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PM'S GENOCIDE COMMENT STIRS UP A STORM
By Brian Adeba
Embassy Magazine, Canada
Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly
May 10th, 2006
Even before Stephen Harper was elected prime minister, members of
the Armenian community met him in Toronto last October to press their
main issues of concern, top among which is the Armenian genocide. A
message posted on the website of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada says
Mr. Harper initiated the meeting.
The discussion didn't turn heads until April 21, the annivesary of
the death of 1.5 million Armenians. That's when Mr. Harper's described
the situation as "genocide" the first for a sitting Canadian prime
minister. The statement has sparked a diplomatic furore with Turkey,
which temporally recalled its ambassador to Canada in protest. Prior
to Mr. Harper's public endorsement, a dedicated Armenian lobbying
effort, working quietly behind the scenes to get a high-ranking
member of Canada's government to formally recognize the genocide,
had already been set in motion.
"We discussed the genocide, the importance of bringing the executive
branch to fully recognize the genocide and being consistent with
the legislative branch," says Aris Babikian, Executive Director of
the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), which last month
formally opened an office in Ottawa. The ANCC now has chapters in 10
Canadian cities to serve the estimated 80,000 strong Armenian Diaspora
in Canada.
At the Toronto meeting with Mr. Harper, Mr. Babikian says the future
prime minister promised to "support any statement to recognise the
genocide."
"He said for him, this is not a political issue, but an issue of
principle," Mr. Babikian says.
On April 2004, Mr. Harper, then leader of the now defunct Canadian
Alliance party, was among the 153 MPs who voted in favour of a Bloc
Quebecois motion to recognize that Turkey committed genocide against
Armenians in 1915. The motion passed with 153 votes against 68.
Liberal backbenchers broke ranks with Prime Minister Paul Martin to
vote for the motion. Despite the considerable number of Liberal MPs
who supported the motion, Mr. Martin refrained from publicly endorsing
the genocide. In fact, on the day of the vote, Hansard records show
he was absent.
On March 23, 2006, an Armenian delegation including a high-ranking
religious leader from Lebanon met Mr. Harper at his office in Ottawa.
Mr. Babikian says the discussions touched on bilateral issues,
including the possibility of opening a Canadian embassy in Armenia,
and also the genocide.
"Once [Mr. Harper] became prime minister, we asked him to uphold
his position [on the genocide]," says Mr. Babikian. In April at the
opening of the offices of the ANCC, Conservative MP Jason Kenny, who
is Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, attended the event.
"He congratulated the community for finally taking this step [opening
the office]," says Mr. Babikian, who adds that the ANCC has known Mr.
Kenny since 2004, after the MP visited Rome during an occasion when an
Armenian priest killed during the genocide was named a saint by the
Pope. On May 1, during a debate on Darfur in the House of Commons,
Mr. Kenny commended Mr. Harper for having the "courage" to recognize
the "historical reality of the first genocide of the last century,
the Armenian genocide."
But as the Armenian Diaspora's lobbying effort seems to be growing
in influence with the new Tory government, the Turkish community in
Canada is up in arms, sounding alarm bells about being sidelined by
the Harper government.
"Our viewpoint is never considered," says Kevser Taymaz, an executive
of the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations. After Mr. Harper
met an Armenian delegation in March, Ms. Taymaz says the Turkish
community wrote a letter to the prime minister requesting a similar
meeting, but were referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
"I don't know if [Mr. Harper] will meet us," she says. "We are being
deliberately sidelined."
"If [the Harper government is] talking about votes, there are 100,000
Canadians of Turkish origin in Canada," Ms. Taymaz says. She also
condemns Canadian politicians for "listening to the views of the
Armenian lobby."
"History cannot be decided upon by political lobbying," she says.
"Here in Ottawa, we have people who lost their relatives to the
Armenian bandits [in 1915]."
Ms. Taymaz also says people of Turkish origin are not used to the idea
of lobbying governments because "we have come to terms with the past
[regarding the genocide]."
