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  • Desecrating President Woodrow Wilson's Legacy

    DESECRATING PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON'S LEGACY
    By David Boyajian

    http://www.keghart.com/Boyajian_WWC
    http ://www.countercurrents.org/boyajian060510.htm
    6 May 2010

    An Investigative Report: The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates its
    Namesake's Legacy and Violates its Congressional Mandate

    Is the Woodrow Wilson Center seeking to discredit the Treaty of
    Sèvres on its 90th anniversary by honoring Turkish Foreign Minister
    Ahmet Davutoglu?

    Woodrow Wilson, the 28th American president, is looking down in horror
    at what the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC;
    WilsonCenter.org) is doing in his name.

    Most Americans are not aware of the DC-based organization, or that
    their taxes comprise one-third of its multi-million dollar annual
    budget.

    The WWC was created by Congress in 1968 through the Woodrow Wilson
    Memorial Act to commemorate the late president's "ideals and concerns"
    and memorialize "his accomplishments."

    The WWC has in several ways, however, violated its Congressional
    mandate.

    The WWC itself claims that it "takes seriously his [Wilson's] views."

    In fact, it has knowingly disregarded many of his views.

    And while it professes "to take a historical perspective," the WWC
    often closes its eyes to history.

    Case in point: In mid-June of this year, the WWC plans to travel to
    Turkey to bestow its coveted Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service
    on Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

    Curiously, the WWC won't provide this writer with a press release
    about it. We know about the award only from the Turkish media and a
    call to the WWC's communications chief.

    An Undeserved Award

    The WWC's President/Director, former Congressman Lee Hamilton (he
    recently announced he would be leaving the organization), says that
    Davutoglu "personifies the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow
    Wilson Center" and has "catalyzed" Turkish policy.

    It is appalling that the WWC would honor a top official of a country
    that in so many ways is a major human rights violator. Moreover,
    Davutoglu's own record - including his much- ballyhooed "zero problems
    with neighbors" policy - is undistinguished.

    But even more to the point, Davutoglu's policies are the very
    antithesis of Woodrow Wilson's "ideals and concerns."

    Turkish Temper Tantrums

    Let us start with Davutoglu's eruption against America due to a
    US House committee's approval in March of a resolution (Res. 252)
    that reaffirmed the factuality of, and historic US interest in,
    the Armenian genocide of 1915-23 committed by Turkey.

    Turkey immediately recalled its ambassador. Davutoglu then announced
    that the House committee vote was an insult to his country's "honour,"
    as if Turkey's continuing cover-up of genocide is somehow honorable. A
    top official of Turkey's ruling AK Party threatened the US with
    "consequences." Turkey's relationship with America, he warned, "would
    be downgraded at every level ... from Afghanistan to Pakistan to Iraq
    to the Middle East process ... there would be a major disruption."

    These were not just nasty overreactions by Turkey. They were also
    nonsensical. The US has, after all, reaffirmed the Armenian genocide as
    "genocide" at least five times: three resolutions passed by the full
    House (1975, 1984, and 1996); an official proclamation (No. 4838) by
    President Reagan (1981); and a US legal filing with the International
    Court of Justice (1951).

    More Tantrums

    Davutoglu threw the same sort of tantrum a week later - withdrawing
    his ambassador and making threats - when the Swedish Parliament
    recognized the Armenian genocide.

    Turkey has thrown similar fits when some 20 other countries, the
    European Parliament, a UN sub-commission, the Vatican, and others
    recognized the Armenian genocide.

    No other alleged "ally" threatens the US as frequently and consistently
    as does Turkey.

    Thus, far from "catalyzing" Turkey's policies, the foreign minister is
    carrying on his government's tradition of threats and genocide denial.

    If such behavior "personifies the attributes" that the WWC "seeks to
    honor," the Center's standards must be low indeed.

    Davutoglu's Double Standards

    "Turkey will not allow anyone else to evaluate its history," Davutoglu
    blustered after the House committee and Swedish Parliament votes.

    He seems unaware that countries constantly evaluate other countries'
    histories. Davutoglu evidently thinks that Turkey should be uniquely
    exempt from the judgments of others.

    Davutoglu also seems blissfully unaware that the United Nations,
    the US, and many other nations and international organizations have
    condemned and continue to condemn various countries' past (and present)
    crimes such as the Holocaust, genocides, bloody revolutions, and crimes
    against humanity. These include the genocide now taking place in Sudan.

