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed the US Congress' decision against debating
a resolution to declare the killing of Armenians in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire a genocide, saying it was now time to resolve
disputes with Armenia.
"We are pleased that there was no development potentially dealing
a blow to Turkish-US and Turkish-Armenian ties in the US Congress
yesterday," Davutoglu told reporters on the sidelines of a regional
summit in İstanbul. Saying that "common sense has prevailed once
again," Davutoglu said Turkey was ready to face history and to work
for reconciliation with Armenians.
He added that efforts to pass resolutions on history at third-party
countries' parliaments and to use such resolutions to "blackmail"
Turkey were unacceptable. "Such efforts lead to a completely
unnecessary waste of time and energy," said Davutoglu, referring to
intense Turkish efforts since Friday, when the resolution issue first
came up, to convince the US lawmakers not to take up the measure. "It
is now time for dialogue and compromise. We must intensify efforts
to that effect in order to bring peace to our region," he said.
Davutoglu noted that Turkey not only wanted the normalization of ties
with estranged neighbor Armenia but also the establishment of ties
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, who fought a war over Nagorno-Karabakh
in the early 1990s. Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 in show of solidarity with regional ally Azerbaijan.
In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their
relations. The protocols call for a joint commission, also including
international experts, to examine the "historical dimension" of the
two countries' relations. Ankara has repeatedly said outside countries
should stay out of the dispute on genocide claims.
Supporters of the resolution on genocide claims made a push for
approval in the final days of the US Congress, despite opposition from
the Obama administration. The measure was opposed strongly by Turkey,
and the administration feared it would have damaged relations with
the NATO ally.
Instead, the House of Representatives ended its two-year term
Wednesday without taking up the matter. It is unlikely to be passed
after Republicans take control of the chamber in January because the
new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, opposes it.
Proponents of the resolution had been optimistic about passing it
because outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was a longtime
supporter who had advocated approval. One Armenian-American group on
Wednesday blamed Pelosi for not scheduling a vote. "Her decision to
not move this legislation forward during her four years as speaker
represents a failure of the congressional leadership on human rights,"
said Ken Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee
of America.
Turkey has said frequently that the resolution would drive a wedge
in its relations with the United States. In March, after the House
Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the proposed resolution, Turkey,
which sees the measure as a historical affront, withdrew its ambassador
from Washington. This week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent
US President Barack Obama a letter asking that he prevent a vote on
the measure. On Wednesday, Turkey's Ambassador to Washington, Namık
Tan, thanked Obama in a statement for arguing against the measure. "As
decades-long friends and allies, Turkey and the US will continue to
work for global peace, prosperity and stability," Tan said.
The issue is awkward for Obama, who pledged as a presidential candidate
to recognize the Armenian deaths as genocide. Armenians claim up to
1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic genocide campaign
during the World War I years. Turkey, on the other hand, denies that
the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated
and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
From: A. Papazian