Tweet
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 27 2012
US envoy to Turkey: Face ghosts of the past
Serkan DemirtaÅ?
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Hinting at France's recent genocide bill, the US envoy to Ankara tells
Turkey that it must confront its past if it wants to rank among the
top economies by 2023
Turkey must deal with the ghosts of the past if it wants to become one
of the world's top 10 economies by 2023, Washington's envoy to Ankara
has said following controversy over a French bill to criminalize
denials of Armenian genocide claims.
`Every great country has brilliant moments of which we are proud in
our pasts and moments of pain,' Francis Ricciardone, the U.S.
ambassador to Turkey, told a group of Ankara bureau chiefs late on
Jan. 25. `We think that historians need to grapple with this in an
open and honest way so that you can come to a full and frank
acknowledgement of what happened. We believe that you are beginning to
do that.'
The ambassador's statement comes amid deep Turkish-French conflict
over a law penalizing the denial of the 1915 events as genocide in
France; similar attention over the claims affects Turkish-U.S. ties
almost every day before April 24, the day Armenians commemorate the
events.
`We like to see our friends get along and we hope that you will
overcome this dispute,' Ricciardone said without commenting on the
nature of the French legislation. Instead, he reiterated Washington's
objective of launching a new dialogue process between Turks and
Armenians.
`There needs to be a conversation. You need to get the historians
together on both sides. I've been glad to see since I've come back to
Turkey this past year that there is much more public conversation and
debate. It's no longer a closed box,' he said.
`Turks have greater confidence now to look into the past and to a
painful chapter and decide what it means. There is more contact
between Turks and Armenians to wrestle with this terrible period of
time. So we support that and we hope you will arrive at it,' he said.
No US involvement in Uludere tragedy
Journalists at the meeting also asked whether the U.S. had played a
role in the Uludere tragedy, in which 34 people were killed in a
botched air raid in Southeast Anatolia after being mistaken for
militants due to incorrect military intelligence. Opposition parties
have blamed the U.S. for the killings, saying its Predators provide
visual intelligence to the Turkish military.
`Regarding Uludere, I can say clearly and uncritically that the United
States, both in general and in particular on the Uludere, does not get
involved in Turkish targeting decisions. So we have nothing to do with
the target selection in Uludere,' he said. `A target selection is a
question that's up to the Turkish side entirely. And certainly Turkey
does have its own capabilities regarding targeting.'
Iraq to solve own internal problem
Touching on Iraq, the U.S. ambassador offered a different view from
Turkey on the growing sectarian divide in the war-torn country in the
wake of the U.S.' troop withdrawal. `Their internal affairs are their
internal affairs. We certainly respect them. We can't direct what they
do. We never presume to do that. But we do support and encourage all
sides to work together within the constitutional and democratic
framework of the Iraqi state,' he said, adding they were in close
cooperation with Turkey.
`We want to see Iraq stay [united and] rise above sectarian
differences and solve their problems in a political, peaceful and
democratic framework established under their constitution,' he said.
On the Predators' use of Iraq's airspace, he said: `Iraq is
controlling its own airspace. I'd rather not speak in great detail as
to the arrangements and understandings that are in place, but I can
tell you that the United States respects Iraqi sovereignty over its
land and air space. And certainly the government of Turkey and the
government of Iraq are in touch with each other as well.'
On the early warning radar system deployed on Turkish territory,
Ricciardone confirmed that it had become operational and described its
goal as `working against all incoming hostile missiles that might be
launched in Turkey's direction.'
`Whatever the source, it's part of the NATO system and is inherently a
defensive system,' he said.
Sanctions against Iran
On Iran, Ricciardone said the only way to deal with Iran's
controversial nuclear program was to push it to cooperate with the
International Atomic Energy Agency through diplomatic tools, namely
sanctions.
While noting that they understood that Turkey did not feel obliged to
enforce unilateral sanctions by the U.S. or the European Union,
Ricciardone said they were satisfied with Turkish banks and companies
response to those measures.
`We are satisfied that so far Turkey's banks ¦ and companies are
paying close attention to the EU and the U.S. diplomatic efforts to
show Iran it has a positive choice or a negative choice. And we hope
that Turkish companies will continue to pay close attention to those
things. And I think Turkish government will do nothing to discourage
them,' he said.
On whether the U.S. would think about an intervention into Syria, the
envoy said, `[The U.S.] is not at this time preparing any kind of
intervention and that it would be better to first see how the Arab
League and the United Nations will take the matter.'
January/27/2012
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-envoy-to-turkey-face-ghosts-of-the-past.aspx?pageID=238&nID=12410&NewsCatID=338
From: Baghdasarian
Jan 27 2012
US envoy to Turkey: Face ghosts of the past
Serkan DemirtaÅ?