    Not surprisingly, Turkey and Davutoglu have a horrendous record
    regarding Sudan.

    The Turkey-Sudan Genocide Axis

    Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was invited to visit Turkey two years
    ago while he was under indictment by the International Criminal Court
    (ICC) for "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

    Human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, blasted Turkey for
    inviting the Sudanese dictator. Turkey defiantly proceeded to welcome
    al-Bashir with a red carpet, an honor guard, and a 21-gun salute.

    True to Turkey's tradition of genocide denial, President Abdullah
    Gul downplayed the Sudanese mass killings, attributing them solely to
    "politics ... poverty and environmental conditions."

    Then last year, after Davutoglu's appointment, the Turkish government
    once again invited al-Bashir, the target of an ICC international
    arrest warrant. Only after a huge international outcry was the visit
    eventually canceled. Davutoglu, like his country, has a blind spot
    when it comes to genocides.

    In the meantime, of course, Davutoglu's Turkey has been busy accusing
    other countries - notably China and Israel - of genocide. The hypocrisy
    is incredible. Should not Turkey first acknowledge its own genocides
    against not only Armenians but also Assyrians, Greeks, and Kurds?

    Now we know why some have dubbed Turkey and Sudan the "axis of
    genocide."

    But Davutoglu and Turkey's failures involve much more than tantrums,
    threats, genocide, and hypocrisy.

    Davutoglu's Other Failures

    Despite Turkey's so-called "zero problems with neighbors" policy,
    Davutoglu has largely continued, not "catalyzed," his country's
    failed policies.

    For example, there is no end in sight to Turkey's 36-year long military
    occupation of northern Cyprus. "Zero problems with neighbors"?

    Turkey's alleged rapprochement last year with Armenia, which Turkey
    has blockaded since 1993, also disproves the WWC's assertions about
    Davutoglu. When he negotiated and signed a set of controversial
    protocols with Armenia last year, Turkey said that these would open
    a new chapter with its eastern neighbor.

    Both countries' parliaments were then supposed to quickly ratify
    the protocols.

    Though many Armenians believe that parts of the protocols are contrary
    to Armenia's interests, the Armenian Parliament has been ready to
    ratify them.

    Davutoglu, however, quickly reverted to his government's old
    precondition: Turkey would neither ratify the protocols nor open
    its border with Armenia unless Armenians concluded an agreement with
    Azerbaijan regarding Karabagh, the Armenian region that Stalin handed
    to Soviet Azerbaijan and which declared independence from Azerbaijan
    in 1991.

    Turkey's backpedaling was condemned by the parties that mediated the
    protocols - the US, Russia, and Switzerland - as well as the European
    Union. Due to Davutoglu's duplicity, the protocols have stalled and
    may die. "Zero problems with neighbors"?

    And regardless of one's views on American policy towards Iran and
    Israel, it is known that Turkey's overheated, undiplomatic rhetoric
    is designed primarily to please a Muslim audience at home and in the
    Middle East. Turkey's intemperate language has simply poured oil on
    fires and complicated American efforts in the region.

    Turkey's Kurdish problems, both within the country and across the
    border in Iraq, remain unsolved. Raids into northern Iraq by Turkish
    troops are not a solution.

    Even Turkey's offers to "mediate" regional disputes look rather
    contrived given that Turkey has not faced many of its own problems
    with neighbors.

    "Zero problems with neighbors" is a hollow catchphrase. A more
    accurate name would be Turkey's longstanding "zero Armenians as
    neighbors" policy.

    Aside, perhaps, from improved Turkish relations with Syria, and a
    lot of braggadocio and spin, Davutoglu has "catalyzed" essentially
    nothing for the better. He is surely grateful, though, to Lee Hamilton
    and the WWC for implying otherwise.

    Let us now examine President Woodrow Wilson's record to see how the
    WWC has besmirched his name and violated its Congressional mandate.

    Desecrating Wilson's Ideals and Concerns

    President Wilson advocated the right to self-determination of all the
    nations, particularly Armenia, that suffered under Turkey's corrupt,
    violent yoke.

