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GRAFT PROBE'S TRANSATLANTIC EFFECTS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 13 2014
LALE KEMAL
[email protected]
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's claim that "internal and
external conspirators" were behind the corruption and bribery scandal
that became public on Dec. 17 last year and that their ultimate goal is
to topple his government has the potential to provoke the US Congress
to adopt resolutions that Ankara will not like. For instance, the US
Congress may finally adopt a resolution that will recognize the mass
killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule as a genocide, terminology
that Ankara fiercely opposes.
The fact that Erdogan pointed his finger at the US, Turkey's close
ally, as being among the external conspirators allegedly against
his rule when he specifically targeted the outgoing US Ambassador
to Turkey Francis Ricciardone, whom he accused of being involved in
provocative acts in the midst of the corruption scandal, has already
irritated both the US administration and the US Congress.
The US Congress did not like an American ambassador being treated
like an enemy in a NATO country, i.e., in Turkey.
The row with Ricciardone erupted when pro-government media outlets
ran reports quoting him as having said in a closed-door meeting with
ambassadors from European Union countries that they would see the
"downfall of an empire," i.e., Turkey. He was also quoted as saying
that he had asked Turkey's state-owned Halkbank, whose general manager
was arrested on corruption and bribery charges, to halt its business
dealings with Iran, as per the United Nations sanctions in place
against the country.
Ricciardone's alleged meeting with ambassadors from EU countries,
meanwhile, apparently did not even take place, prompting speculation
that the above mentioned quotes attributed to the US ambassador were
made up.
Immediately after the media reports, the US Embassy in Ankara posted
several messages on its Twitter account saying that the US has no
involvement in the ongoing corruption probe, adding, "All allegations
in news stories are downright lies and slander."
How will Erdogan's policy of targeting Washington through its
ambassador affect Turkish-US relations? The immediate effect is highly
likely to be in the form of a negative attitude toward Turkey in the
US Congress.
Erdogan, by targeting the US ambassador based upon what may be fake
stories, has ironically offered the US Congress an excuse delivered
on a silver platter for them to push for a resolution to recognize the
events of 1915 under Ottoman rule, Turkey's predecessor, as a genocide.
Turkey states that there were deaths on both sides when Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian
army and invaded eastern Anatolia to gain independence. Ankara insists
that historians of both Armenia and Turkey should get together to
decide on whether the events of 1915 constitute a genocide and that
it is not the responsibility of parliaments to pass resolutions
recognizing the events as a genocide.
At the executive level, US presidents make statements on April 23
of each year, the day that is commemorated by the Armenians as the
anniversary of the genocide, that stop short of recognizing the
events as genocide. In his statement in April last year, President
Obama referred to the events as the "Meds Yeghern," which means
"great tragedy" in Armenian, instead of branding the events openly
as a genocide.
The US Congress, however, is likely to use Erdogan's attacks against
the US ambassador to push the Obama administration to downgrade its
ties with Turkey and it may finally adopt a resolution branding the
deaths of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire as a
"genocide" of Armenians.
The Armenian-American community is the most politically influential
community of the Armenian diaspora (Armenians living outside
Armenian state). And they are a very influential community within
the US Congress. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, comes from New Jersey, where the Armenian
community is quite prominent.
It is, then, not a coincidence that all kinds of stories that describe
the Turkish government's policies in the handling of the graft probe
as intended to cover it up and not allowing the judiciary to pursue
the case are being run in local papers in New Jersey. The Armenian
community in New Jersey seeks to influence Menendez using the graft
probe stories from Turkey due to the way it has been handled --
violating the rule of law -- to push for a resolution for the
recognition of Armenian genocide.
The Armenian community obviously seeks to paint Turkey negatively
through the way the Turkish government has been managing the corruption
investigation. The Armenians want to prove that there is no rule
of law in Turkey since the government has been interfering in the
judicial process during the graft probe, as well as recalling the
police brutality endorsed by the Turkish government against Gezi
Park protesters last summer, as well as citing the numerous Turkish
journalists imprisoned because of their opposition to the government.
2015 is the 100th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians under
Ottoman rule. Armenian- Americans will ask the US Congress to adopt
a resolution recognizing the events as a genocide next year, if not
in April of this year. And Senator Menendez from New Jersey cannot
afford to turn down the demands from the strong Armenian community
in his constituency.
