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Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Dec 23 2010
Turkish president thanks Obama, Clinton over Armenian genocide resolution
Istanbul, 23 December: Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Thursday
thanked to stance of senior U.S. executives who prevented the
resolution on the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915
from being included in the official daily agenda of the U.S. House of
Representatives.
"The U.S. administration mainly President Barack Obama and State
Secretary Hillary Clinton did their best on the matter. We appreciate
them. Thus, they have prevented Turkish-U.S. relations from being
captured by a totally irrelative issue," Gul told reporters.
Gul said, "it is very clear how much importance both we and U.S.
President Obama attach to Turkish-U.S. relations. We are in close
cooperation on important issues concerning the region and the world."
The resolution "H. Res. 252" --labelling the 1915 incidents which took
place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire as genocide-- was
approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives by a vote of 23 against 22 last March.
The adoption of the resolution caused wide reaction in Turkey, which
recalled its ambassador, who returned to Washington, D.C. a month
later.
Turkey has long been facing a systematic campaign of defamation
carried out by Armenian lobbying groups. The Armenian diaspora has
lately increased its organized activities throughout the world for the
recognition of their unfounded allegations in regard to the events of
1915 as "genocide" by national and local parliaments.
Armenian groups living in various countries try to get the publication
of many books on their allegations concerning the events of 1915 and
articles written by authors close to Armenian views in well-known
magazines and newspapers. Armenian organizations also orchestrate many
meetings, conferences and symposia in order to garner support and to
give them as much publicity as possible.
Armenian groups make sure that researchers and authors close to the
Armenian views take part in these meetings so that the issue always
remains on the agenda. Armenian circles, similarly, sponsors the
making of documentary films that advocate Armenian claims. They also
encourage the broadcasting of these films in many television channels.
Public opinion especially in Western countries is affected by these
films, books and articles published every year and their Parliaments
are left under constant pressure to recognize the Armenian allegations
as "undeniable historical truth".
The activities of diaspora organizations are also supported by the
Armenian state. It is known that Armenian diplomatic missions abroad
carry out certain activities so that their allegations are recognized
in national legislatures.
Until today the parliaments of Argentina, Belgium, France,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Lebanon, the Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Uruguay, Greece, the Greek Cypriot
Administration, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Chile, Venezuela and the
European Parliament passed either resolutions or issued statements.
In addition, some local parliaments in the USA, Canada, Britain,
Australia, Argentina and Switzerland passed similar resolutions.
Turkey is of the view that parliaments and other political
institutions are not the appropriate fora to debate and pass judgments
on disputed periods of history. Past events and controversial periods
of history should be left to the historians for their dispassionate
study and evaluation.
In order to shed light on such a disputed historical issue, the
Turkish Government has opened all its archives, including military
records to all researchers. Furthermore, Turkey encourages historians,
scholars and researchers to freely examine and discuss this historical
issue in every platform. In order to have an objective and complete
analysis of the Turkish-Armenian relations, the Armenian archives
should also be opened and made available to the public and
researchers. For reaching the truth, historians must have access to
all related archives.
In this respect, in 2005, Turkey has officially proposed to the
Government of Armenia the establishment of a joint commission of
history composed of historians and other experts from both sides to
study together the events of 1915 not only in the archives of Turkey
and Armenia but also in the archives of all relevant third countries
and to share their findings with the public. Unfortunately, Armenia
has not responded positively to this initiative, yet. Turkey's
proposal is still on the table.
If accepted by Armenia, Turkey's proposal for setting up a Joint
Commission of History would also serve as a confidence-building
measure paving the way for a dialogue towards normalization of
relations between the two countries.
From: A. Papazian
Dec 23 2010
Turkish president thanks Obama, Clinton over Armenian genocide resolution
Istanbul, 23 December: Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Thursday
thanked to stance of senior U.S. executives who prevented the
resolution on the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915
from being included in the official daily agenda of the U.S. House of
Representatives.
"The U.S. administration mainly President Barack Obama and State
Secretary Hillary Clinton did their best on the matter. We appreciate
them. Thus, they have prevented Turkish-U.S. relations from being
captured by a totally irrelative issue," Gul told reporters.
Gul said, "it is very clear how much importance both we and U.S.
President Obama attach to Turkish-U.S. relations. We are in close
cooperation on important issues concerning the region and the world."
The resolution "H. Res. 252" --labelling the 1915 incidents which took
place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire as genocide-- was
approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives by a vote of 23 against 22 last March.
The adoption of the resolution caused wide reaction in Turkey, which
recalled its ambassador, who returned to Washington, D.C. a month
later.
Turkey has long been facing a systematic campaign of defamation
carried out by Armenian lobbying groups. The Armenian diaspora has
lately increased its organized activities throughout the world for the
recognition of their unfounded allegations in regard to the events of
1915 as "genocide" by national and local parliaments.
Armenian groups living in various countries try to get the publication
of many books on their allegations concerning the events of 1915 and
articles written by authors close to Armenian views in well-known
magazines and newspapers. Armenian organizations also orchestrate many
meetings, conferences and symposia in order to garner support and to
give them as much publicity as possible.
Armenian groups make sure that researchers and authors close to the
Armenian views take part in these meetings so that the issue always
remains on the agenda. Armenian circles, similarly, sponsors the
making of documentary films that advocate Armenian claims. They also
encourage the broadcasting of these films in many television channels.
Public opinion especially in Western countries is affected by these
films, books and articles published every year and their Parliaments
are left under constant pressure to recognize the Armenian allegations
as "undeniable historical truth".
The activities of diaspora organizations are also supported by the
Armenian state. It is known that Armenian diplomatic missions abroad
carry out certain activities so that their allegations are recognized
in national legislatures.
Until today the parliaments of Argentina, Belgium, France,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Lebanon, the Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Uruguay, Greece, the Greek Cypriot
Administration, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Chile, Venezuela and the
European Parliament passed either resolutions or issued statements.
In addition, some local parliaments in the USA, Canada, Britain,
Australia, Argentina and Switzerland passed similar resolutions.
Turkey is of the view that parliaments and other political
institutions are not the appropriate fora to debate and pass judgments
on disputed periods of history. Past events and controversial periods
of history should be left to the historians for their dispassionate
study and evaluation.
In order to shed light on such a disputed historical issue, the
Turkish Government has opened all its archives, including military
records to all researchers. Furthermore, Turkey encourages historians,
scholars and researchers to freely examine and discuss this historical
issue in every platform. In order to have an objective and complete
analysis of the Turkish-Armenian relations, the Armenian archives
should also be opened and made available to the public and
researchers. For reaching the truth, historians must have access to
all related archives.
In this respect, in 2005, Turkey has officially proposed to the
Government of Armenia the establishment of a joint commission of
history composed of historians and other experts from both sides to
study together the events of 1915 not only in the archives of Turkey
and Armenia but also in the archives of all relevant third countries
and to share their findings with the public. Unfortunately, Armenia
has not responded positively to this initiative, yet. Turkey's
proposal is still on the table.
If accepted by Armenia, Turkey's proposal for setting up a Joint
Commission of History would also serve as a confidence-building
measure paving the way for a dialogue towards normalization of
relations between the two countries.
From: A. Papazian