    His and America's support for Armenians - politically, financially,
    and verbally - was immense and is well-documented. Yet the WWC chooses
    to desecrate that record by honoring a Turkish official who denies the
    Armenian genocide, threatens the American people, plays games with the
    protocols it signed with Armenia, and continues to blockade Armenia.

    Wilson enunciated his famous Fourteen Points, based on a just peace,
    in 1918, before the end of WW I. Point Twelve left no room for doubt:
    The non-Turkish "nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should
    be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested
    opportunity of autonomous development." He was referring to Armenians,
    Arabs, Assyrians, Greeks, Kurds, and others.

    Unlike the proposed award to Davutoglu, Wilson's was well-deserved:
    He received the Nobel Peace Prize of 1919 because of his Fourteen
    Points and his advocacy of the League of Nations.

    Reporting to Wilson during the genocide was his good friend and
    ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau, Sr. The ambassador cabled
    Washington in 1915 that Turkey was engaged in a "campaign of race
    extermination" against Armenians. The American Embassy served as a
    channel for Armenian massacre reports arriving from various parts of
    the Turkish empire. US Consul Leslie A. Davis, who actually witnessed
    the genocide in the interior, wrote, "I do not believe there has ever
    been a massacre in the history of the world so general and thorough."

    At Wilson's direction, Morgenthau gave to Turkish leaders the
    British-French-Russian declaration of 1915 that dealt specifically
    with the Armenian mass murders. "All members of the Ottoman Government
    and those of its agents who are implicated in such massacres," read
    the declaration, will be held "personally responsible" for "the new
    crimes of Turkey."

    By proposing to honor a genocide denier, the WWC's Lee Hamilton is
    implying that Ambassador Morgenthau and American consuls were liars.

    Referring to Turkey's crimes against humanity, Wilson spoke these
    words in Salt Lake City a year after WW I: "Armenia is to be redeemed
    so that at last this great people, struggling through this night of
    terror ... are now given a promise of safety, a promise of justice."

    America and Armenia

    In the spring of 1920, under the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres,
    the European Allies asked Wilson to arbitrate the boundary between
    Turkey and Armenia within the four Armenian provinces of "Erzerum,
    Trebizond, Van, and Bitlis." Wilson agreed. He had already sent 50
    American researchers to survey the people and land.

    In November, the president delivered the US decision: Armenia would
    include more than 40,000 square miles within those four provinces and
    a Black Sea coastline. Europe also asked America to accept a mandate
    over Armenia - that is, physical protection from Turkey while Armenians
    got back on their feet.

    Though Congress, in a post-war isolationist mood, eventually declined
    his appeal for the Armenian mandate, Wilson's written request noted
    that "the hearings conducted by the subcommittee of the Senate
    Committee on Foreign Relations have clearly established the truth of
    the reported massacres and other atrocities from which the Armenian
    people have suffered."

    The Senate report, Wilson went on, embodied his "own convictions and
    feelings with regard to Armenia and its people." Americans, he said,
    "have made the cause of Armenia their own" and had responded with
    "extraordinary spontaneity and sincerity." These were understatements.

    Turkey signed the Treaty of Sèvres but later repudiated it.

    Incidentally, had Turkey fulfilled its obligations under Sèvres and
    Wilson's binding arbitration, much of the Kurdish issue would have
    been resolved 90 years ago. The treaty stipulated an autonomous
    Kurdish zone - just below the Armenian provinces - in southeastern
    Turkey and, conditionally, in northern Iraq that may eventually have
    become independent.

    Under Turkish and Soviet attack, in December of 1920 independent
    Armenia was forcibly Sovietized, cut to a fraction of its size,
    and became landlocked. The Armenian provinces remain under Turkish
    occupation to this day, while Turkey blockades what remains of Armenia.

    The WWC Defies Congress

    The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968 was unambiguous: The WWC
    was meant to express the 28th president's "ideals and concerns"
    and memorialize "his accomplishments."

    If it proceeds with its award to Davutoglu, the WWC will be reaffirming
    its disregard for Wilson's "ideals and concerns" regarding the
    genocide, America's support for Armenians, and liberating their land
    from Turkish rule. Similarly, Wilson's "accomplishments" - securing
    aid for Armenian survivors,US arbitration of Armenia's boundaries under
    the Sèvres Treaty, and more - are being ignored and mocked by the WWC.

    The WWC is insulting Armenian Americans and all those who survived
    the Turkish nightmare.

