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ARMENIAN SUPPORTERS SKEPTICAL OF TIES BETWEEN TURKEY, INDIAN TRIBES
Michael Doyle
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/09/2539276/armenian-supporters-skeptical.html
Dec 9 2011
FL
WASHINGTON - The perennial political fighting between
Armenian-Americans and Turkey has migrated to Indian country.
In a diplomatically creative but controversial move, Turkey wants
preferential access to start commercial ventures on selected U.S.
tribal lands. In theory, tribes would get business and Turkey would
gain friends.
"We're trying to build bridges with other communities," G. Lincoln
McCurdy, the president of the Turkish Coalition of America, said in
an interview. "If this works, it would be good for everybody."
But not everybody thinks so. Lawmakers in states with large
Armenian-American populations, such as California and New Jersey, think
a legislative proposal that's now before the House of Representatives
extends an undeserved favor to a country still associated with a
long-ago slaughter.
"We could not let that pass ... without some acknowledgment of the
Armenian genocide," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said Friday.
The bill in question would allow six Indian tribes to lease land to
Turkish companies without securing the usual, often time-consuming
Bureau of Indian Affairs approvals. The tribes would be selected
competitively by the Interior Department, and would develop their
own guidelines for leasing land him.
In this Capitol Hill fight, regional loyalties and ethnic politics
could matter more than party lines.
When the House Natural Resources Committee approved the legislation
Nov. 17 on a 27-15 vote, Costa and Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif.,
united in opposition. The Democrat and the Republican represent
portions of California's Central Valley, which is heavily populated
by Armenian-Americans.
On the other side, bill supporter Republican Rep. Don Young is a
longtime champion of his home state's Alaska Natives. The bill's
author, conservative Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., is a member of the
Chickasaw. Another supporter, liberal Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee of
Washington state, is running for governor in that state, which is
home to 103,000 American Indians.
Like much that happens on Capitol Hill, the bill dubbed the Indian
Tribal Trade and Investment Demonstration Project Act of 2011 rides
atop multiple motives. It now goes to the full House for a vote.
"It definitely broadens (Turkey's) political base," McCurdy said,
"and it increases the opportunity for Turkish companies to establish
operations in this country."
A broader political base, in turn, could aid Turkey in recurring
Capitol Hill conflicts with Armenian-Americans. In raw population,
Armenian-Americans widely outnumber Turkish-Americans. Turkey, though,
enjoys considerable high-level clout as an important NATO country.
Nearly every year, these competing forces are on display as lawmakers
press for an Armenian genocide resolution that takes note of the
massacres that took place during the Ottoman Empire's dying days. The
resolution routinely fails but keeps coming back; this year's version
has 84 House co-sponsors.
It's in this context that the Native American investment bill reflects
Turkey's cultivation of tribes.
Over the past two years, Turkey has sponsored a number of visits by
Indian leaders. In November 2010, for instance, it hosted some 20
Native Americans for a week, including representatives of Idaho's
Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Washington state's Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation.
"This is the first foreign country that has shown interest in investing
with - cooperation with - a tribe to improve their economic lot,"
Young said at the House committee hearing Nov. 17.
In a similar vein, Turkish universities sponsor scholarships for
Native American students, and Turkish officials have met with Indian
leaders in Los Angeles and Seattle. Last March, a top Turkish Trade
Ministry official became the first foreign representative to speak at
an annual Las Vegas conference on Native American economic development.
"I have no idea why they're being so nice to Native Americans," Rep.
Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said during the House hearing. "I'm sure there's
some bad underlying reason or something that they're trying to gain."
From: Baghdasarian
Michael Doyle
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/09/2539276/armenian-supporters-skeptical.html
Dec 9 2011
FL
WASHINGTON - The perennial political fighting between
Armenian-Americans and Turkey has migrated to Indian country.
In a diplomatically creative but controversial move, Turkey wants
preferential access to start commercial ventures on selected U.S.
tribal lands. In theory, tribes would get business and Turkey would
gain friends.
"We're trying to build bridges with other communities," G. Lincoln
McCurdy, the president of the Turkish Coalition of America, said in
an interview. "If this works, it would be good for everybody."
But not everybody thinks so. Lawmakers in states with large
Armenian-American populations, such as California and New Jersey, think
a legislative proposal that's now before the House of Representatives
extends an undeserved favor to a country still associated with a
long-ago slaughter.
"We could not let that pass ... without some acknowledgment of the
Armenian genocide," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said Friday.
The bill in question would allow six Indian tribes to lease land to
Turkish companies without securing the usual, often time-consuming
Bureau of Indian Affairs approvals. The tribes would be selected
competitively by the Interior Department, and would develop their
own guidelines for leasing land him.
In this Capitol Hill fight, regional loyalties and ethnic politics
could matter more than party lines.
When the House Natural Resources Committee approved the legislation
Nov. 17 on a 27-15 vote, Costa and Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif.,
united in opposition. The Democrat and the Republican represent
portions of California's Central Valley, which is heavily populated
by Armenian-Americans.
On the other side, bill supporter Republican Rep. Don Young is a
longtime champion of his home state's Alaska Natives. The bill's
author, conservative Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., is a member of the
Chickasaw. Another supporter, liberal Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee of
Washington state, is running for governor in that state, which is
home to 103,000 American Indians.
Like much that happens on Capitol Hill, the bill dubbed the Indian
Tribal Trade and Investment Demonstration Project Act of 2011 rides
atop multiple motives. It now goes to the full House for a vote.
"It definitely broadens (Turkey's) political base," McCurdy said,
"and it increases the opportunity for Turkish companies to establish
operations in this country."
A broader political base, in turn, could aid Turkey in recurring
Capitol Hill conflicts with Armenian-Americans. In raw population,
Armenian-Americans widely outnumber Turkish-Americans. Turkey, though,
enjoys considerable high-level clout as an important NATO country.
Nearly every year, these competing forces are on display as lawmakers
press for an Armenian genocide resolution that takes note of the
massacres that took place during the Ottoman Empire's dying days. The
resolution routinely fails but keeps coming back; this year's version
has 84 House co-sponsors.
It's in this context that the Native American investment bill reflects
Turkey's cultivation of tribes.
Over the past two years, Turkey has sponsored a number of visits by
Indian leaders. In November 2010, for instance, it hosted some 20
Native Americans for a week, including representatives of Idaho's
Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Washington state's Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation.
"This is the first foreign country that has shown interest in investing
with - cooperation with - a tribe to improve their economic lot,"
Young said at the House committee hearing Nov. 17.
In a similar vein, Turkish universities sponsor scholarships for
Native American students, and Turkish officials have met with Indian
leaders in Los Angeles and Seattle. Last March, a top Turkish Trade
Ministry official became the first foreign representative to speak at
an annual Las Vegas conference on Native American economic development.
"I have no idea why they're being so nice to Native Americans," Rep.
Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said during the House hearing. "I'm sure there's
some bad underlying reason or something that they're trying to gain."
From: Baghdasarian