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ANCA URGES U.S. GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW RELATIONS WITH TURKEY
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.09.2008 14:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
has called on members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to
closely scrutinize ten serious shortcomings in the Administration's
handling of the U.S.- Turkey relationship, during the September
24th confirmation hearing for James Jeffrey to serve as the next
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey.
The ANCA has, in connection to the confirmation process, circulated
the list of "Top 10 Bush Administration Failures in U.S.-Turkey
Policy" to Senate offices, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian
told PanARMENIAN.Net.
Among the main failings listed in the letter was its strident attacks
on growing bipartisan movement toward U.S. recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, including President Bush's firing of Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans, and the "sad public spectacle," in October of 2007, of
the Administration caving in to Turkey's threats against Congressional
recognition of this crime against humanity.
The full list is as follows:
1) The Bush Administration's failure, in early 2003, to secure Turkish
cooperation in opening a vitally needed northern front against Iraq.
2) The Bush Administration's tacit approval for successive invasions
of northern Iraq that have threatened to destabilize the territory
of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
3) The Bush Administration's lack of any meaningful response to
Turkey's increasingly close ties with Iran and Syria.
4) The Bush Administration's contribution to the downward spiral of
Turkish public favorable ratings for the United States, which are at
12% according to the Pew Research Center.
5) The Bush Administration's firing, in 2005, of the well-respected
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, over the Turkish government's
objections to his truthful statements about the Armenian Genocide.
6) The Bush Administration's sad public spectacle, in October of 2007,
of caving in to Turkey's threats against the U.S. Congress' recognizing
a crime against humanity. (This capitulation was compounded by the
decision of the President to send two of his Administration's senior
officials, Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman and Assistant
Secretary of State Dan Fried, to Ankara to personally apologize for
America for the House Foreign Affair Committee's approval of this
human rights legislation.)
7) The Bush Administration's refusal to apply any meaningful pressure
on Turkey to lift its illegal blockade of Armenia.
8) The Bush Administration's failure to take any concrete steps to
end Turkey's closure of the Halki theological seminary.
9) The Bush Administration's ill-advised efforts to legitimize
the illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus by, among other actions,
facilitating U.S. and international access to illegal ports of entry
in the northern parts of this sovereign island nation.
10) The Bush Administration's shameful silence on one of the highest
profile human rights cases in recent Turkish history, the prosecution
and official Turkish government intimidation of journalist Hrant
Dink, until after his assassination in January of 2007 on the streets
of Istanbul.
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.09.2008 14:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
has called on members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to
closely scrutinize ten serious shortcomings in the Administration's
handling of the U.S.- Turkey relationship, during the September
24th confirmation hearing for James Jeffrey to serve as the next
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey.
The ANCA has, in connection to the confirmation process, circulated
the list of "Top 10 Bush Administration Failures in U.S.-Turkey
Policy" to Senate offices, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian
told PanARMENIAN.Net.
Among the main failings listed in the letter was its strident attacks
on growing bipartisan movement toward U.S. recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, including President Bush's firing of Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans, and the "sad public spectacle," in October of 2007, of
the Administration caving in to Turkey's threats against Congressional
recognition of this crime against humanity.
The full list is as follows:
1) The Bush Administration's failure, in early 2003, to secure Turkish
cooperation in opening a vitally needed northern front against Iraq.
2) The Bush Administration's tacit approval for successive invasions
of northern Iraq that have threatened to destabilize the territory
of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
3) The Bush Administration's lack of any meaningful response to
Turkey's increasingly close ties with Iran and Syria.
4) The Bush Administration's contribution to the downward spiral of
Turkish public favorable ratings for the United States, which are at
12% according to the Pew Research Center.
5) The Bush Administration's firing, in 2005, of the well-respected
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, over the Turkish government's
objections to his truthful statements about the Armenian Genocide.
6) The Bush Administration's sad public spectacle, in October of 2007,
of caving in to Turkey's threats against the U.S. Congress' recognizing
a crime against humanity. (This capitulation was compounded by the
decision of the President to send two of his Administration's senior
officials, Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman and Assistant
Secretary of State Dan Fried, to Ankara to personally apologize for
America for the House Foreign Affair Committee's approval of this
human rights legislation.)
7) The Bush Administration's refusal to apply any meaningful pressure
on Turkey to lift its illegal blockade of Armenia.
8) The Bush Administration's failure to take any concrete steps to
end Turkey's closure of the Halki theological seminary.
9) The Bush Administration's ill-advised efforts to legitimize
the illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus by, among other actions,
facilitating U.S. and international access to illegal ports of entry
in the northern parts of this sovereign island nation.
10) The Bush Administration's shameful silence on one of the highest
profile human rights cases in recent Turkish history, the prosecution
and official Turkish government intimidation of journalist Hrant
Dink, until after his assassination in January of 2007 on the streets
of Istanbul.