Debate around "Turkey may be a NATO ally, but what kind of an
ally violates democratic principles?" had already begun in the US
Congress following the Gezi Park protests. The Turkish government's
mishandling of the graft probe has further fueled anti-Turkish
government perceptions in the US Congress.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/lale-kemal_336501_graft-probes-transatlantic-effects.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 13 2014
LALE KEMAL
[email protected]
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's claim that "internal and
external conspirators" were behind the corruption and bribery scandal
that became public on Dec. 17 last year and that their ultimate goal is
to topple his government has the potential to provoke the US Congress
to adopt resolutions that Ankara will not like. For instance, the US
Congress may finally adopt a resolution that will recognize the mass
killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule as a genocide, terminology
that Ankara fiercely opposes.
The fact that Erdogan pointed his finger at the US, Turkey's close
ally, as being among the external conspirators allegedly against
his rule when he specifically targeted the outgoing US Ambassador
to Turkey Francis Ricciardone, whom he accused of being involved in
provocative acts in the midst of the corruption scandal, has already
irritated both the US administration and the US Congress.
The US Congress did not like an American ambassador being treated
like an enemy in a NATO country, i.e., in Turkey.
The row with Ricciardone erupted when pro-government media outlets
ran reports quoting him as having said in a closed-door meeting with
ambassadors from European Union countries that they would see the
"downfall of an empire," i.e., Turkey. He was also quoted as saying
that he had asked Turkey's state-owned Halkbank, whose general manager
was arrested on corruption and bribery charges, to halt its business
dealings with Iran, as per the United Nations sanctions in place
against the country.
Ricciardone's alleged meeting with ambassadors from EU countries,
meanwhile, apparently did not even take place, prompting speculation
that the above mentioned quotes attributed to the US ambassador were
made up.
Immediately after the media reports, the US Embassy in Ankara posted
several messages on its Twitter account saying that the US has no
involvement in the ongoing corruption probe, adding, "All allegations
in news stories are downright lies and slander."
How will Erdogan's policy of targeting Washington through its
ambassador affect Turkish-US relations? The immediate effect is highly
likely to be in the form of a negative attitude toward Turkey in the
US Congress.
Erdogan, by targeting the US ambassador based upon what may be fake
stories, has ironically offered the US Congress an excuse delivered
on a silver platter for them to push for a resolution to recognize the
events of 1915 under Ottoman rule, Turkey's predecessor, as a genocide.
Turkey states that there were deaths on both sides when Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian
army and invaded eastern Anatolia to gain independence. Ankara insists
that historians of both Armenia and Turkey should get together to
decide on whether the events of 1915 constitute a genocide and that
it is not the responsibility of parliaments to pass resolutions
recognizing the events as a genocide.
At the executive level, US presidents make statements on April 23
of each year, the day that is commemorated by the Armenians as the
anniversary of the genocide, that stop short of recognizing the
events as genocide. In his statement in April last year, President
Obama referred to the events as the "Meds Yeghern," which means
"great tragedy" in Armenian, instead of branding the events openly
as a genocide.
The US Congress, however, is likely to use Erdogan's attacks against
the US ambassador to push the Obama administration to downgrade its
ties with Turkey and it may finally adopt a resolution branding the
deaths of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire as a
"genocide" of Armenians.
The Armenian-American community is the most politically influential
community of the Armenian diaspora (Armenians living outside
Armenian state). And they are a very influential community within
the US Congress. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, comes from New Jersey, where the Armenian
community is quite prominent.
It is, then, not a coincidence that all kinds of stories that describe
the Turkish government's policies in the handling of the graft probe
as intended to cover it up and not allowing the judiciary to pursue
the case are being run in local papers in New Jersey. The Armenian
community in New Jersey seeks to influence Menendez using the graft
probe stories from Turkey due to the way it has been handled --
violating the rule of law -- to push for a resolution for the
recognition of Armenian genocide.
The Armenian community obviously seeks to paint Turkey negatively
through the way the Turkish government has been managing the corruption
investigation. The Armenians want to prove that there is no rule
of law in Turkey since the government has been interfering in the
judicial process during the graft probe, as well as recalling the
police brutality endorsed by the Turkish government against Gezi
Park protesters last summer, as well as citing the numerous Turkish
journalists imprisoned because of their opposition to the government.
2015 is the 100th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians under
Ottoman rule. Armenian- Americans will ask the US Congress to adopt
a resolution recognizing the events as a genocide next year, if not
in April of this year. And Senator Menendez from New Jersey cannot
afford to turn down the demands from the strong Armenian community
in his constituency.
Debate around "Turkey may be a NATO ally, but what kind of an
ally violates democratic principles?" had already begun in the US
Congress following the Gezi Park protests. The Turkish government's
mishandling of the graft probe has further fueled anti-Turkish
government perceptions in the US Congress.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/lale-kemal_336501_graft-probes-transatlantic-effects.html