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Hinting at France's recent genocide bill, the US envoy to Ankara tells
Turkey that it must confront its past if it wants to rank among the
top economies by 2023
Turkey must deal with the ghosts of the past if it wants to become one
of the world's top 10 economies by 2023, Washington's envoy to Ankara
has said following controversy over a French bill to criminalize
denials of Armenian genocide claims.
`Every great country has brilliant moments of which we are proud in
our pasts and moments of pain,' Francis Ricciardone, the U.S.
ambassador to Turkey, told a group of Ankara bureau chiefs late on
Jan. 25. `We think that historians need to grapple with this in an
open and honest way so that you can come to a full and frank
acknowledgement of what happened. We believe that you are beginning to
do that.'
The ambassador's statement comes amid deep Turkish-French conflict
over a law penalizing the denial of the 1915 events as genocide in
France; similar attention over the claims affects Turkish-U.S. ties
almost every day before April 24, the day Armenians commemorate the
events.
`We like to see our friends get along and we hope that you will
overcome this dispute,' Ricciardone said without commenting on the
nature of the French legislation. Instead, he reiterated Washington's
objective of launching a new dialogue process between Turks and
Armenians.
`There needs to be a conversation. You need to get the historians
together on both sides. I've been glad to see since I've come back to
Turkey this past year that there is much more public conversation and
debate. It's no longer a closed box,' he said.
`Turks have greater confidence now to look into the past and to a
painful chapter and decide what it means. There is more contact
between Turks and Armenians to wrestle with this terrible period of
time. So we support that and we hope you will arrive at it,' he said.
No US involvement in Uludere tragedy
Journalists at the meeting also asked whether the U.S. had played a
role in the Uludere tragedy, in which 34 people were killed in a
botched air raid in Southeast Anatolia after being mistaken for
militants due to incorrect military intelligence. Opposition parties
have blamed the U.S. for the killings, saying its Predators provide
visual intelligence to the Turkish military.
`Regarding Uludere, I can say clearly and uncritically that the United
States, both in general and in particular on the Uludere, does not get
involved in Turkish targeting decisions. So we have nothing to do with
the target selection in Uludere,' he said. `A target selection is a
question that's up to the Turkish side entirely. And certainly Turkey
does have its own capabilities regarding targeting.'
Iraq to solve own internal problem
Touching on Iraq, the U.S. ambassador offered a different view from
Turkey on the growing sectarian divide in the war-torn country in the
wake of the U.S.' troop withdrawal. `Their internal affairs are their
internal affairs. We certainly respect them. We can't direct what they
do. We never presume to do that. But we do support and encourage all
sides to work together within the constitutional and democratic
framework of the Iraqi state,' he said, adding they were in close
cooperation with Turkey.
`We want to see Iraq stay [united and] rise above sectarian
differences and solve their problems in a political, peaceful and
democratic framework established under their constitution,' he said.
On the Predators' use of Iraq's airspace, he said: `Iraq is
controlling its own airspace. I'd rather not speak in great detail as
to the arrangements and understandings that are in place, but I can
tell you that the United States respects Iraqi sovereignty over its
land and air space. And certainly the government of Turkey and the
government of Iraq are in touch with each other as well.'
On the early warning radar system deployed on Turkish territory,
Ricciardone confirmed that it had become operational and described its
goal as `working against all incoming hostile missiles that might be
launched in Turkey's direction.'
`Whatever the source, it's part of the NATO system and is inherently a
defensive system,' he said.
Sanctions against Iran
On Iran, Ricciardone said the only way to deal with Iran's
controversial nuclear program was to push it to cooperate with the
International Atomic Energy Agency through diplomatic tools, namely
sanctions.
While noting that they understood that Turkey did not feel obliged to
enforce unilateral sanctions by the U.S. or the European Union,
Ricciardone said they were satisfied with Turkish banks and companies
response to those measures.
`We are satisfied that so far Turkey's banks ¦ and companies are
paying close attention to the EU and the U.S. diplomatic efforts to
show Iran it has a positive choice or a negative choice. And we hope
that Turkish companies will continue to pay close attention to those
things. And I think Turkish government will do nothing to discourage
them,' he said.
On whether the U.S. would think about an intervention into Syria, the
envoy said, `[The U.S.] is not at this time preparing any kind of
intervention and that it would be better to first see how the Arab
League and the United Nations will take the matter.'
January/27/2012
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-envoy-to-turkey-face-ghosts-of-the-past.aspx?pageID=238&nID=12410&NewsCatID=338
From: Baghdasarian