    If Lee Hamilton's own claim that WWC takes "a historical perspective"
    were true, it would not honor a man - and by extension the Turkish
    government - who unashamedly negate the historical record.

    Is the Wilson Center seeking to discredit the Treaty of Sèvres on
    its 90th anniversary by honoring Davutoglu?

    Massacring History

    The WWC may try to claim that it has dealt substantially and fairly
    with its namesake's views and accomplishments regarding the Armenian
    genocide.

    As near as can be determined from a search of the WWC's public records,
    however, that claim would be false. This writer has found very little
    about the genocide, and most of that is from a Turkish revisionist
    perspective.

    Two years ago, the WWC's Southeast Europe division did host a scholar
    who discussed Turkish policy and the Armenian genocide. And twenty-four
    years ago, the WWC's Wilson Quarterly had a one-page piece about an
    article published elsewhere that discussed the genocide.

    In contrast, four years ago, the Wilson Quarterly published a
    sycophantic review praising a widely criticized book by a notorious
    genocide denier. And two years back, a former US State Department
    official who dealt with Turkey (and is presently an advisor for the
    Turkish Policy Quarterly) wrote a mere two sentences about the Sèvres
    Treaty - solely from the Turkish perspective - in a WWC-sponsored paper
    about Turkey. The Wilson Center's website contains a nine-year old
    article written by a former US Army officer who denies the genocide.

    This is a disgraceful record.

    A year ago, the editors of the journal Genocide Studies and Prevention
    initiated a symposium that critiqued the report of the US-sponsored
    Genocide Prevention Task Force (GPTF). While the symposium used the
    WWC's facilities, the WWC was not a cosponsor, reportedly took little
    or no part, and thus cannot claim credit for it.

    In any case, nothing can justify the Wilson Center's proposed award
    for Davutoglu.

    The question begs to be asked: Does the WWC have any questionable
    links to Turkey or Armenian genocide deniers?

    Turkish-Tainted Corporate Cash

    A look at WWC's funding sources reveals that it is up to its neck in
    corporate cash, including Turkish-tainted cash.

    One major corporation - Boeing - that is a member of the WWC's
    so-called WilsonAlliances wrote a letter to Congress asking it to
    defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution (Res. 252).

    Two other WilsonAlliances members - BAE and Chevron - have reportedly
    lobbied Congress to defeat the Armenian resolution.

    Four WilsonAlliances members - Alcoa, Boeing, Bombardier, and Honeywell
    - are dues-paying members of the Aerospace Industries Association
    (AIA), which has asked President Obama and Congress to ensure that
    Res. 252 "doesn't go to the House floor for a vote." AIA refers to
    the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians as merely "the events."

    Six WilsonAlliances members - BAE, Bechtel, Boeing, Chevron, Coca
    Cola, and Exxon-Mobil - are also dues paying members of the American
    Turkish Council (ATC). The ATC calls itself a "business association."

    Its membership includes over 100 major Turkish and American
    corporations. Among its leadership team of some 100 Turks and
    Americans, it is nearly impossible to find even one person who is
    not a top corporate executive, former military officer, or former
    government official. The ATC has long lobbied against Armenian
    genocide resolutions. Former Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, chairman of
    its Executive Committee, once told Congress that what happened to
    Armenians is "widely disputed."

    ATC member Lockheed-Martin Corp., which penned a letter opposing the
    Armenian resolution, has also contributed money to the WWC.

    DLA Piper and Other Turkish Lobbyists

    DLA Piper is a gigantic, worldwide legal and corporate services firm
    that has registered with the US government as a foreign agent for
    Turkey. The firm is well-known for having lobbied against Armenian
    Americans and is currently setting up an office in Istanbul.

    Ignacio Sanchez is a lawyer employed by DLA Piper. He "represents
    national and international clients on a broad range of issues
    ... before Congress" for his firm.

    Sanchez also happens to sit on the Wilson Center's Board of Trustees.

    DLA Piper's contract with Turkey states that its "services shall
    include ... preventing the introduction, debate and passage of
    legislation and other U.S. government action that harms Turkey's
    interests and image."

    DLA Piper has partially subcontracted its Turkish role to The
    Livingston Group. Headed by former disgraced House Speaker Robert
    Livingston, who denies the Armenian genocide and lobbies against
    Armenian genocide resolutions, it has been a registered agent of
    Turkey.

