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TURKEY INTENSIFIES COUNTER-ATTACK AGAINST GENOCIDE CLAIMS
Ercan Yavuz Ankara
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 1 2007
As the US House of Representatives sets to hear on the Armenian
genocide resolution, the Turkish Parliament has published booklets
to be sent to US congressmen containing documents that invalidate
genocide claims.
An initiative of the Turkish Parliament's Office of the Speaker, the
booklets will first be distributed to 550 members of the US Congress.
Printed in Turkish, English, German, Italian and French, the booklets
will also be sent to legislators of other countries.
Having decided to send three separate parliamentary delegations to
the US for lobbying against the Armenian genocide resolution, to
be discussed in the House of Representative in April, the Turkish
parliament has sponsored the preparation of a booklet instead of a
comprehensive book so that it be can easily read.
Published under the guidance of Egemen Baðýþ, chairman of the
Turkish-American Interparliamentary Friendship Group, and Professor
Aziz Akgul, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Diyarbakýr
deputy, the evidentiary documents were obtained from the Turkish
History Institute.
The first four pages state the historic events between 1915 and 1918
cannot be considered as genocide while 14 pages contain documents
refuting Armenian genocide claims.
Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor
state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a
genocide. The Turkish government has said Armenians were killed
or displaced in civil unrest during the disarray surrounding the
empire's collapse.
Arguing that the resolution will not be accepted in the House of
Representatives, Baðýþ said, "In my opinion, the bill will not pass.
I don't think the US will make such a big mistake. Common sense will
eventually rule. The US will not be trapped by the Armenian diaspora."
The US administration has opposed previous attempts by members of
Congress to pass resolutions recognizing the killings of Armenians
as an organized genocide. But US President George Bush will have
to persuade the new Democrat-controlled Congress, which does not
need presidential approval for such a resolution. The resolution
was introduced on Jan. 30 at the US Congress, and currently has
170 co-sponsors.
Akgul noted that the idea of publishing a booklet against the Armenian
claims came at his meetings with some of the US congressmen.
He said, "During the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and OECD meetings,
I was with two US representatives. In connection with the bill, they
confessed that virtually all representatives did not have even the
simplest historic facts concerning the issue."
Meanwhile, a six-person Turkish parliamentary delegation carried on
meetings at the US House of Representatives. The delegation, which
consists of four members of the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) and two deputies from the opposition Republican People's
Party (CHP), had meetings with six representatives from both the
Democratic and the Republican parties in Congress.
In delegation talks, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza reiterated the US
administration's opposition to the resolution.
--Boundary_(ID_OepFvTudGgUDYU03y2iLnQ )--
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Ercan Yavuz Ankara
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 1 2007
As the US House of Representatives sets to hear on the Armenian
genocide resolution, the Turkish Parliament has published booklets
to be sent to US congressmen containing documents that invalidate
genocide claims.
An initiative of the Turkish Parliament's Office of the Speaker, the
booklets will first be distributed to 550 members of the US Congress.
Printed in Turkish, English, German, Italian and French, the booklets
will also be sent to legislators of other countries.
Having decided to send three separate parliamentary delegations to
the US for lobbying against the Armenian genocide resolution, to
be discussed in the House of Representative in April, the Turkish
parliament has sponsored the preparation of a booklet instead of a
comprehensive book so that it be can easily read.
Published under the guidance of Egemen Baðýþ, chairman of the
Turkish-American Interparliamentary Friendship Group, and Professor
Aziz Akgul, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Diyarbakýr
deputy, the evidentiary documents were obtained from the Turkish
History Institute.
The first four pages state the historic events between 1915 and 1918
cannot be considered as genocide while 14 pages contain documents
refuting Armenian genocide claims.
Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor
state, the Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a
genocide. The Turkish government has said Armenians were killed
or displaced in civil unrest during the disarray surrounding the
empire's collapse.
Arguing that the resolution will not be accepted in the House of
Representatives, Baðýþ said, "In my opinion, the bill will not pass.
I don't think the US will make such a big mistake. Common sense will
eventually rule. The US will not be trapped by the Armenian diaspora."
The US administration has opposed previous attempts by members of
Congress to pass resolutions recognizing the killings of Armenians
as an organized genocide. But US President George Bush will have
to persuade the new Democrat-controlled Congress, which does not
need presidential approval for such a resolution. The resolution
was introduced on Jan. 30 at the US Congress, and currently has
170 co-sponsors.
Akgul noted that the idea of publishing a booklet against the Armenian
claims came at his meetings with some of the US congressmen.
He said, "During the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and OECD meetings,
I was with two US representatives. In connection with the bill, they
confessed that virtually all representatives did not have even the
simplest historic facts concerning the issue."
Meanwhile, a six-person Turkish parliamentary delegation carried on
meetings at the US House of Representatives. The delegation, which
consists of four members of the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) and two deputies from the opposition Republican People's
Party (CHP), had meetings with six representatives from both the
Democratic and the Republican parties in Congress.
In delegation talks, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza reiterated the US
administration's opposition to the resolution.
--Boundary_(ID_OepFvTudGgUDYU03y2iLnQ )--
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress