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HARUT SASSOUNIAN: THREE QUESTIONS TURKEY'S AMBASSADOR WOULD NOT ANSWER...
By Harut Sassounian
www.nt.am
Noyan Tapan
22.02.2011 | 11:34
Articles and Analyses
Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan, spoke at the
University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy on
February 16. His topic was: "Public Diplomacy: The Turkish Experience."
The Turkish Ambassador assumed his post in Washington last February,
but shortly after his arrival was recalled to Ankara when the House
Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution acknowledging the
Armenian Genocide.
Amb. Tan is no stranger to Washington, where he served as the
Embassy's Counselor from 1991 to 1995 and First Counselor from 1997
to 2001. During his long diplomatic career, he also was Ambassador
to Israel, Second Secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Russia, and
Deputy Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara.
During his first visit to Los Angeles this month, the smooth-talking
Ambassador managed to meet with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, spoke to
the World Affairs Council, and held meetings with the American Jewish
Committee, Turkish community leaders, and the Editorial Board of the
Los Angeles Times.
Prior to his arrival, the Association of Turkish-Americans of Southern
California had posted a note on its website, urging local Turks to
attend the Ambassador's public appearances and "show visible support...
especially in the face of usual anticipated detractors."
Running the risk of being labeled "a detractor," I decided to attend
the Ambassador's talk which ironically was held at USC's Ronald Tutor
Campus Center -- named after its Armenian benefactor, the son of Al
Tutor (Varjabedian), a genocide survivor. I made my way through scores
of U.S. Secret Service agents, campus security, and Turkish bodyguards
who almost outnumbered the guests at the event. Even more surprising
was the fact that there were only a handful of Armenians and Turks
among the attendees, consisting mostly of USC students and professors.
Amb. Tan, who spoke in fluent English for half an hour, presented
his country in the best possible light.. Since he had not addressed
Armenian issues, I decided to pose the following interrelated
questions:
The Turkish government recently renovated a couple of Armenian
churches. There were thousands of Armenian churches and monasteries
throughout Turkey before the genocide, most of which were converted
into mosques, warehouses and stables, and many were destroyed. Isn't it
time for the Turkish government to turn over these Armenian churches
to the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul? Also, after Armenians
were deported and killed, they left behind their houses, lands and
belongings. Isn't time for the Turkish government to return these
properties to the heirs of their original Armenian owners?
Finally, regarding the Armenian Genocide issue, Pres. Obama declared in
his statement of last April 24: "95 years ago, 1.5 million Armenians
were massacred or marched to death in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire." If you say that is not true, wouldn't you be calling the
President of the United States a liar?
Here is Amb. Tan's response:
"This hate should end. We should put it behind as early as possible.
That's why we are trying to reach out to our Armenian friends and
we have signed the [Armenia-Turkey] Protocols. In these Protocols,
one of the suggestions that we put is that we want an independent
historical inquiry commission which will include representatives
from every country -- from US, France, and whichever country you
like. They will study those claims and we will see the decision all
together. But history cannot be legislated. This is not the way that
history could be judged. So, I think this has created a lot of ill
feelings in our societies. Armenians have given a lot of contribution
to our social life historically. Therefore we need to continue such
kind of engagements, but this hate should be stopped."
I politely reminded Amb.. Tan that he had not answered my questions.
He responded by saying: "That is my answer." He probably was not
prepared to face such politically sensitive questions. By sidestepping
my queries, he left a negative impression on his audience, despite
his highly-skilled diplomatic credentials.
At the program's conclusion, Amb. Tan walked over, shook my hand,
and thanked me for my questions. I told him that his assessment was
inaccurate, as the Armenian issue had nothing to do with "hatred." I
explained that a great crime was committed by Turkey against the
Armenian nation, and that Armenians are not blinded by "hatred," but
simply demanding "justice." The Ambassador turned around and walked
away with a mysterious smile on his face!
Even though Amb. Tan avoided answering my questions, our public
exchange had the beneficial effect of exposing the university
audience, the Ambassador and his entourage to the just demands of
the Armenian people for the crimes committed by Turkey. Indeed, it is
also imperative to challenge Turkish officials at every opportunity,
so that neither they nor their audience would be able to ignore the
Armenian grievances.
From: A. Papazian
By Harut Sassounian
www.nt.am
Noyan Tapan
22.02.2011 | 11:34
Articles and Analyses
Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan, spoke at the
University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy on
February 16. His topic was: "Public Diplomacy: The Turkish Experience."
The Turkish Ambassador assumed his post in Washington last February,
but shortly after his arrival was recalled to Ankara when the House
Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution acknowledging the
Armenian Genocide.
Amb. Tan is no stranger to Washington, where he served as the
Embassy's Counselor from 1991 to 1995 and First Counselor from 1997
to 2001. During his long diplomatic career, he also was Ambassador
to Israel, Second Secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Russia, and
Deputy Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara.
During his first visit to Los Angeles this month, the smooth-talking
Ambassador managed to meet with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, spoke to
the World Affairs Council, and held meetings with the American Jewish
Committee, Turkish community leaders, and the Editorial Board of the
Los Angeles Times.
Prior to his arrival, the Association of Turkish-Americans of Southern
California had posted a note on its website, urging local Turks to
attend the Ambassador's public appearances and "show visible support...
especially in the face of usual anticipated detractors."
Running the risk of being labeled "a detractor," I decided to attend
the Ambassador's talk which ironically was held at USC's Ronald Tutor
Campus Center -- named after its Armenian benefactor, the son of Al
Tutor (Varjabedian), a genocide survivor. I made my way through scores
of U.S. Secret Service agents, campus security, and Turkish bodyguards
who almost outnumbered the guests at the event. Even more surprising
was the fact that there were only a handful of Armenians and Turks
among the attendees, consisting mostly of USC students and professors.
Amb. Tan, who spoke in fluent English for half an hour, presented
his country in the best possible light.. Since he had not addressed
Armenian issues, I decided to pose the following interrelated
questions:
The Turkish government recently renovated a couple of Armenian
churches. There were thousands of Armenian churches and monasteries
throughout Turkey before the genocide, most of which were converted
into mosques, warehouses and stables, and many were destroyed. Isn't it
time for the Turkish government to turn over these Armenian churches
to the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul? Also, after Armenians
were deported and killed, they left behind their houses, lands and
belongings. Isn't time for the Turkish government to return these
properties to the heirs of their original Armenian owners?
Finally, regarding the Armenian Genocide issue, Pres. Obama declared in
his statement of last April 24: "95 years ago, 1.5 million Armenians
were massacred or marched to death in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire." If you say that is not true, wouldn't you be calling the
President of the United States a liar?
Here is Amb. Tan's response:
"This hate should end. We should put it behind as early as possible.
That's why we are trying to reach out to our Armenian friends and
we have signed the [Armenia-Turkey] Protocols. In these Protocols,
one of the suggestions that we put is that we want an independent
historical inquiry commission which will include representatives
from every country -- from US, France, and whichever country you
like. They will study those claims and we will see the decision all
together. But history cannot be legislated. This is not the way that
history could be judged. So, I think this has created a lot of ill
feelings in our societies. Armenians have given a lot of contribution
to our social life historically. Therefore we need to continue such
kind of engagements, but this hate should be stopped."
I politely reminded Amb.. Tan that he had not answered my questions.
He responded by saying: "That is my answer." He probably was not
prepared to face such politically sensitive questions. By sidestepping
my queries, he left a negative impression on his audience, despite
his highly-skilled diplomatic credentials.
At the program's conclusion, Amb. Tan walked over, shook my hand,
and thanked me for my questions. I told him that his assessment was
inaccurate, as the Armenian issue had nothing to do with "hatred." I
explained that a great crime was committed by Turkey against the
Armenian nation, and that Armenians are not blinded by "hatred," but
simply demanding "justice." The Ambassador turned around and walked
away with a mysterious smile on his face!
Even though Amb. Tan avoided answering my questions, our public
exchange had the beneficial effect of exposing the university
audience, the Ambassador and his entourage to the just demands of
the Armenian people for the crimes committed by Turkey. Indeed, it is
also imperative to challenge Turkish officials at every opportunity,
so that neither they nor their audience would be able to ignore the
Armenian grievances.
From: A. Papazian