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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Oct 18 2014
Turkey downplays Armenian rug exhibition in White House
Sevil ErkuÅ?
ANKARA ` Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey has downplayed a the White House's decision to exhibit an
Armenian `orphan rug,' a move that could be interpreted as a
diplomatic message as debates between the U.S. and Turkey heat up over
the latter's stance regarding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL).
Ankara does not link the decision to exhibit the rug, also known as
the `Ghazir Rug,' as a step to responding to certain political demands
of the Armenians, a Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily
News.
`The rug that will be displayed with two other gifts in the entrance
of the White House should not be interpreted as the U.S. developing an
attitude of taking sides with Armenian arguments,' the official said.
The rug will be displayed as part of an exhibition titled `Thank You
to the United States: Three Gifts to Presidents in Gratitude for
American Generosity Abroad,' which will be held on Nov. 18-23.
Bernadette Meehan, the U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman,
stated on Oct. 15 that the rug was woven by 14,000 Armenian orphans in
1920 and presented to then-U.S. President Calvin Coolidge in 1925.
Citing transportation risks, the White House last year passed up on
displaying the rug, which represents the mass killings of Armenians
under Ottoman rule in 1915-16. Armenians and many historians say the
killings amounted to a campaign of genocide.
Referring to the U.S. spokesperson's statement on this year's
exhibition, the Turkish official drew attention to the expression
`assistance rendered by the American people to displaced Armenian
orphans,' saying that this showed the U.S. was preventing the gift
from being exploited by circles that aim to politicize the issue.
The U.S. administration did not allow the rug to be linked to the 1915
incidents despite the pressure by the Armenian diaspora, the official
said, adding that even the Armenian press and prominent Armenian
diaspora representatives found the move `ambivalent and insincere.'
Relations between Turkey and the U.S. are unusually tense at the
moment, with Turkey ruling out a weekend statement by Washington
claiming that Turkey had granted permission for the use of its
Ä°ncirlik base for attacks on ISIL.
October/18/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-downplays-armenian-rug-exhibition-in-white-house-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=73145&NewsCatID=510
Oct 18 2014
Turkey downplays Armenian rug exhibition in White House
Sevil ErkuÅ?
ANKARA ` Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey has downplayed a the White House's decision to exhibit an
Armenian `orphan rug,' a move that could be interpreted as a
diplomatic message as debates between the U.S. and Turkey heat up over
the latter's stance regarding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL).
Ankara does not link the decision to exhibit the rug, also known as
the `Ghazir Rug,' as a step to responding to certain political demands
of the Armenians, a Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily
News.
`The rug that will be displayed with two other gifts in the entrance
of the White House should not be interpreted as the U.S. developing an
attitude of taking sides with Armenian arguments,' the official said.
The rug will be displayed as part of an exhibition titled `Thank You
to the United States: Three Gifts to Presidents in Gratitude for
American Generosity Abroad,' which will be held on Nov. 18-23.
Bernadette Meehan, the U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman,
stated on Oct. 15 that the rug was woven by 14,000 Armenian orphans in
1920 and presented to then-U.S. President Calvin Coolidge in 1925.
Citing transportation risks, the White House last year passed up on
displaying the rug, which represents the mass killings of Armenians
under Ottoman rule in 1915-16. Armenians and many historians say the
killings amounted to a campaign of genocide.
Referring to the U.S. spokesperson's statement on this year's
exhibition, the Turkish official drew attention to the expression
`assistance rendered by the American people to displaced Armenian
orphans,' saying that this showed the U.S. was preventing the gift
from being exploited by circles that aim to politicize the issue.
The U.S. administration did not allow the rug to be linked to the 1915
incidents despite the pressure by the Armenian diaspora, the official
said, adding that even the Armenian press and prominent Armenian
diaspora representatives found the move `ambivalent and insincere.'
Relations between Turkey and the U.S. are unusually tense at the
moment, with Turkey ruling out a weekend statement by Washington
claiming that Turkey had granted permission for the use of its
Ä°ncirlik base for attacks on ISIL.
October/18/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-downplays-armenian-rug-exhibition-in-white-house-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=73145&NewsCatID=510