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Ottawa Citizen, Canada
Aug 17 2012
Mystery monument details emerge from overseas
Armenian tensions may be why Baird refuses to talk Turkey
By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Is John Baird running the NCC? One day he's announcing the renaming of
the Ottawa River Parkway in honour of Sir John A. Macdonald - for no
good reason, by the way - while his department, Foreign Affairs, is
cagily guarding details of a secret monument, also on NCC land, meant
to honour Turkish diplomats.
One wonders whether he is also hand-picking the new CEO of the
National Cap-ital Commission, but let's not give in to rampant
cynicism.
There is news about the mystery monument, on the southeast corner of
Island Park Drive and the Macdonald Parkway, or the "A."
It is indeed, as reported in the Citizen, a monument meant to honour
fallen Turkish diplomats, in particular Col. Atilla Altikat, who was
slain in a brazen attack on this corner in 1982.
The military attaché was the second Turkish embassy official ambushed
in Ottawa that year.
It was part of a worldwide campaign by Armenian terrorists.
According to a Turkish news-paper, the Hürriyet Daily News, there is a
reason for all this secrecy about the look and purpose of the
monument, which is being completed under a white tarp: the Armenians.
"The project was kept secret to prevent possible interventions by the
Armenian lobby, Tolga Tanis of daily Hürriyet reported to-day," reads
a story from the paper's Washington bureau.
Bizarre. One has to ask the obvious.
If there is concern about letting the Armenians know beforehand, does
this not suggest there will be ongoing concern once the monument is
unveiled?
What are we to do, post guards 24/7? Little cut-outs of Sir John A.?
The newspaper story has other details.
It says Turkish ambassador Rafet Akgünay sought out artists and an
architectural firm to come up with three possible designs for the
monument, expected to be unveiled before the end of the month to mark
the 30th anniversary of the slaying.
"The monument is a six-metre-wide and three-metre-deep semi-spherical
structure comprised of steel and wooden elements that took six months
to design and an-other six months to manufacture.
"ÎÎAll parts were flown in from Turkey under the sponsorship of
Turkish Airlines in July."
Don't know about the rest of you, but it is less than reassuring to
find out about news developments two blocks from my house from a
Turkish newspaper.
But such is the lay of the land. Even Baird, asked about the monument
by a Citizen reporter this week, declined to provide specifics.
"When completed, a final wood-en stake will pierce the monument at its
centre, marking the exact spot where Altikat was killed by (Armenian
terrorist group) ASALA, sculptor (Necmettin) Yagci said."
Since Altikat was shot in his car, waiting at a light many metres
away, this is probably a bit of poetic licence, but who knows?
"It no longer needs to remain a secret," the sculptor said of his
de-sign. Well, except here.
The tension between the two countries can be traced to the massacre of
as many as 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman government, Turkey's
precursor, during and after the First World War.
Turks have consistently disputed the Armenian characterization of the
slaughter as genocide.
The Armenian embassy in Ottawa declined to comment on the monument.
Paul Douzjian is a leading member of the local Armenian community,
which numbers about 800.
He said Thursday he doubted there would be an "undesirable" response
from local Armenians, though admitted he could not speak for "crazy
people" out there.
He is, however, quite keen on knowing what the Turks will pro-vide on
a plaque or sign by way of explanatory information.
"I'm very much interested in knowing what they are going to write on
this monument."
It is still, he said, "a very touchy" subject.
The renaming of the Ottawa River Parkway, meanwhile, just seems to
strike a false note.
There are already a major bridge, a prominent federal building and the
Ottawa airport named for Canada's first prime minister.
And now a parkway that has nothing in particular to do with the other
three, or with Sir John him-self?
It is certainly preferable to re-naming Wellington Street for
Macdonald, an appalling idea that made no sense and was historically
jar-ring.
It is a mystery why Ottawa, on the whole, is so bad at naming things.
Prominent sports promoter Howard Darwin's name is being plunked on a
suburban hockey arena that speaks not one word about his contributions
to professional baseball or the Ottawa 67's.
And the name of a former Ontario lieutenant-governor, James Bartleman,
was judged more suitable for the city archives than our most colourful
mayor, Charlotte Whitton.
Must we be so hollow, secretive - even weird?