    DLA Piper also has what it terms a "strategic alliance" with The Cohen
    Group (TCG), headed by former Defense Secretary William Cohen. TCG
    represents large corporations who do business with Turkey. It is an
    ATC member, and two of its employees sit on the ATC Advisory Board.

    TCG's Vice President, Marc Grossman, was the US ambassador to Turkey
    from 1994-97. Among former diplomats, he is probably Turkey's biggest
    defender.

    He has opposed passage of Armenian genocide resolutions. A few years
    ago, Grossman reportedly joined Ilhas Holding, a Turkish firm.

    It is also known that whistleblower and former FBI translator Sibel
    Edmonds has made very serious allegations about the ATC, Grossman,
    and Turkey. These have not yet been adjudicated in a court of law.

    And whom did the WWC recently select to be one of its "Public Policy
    Scholars"? Marc Grossman.

    The WWC seems to be quite fond of corporations (and their money),
    lobbying firms, and people strongly affiliated with Turkey that in
    many cases oppose acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide.

    The above barely skims the surface of the Wilson Center's cozy
    financial relationships with huge corporations.

    Playing with Genocide Inquiries

    We must digress briefly for an example of how former government
    officials work their way into genocide inquiries that are best left
    to those more suitable.

    Former Defense Secretary William Cohen (of the Turkish-affiliated TCG)
    and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright chaired the Genocide
    Prevention Task Force mentioned above.

    As private citizens, Cohen and Albright opposed the Armenian Genocide
    Resolution. Their appointment to the GPTF was thus justifiably
    criticized as incompatible with its very purpose.

    The GPTF was jointly convened by the Congressionally-funded,
    so-called US Institute of Peace, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum,
    and the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD).

    The latter is composed of former high-level US State Department
    officials. AAD's chairman is retired ambassador Thomas Pickering. He
    was formerly a VP of Boeing, the same company that has beseeched
    Congress not to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

    The GPTF's final 147-page report (Preventing Genocide: a Blueprint
    for US Policymakers) contained just two miniscule references to the
    Armenian genocide. Sure enough, they used the terms "forced exile"
    and "atrocities", not genocide. The report was also widely criticized
    by scholars.

    Incidentally, who sits on the AAD's Board? If you guessed the
    ubiquitous Marc Grossman of the Wilson Center and pro-Turkish TCG,
    you'd be correct.

    Corporate Perks

    The WWC provides many benefits to corporations that contribute money
    to its WilsonAlliances. For example, they receive "complimentary use"
    of the WWC's facilities, the Reagan Federal Building, blocks from
    the White House. They also get "private customized meetings with
    [WWC] staff and scholars to discuss policy issues that are specific
    to your business interests."

    Did WWC/Turkish-affiliated corporations use "private customized
    meetings" to urge the WWC to honor Davutoglu, perhaps in expectation
    that it would enhance their "business interests" with Turkey?

    Did any WWC/Turkish-affiliated lobbying firm or person ask the WWC
    to give Davutoglu an award?

    We don't know the answers to these questions. Only those corporations,
    lobbyists, and other figures, together with Lee Hamilton and WWC
    personnel, can answer them, preferably under oath.

    In a phone message, Sharon Coleman McCarter, WWC Communications
    Director, said that the Center is honoring the Turkish Foreign Minister
    because of "public service to his country and the world."

    Turkey, or some Turks, may like its foreign minister, but, as this
    writer has shown, he has certainly done nothing to benefit "the world."

    McCarter also claimed that Davutoglu "is in the Wilsonian tradition"
    because, like Wilson, he has been in academia and government. If
    you teach and then enter government service, you're automatically
    "Wilsonian" and thus a candidate for the WWC award? This is
    preposterous.

    Insulting Previous Awardees

    Who have the nearly 150 previous WWC awardees been? Mostly Americans:
    philanthropists, doctors, members of Congress, former diplomats,
    architects, actors, and the like.

    They range from James Baker, Dr. Denton Cooley, Betty Ford, Frank
    Gehry, John Glenn, and Amb. Howard Leach to Janet Napolitano, Dolly
    Parton, Gen. Colin Powell (and his wife), Andrew Lloyd Webber, and
    Andrew Young.

    There are also some foreign political honorees, such as former Indian
    President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and some relatively non-controversial
    figures from Brazil and South Korea.

    The threatening, blustering, genocide-denying Davutoglu, from a
    country with a wretched human rights record, would stand out in the
    Wilson Center's Public Service roster like a sore thumb.

    It would be an insult to previous awardees.

    For its Public Service Award, the WWC had its pick of thousands
    of principled individuals from the US or elsewhere doing vital
    humanitarian work, including the recognition and prevention of
    genocide. Instead, the WWC has engaged in the worst kind of political
    pandering by selecting Davutoglu.

    The Smithsonian and the ATC

    The rot may go even higher, up to the WWC's parent, the famed
    Smithsonian Institution, three-quarters of whose annual $1
    billion budget comes from taxpayers. It, too, is a member of the
    genocide-denying American Turkish Council.

    The Smithsonian is supposed to be respectful of America's multi-ethnic
    heritage and pay homage to our country's history, part of which
    is Wilson's support of Armenians and condemnation of Turkey for
    committing genocide. There is no good reason for the Smithsonian to be
    a member of the ATC, which is primarily a lobby for Turkish-affiliated
    corporations. It should withdraw from the ATC.

    And what must the WWC do to return to its Wilsonian roots?

    Reforming the WWC

    The WWC must abandon its plans to honor Davutoglu. Those who care
    about Wilson's legacy - members of Congress, ordinary Americans,
    and those whose relatives were lost to Turkish genocidal acts -
    must contact the WWC and insist on this.

    Congress and the Attorney General must launch investigations into
    possible conflicts of interest at the WWC, particularly regarding
    its corporate and Turkish connections. The WWC director and staff
    must testify under oath.

    Wilson Center personnel, and those affiliated with it, particularly
    scholars, must speak out publicly against pandering to corporations
    and lobbying organizations.

    Those whose business or personal interests may conflict with their
    WWC role should resign.

    The WWC must reject all tainted corporate cash.

    Recognized genocide scholars should be invited to speak at the Wilson
    Center and write in its Wilson Quarterly. The WWC should create a
    principled program on genocide.

    The WWC must establish a meaningful, ongoing dialogue with those
    persons and their descendants who have been victimized by Turkey's
    genocides.

    The WWC must return to its Congressional mandate by truly rededicating
    itself to Wilson's "ideals, concerns, and accomplishments" and by
    advocating against genocide and for the human rights and dignity of
    all people.

    # # #

    *The author is an Armenian American freelance journalist. He recommends
    that readers contact the following to protest the WWC's proposed
    award to Davutoglu, and the WWC's overly close relationships
    with Turkish-affiliated corporations, lobbying organizations,
    and individuals:

    Woodrow Wilson Center:

    President/Director: [email protected]
    Executive VP: [email protected] Outreach
    VP: [email protected] Public Affairs:
    [email protected] Asst. to the Director:
    [email protected] Special Asst. to the Director:
    [email protected] Also:

    Linda St.Thomas, Spokesperson, Smithsonian Institution:
    [email protected] Armenian National Committee of America: [email protected]
    Armenian Assembly of America: [email protected] For your US Senator
    Click Here For your US Congressman Click Here.

    To access a complete list of contacts, Click Here.

    Possible Call Outs: "Zero problems with neighbors" is a hollow
    catchphrase.

    A more accurate name would be Turkey's longstanding "zero Armenians
    as neighbors" policy.

    If Lee Hamilton's own claim that WWC takes "a historical perspective"
    were true, it would not honor a man - and by extension the Turkish
    government - who unashamedly negate the historical record.

    Six Wilson Alliances members - BAE, Bechtel, Boeing, Chevron, Coca
    Cola, and Exxon-Mobil - are also dues paying members of the American
    Turkish Council.

    Wilson Center personnel, and those affiliated with it, particularly
    scholars, must speak out publicly against pandering to corporations
    and lobbying organizations.

    Recognized genocide scholars should be invited to speak at the Wilson
    Center and write in its Wilson Quarterly.

    The WWC should create a principled program on genocide.

    The WWC must abandon its plans to honor Davutoglu.

    Those who care about Wilson's legacy - members of Congress, ordinary
    Americans, and those whose relatives were lost to Turkish genocidal
    acts - must contact the WWC and insist on this.
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