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Mystery+monument+details+emerge+from+overseas/7103233/story.html
Aug 17 2012
Mystery monument details emerge from overseas
Armenian tensions may be why Baird refuses to talk Turkey
By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Is John Baird running the NCC? One day he's announcing the renaming of
the Ottawa River Parkway in honour of Sir John A. Macdonald - for no
good reason, by the way - while his department, Foreign Affairs, is
cagily guarding details of a secret monument, also on NCC land, meant
to honour Turkish diplomats.
One wonders whether he is also hand-picking the new CEO of the
National Cap-ital Commission, but let's not give in to rampant
cynicism.
There is news about the mystery monument, on the southeast corner of
Island Park Drive and the Macdonald Parkway, or the "A."
It is indeed, as reported in the Citizen, a monument meant to honour
fallen Turkish diplomats, in particular Col. Atilla Altikat, who was
slain in a brazen attack on this corner in 1982.
The military attaché was the second Turkish embassy official ambushed
in Ottawa that year.
It was part of a worldwide campaign by Armenian terrorists.
According to a Turkish news-paper, the Hürriyet Daily News, there is a
reason for all this secrecy about the look and purpose of the
monument, which is being completed under a white tarp: the Armenians.
"The project was kept secret to prevent possible interventions by the
Armenian lobby, Tolga Tanis of daily Hürriyet reported to-day," reads
a story from the paper's Washington bureau.
Bizarre. One has to ask the obvious.
If there is concern about letting the Armenians know beforehand, does
this not suggest there will be ongoing concern once the monument is
unveiled?
What are we to do, post guards 24/7? Little cut-outs of Sir John A.?
The newspaper story has other details.
It says Turkish ambassador Rafet Akgünay sought out artists and an
architectural firm to come up with three possible designs for the
monument, expected to be unveiled before the end of the month to mark
the 30th anniversary of the slaying.
"The monument is a six-metre-wide and three-metre-deep semi-spherical
structure comprised of steel and wooden elements that took six months
to design and an-other six months to manufacture.
"ÎÎAll parts were flown in from Turkey under the sponsorship of
Turkish Airlines in July."
Don't know about the rest of you, but it is less than reassuring to
find out about news developments two blocks from my house from a
Turkish newspaper.
But such is the lay of the land. Even Baird, asked about the monument
by a Citizen reporter this week, declined to provide specifics.
"When completed, a final wood-en stake will pierce the monument at its
centre, marking the exact spot where Altikat was killed by (Armenian
terrorist group) ASALA, sculptor (Necmettin) Yagci said."
Since Altikat was shot in his car, waiting at a light many metres
away, this is probably a bit of poetic licence, but who knows?
"It no longer needs to remain a secret," the sculptor said of his
de-sign. Well, except here.
The tension between the two countries can be traced to the massacre of
as many as 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman government, Turkey's
precursor, during and after the First World War.
Turks have consistently disputed the Armenian characterization of the
slaughter as genocide.
The Armenian embassy in Ottawa declined to comment on the monument.
Paul Douzjian is a leading member of the local Armenian community,
which numbers about 800.
He said Thursday he doubted there would be an "undesirable" response
from local Armenians, though admitted he could not speak for "crazy
people" out there.
He is, however, quite keen on knowing what the Turks will pro-vide on
a plaque or sign by way of explanatory information.
"I'm very much interested in knowing what they are going to write on
this monument."
It is still, he said, "a very touchy" subject.
The renaming of the Ottawa River Parkway, meanwhile, just seems to
strike a false note.
There are already a major bridge, a prominent federal building and the
Ottawa airport named for Canada's first prime minister.
And now a parkway that has nothing in particular to do with the other
three, or with Sir John him-self?
It is certainly preferable to re-naming Wellington Street for
Macdonald, an appalling idea that made no sense and was historically
jar-ring.
It is a mystery why Ottawa, on the whole, is so bad at naming things.
Prominent sports promoter Howard Darwin's name is being plunked on a
suburban hockey arena that speaks not one word about his contributions
to professional baseball or the Ottawa 67's.
And the name of a former Ontario lieutenant-governor, James Bartleman,
was judged more suitable for the city archives than our most colourful
mayor, Charlotte Whitton.
Must we be so hollow, secretive - even weird?
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Mystery+monument+details+emerge+from+overseas/7103233/story.html