She added that Armenian children in Canada are being raised on a diet
of hatred towards Turks and Turkey, and that this does not bode well
for Canada as a whole.
"Now we know Canadian companies will be left out of bids," she says of
a story circulating in Turkish media following the recall of Aydemir
Erman, Turkey's Ambassador to Canada, last week.
Yonet Tezel, Counsellor at the Embassy of Turkey, says Mr. Erman was
called to Turkey for consultations, but could not say when the envoy
will be back in Ottawa.
"We are very concerned and worried that these claims of genocide are
finding reflection at that level in Canada," says Mr. Tezel.
"It is very serious, it is an attack on us," he says. Asked what kind
of reciprocal measures Turkey would take, Mr. Tezel says he is not
in position to divulge any information.
Kim Girtel, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Canada, says the
department was notified last Thursday that the Turkish ambassador is
being recalled for "consultations for a short time" in Ankara. "These
consultations are internal to the government of Turkey and we will
not speculate at this time," she says.
Dmitri Kitsikis, an expert on Turkey and professor of international
relations at the University of Ottawa, says the diplomatic spat is
not likely to last long because it is a symbolic move designed to
appease the Turkish military, the real power brokers in the country.
Mr. Kitsikis says the Turkish military, who are the custodians of
the country's secular politics has had an uneasy relationship with
the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who heads a
moderate Islamist party.
"The victim is Mr. Erdogan himself, the military could step in and
take power," says Mr. Kitsikis, who adds that Mr. Harper's comments
on the Armenian genocide do not help democracy in Turkey.
"Why did he say that except if he wants a coup in Turkey," Mr. Kitsikis
says.
[email protected]
http://www.em bassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_ path=/2006/may/10/genocide/
--Boundary_(ID_foVyk8 v8pUoNYI48/X7PXA)--
By Brian Adeba
Embassy Magazine, Canada
Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly
May 10th, 2006
Even before Stephen Harper was elected prime minister, members of
the Armenian community met him in Toronto last October to press their
main issues of concern, top among which is the Armenian genocide. A
message posted on the website of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada says
Mr. Harper initiated the meeting.
The discussion didn't turn heads until April 21, the annivesary of
the death of 1.5 million Armenians. That's when Mr. Harper's described
the situation as "genocide" the first for a sitting Canadian prime
minister. The statement has sparked a diplomatic furore with Turkey,
which temporally recalled its ambassador to Canada in protest. Prior
to Mr. Harper's public endorsement, a dedicated Armenian lobbying
effort, working quietly behind the scenes to get a high-ranking
member of Canada's government to formally recognize the genocide,
had already been set in motion.
"We discussed the genocide, the importance of bringing the executive
branch to fully recognize the genocide and being consistent with
the legislative branch," says Aris Babikian, Executive Director of
the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), which last month
formally opened an office in Ottawa. The ANCC now has chapters in 10
Canadian cities to serve the estimated 80,000 strong Armenian Diaspora
in Canada.
At the Toronto meeting with Mr. Harper, Mr. Babikian says the future
prime minister promised to "support any statement to recognise the
genocide."
"He said for him, this is not a political issue, but an issue of
principle," Mr. Babikian says.
On April 2004, Mr. Harper, then leader of the now defunct Canadian
Alliance party, was among the 153 MPs who voted in favour of a Bloc
Quebecois motion to recognize that Turkey committed genocide against
Armenians in 1915. The motion passed with 153 votes against 68.
Liberal backbenchers broke ranks with Prime Minister Paul Martin to
vote for the motion. Despite the considerable number of Liberal MPs
who supported the motion, Mr. Martin refrained from publicly endorsing
the genocide. In fact, on the day of the vote, Hansard records show
he was absent.
On March 23, 2006, an Armenian delegation including a high-ranking
religious leader from Lebanon met Mr. Harper at his office in Ottawa.
Mr. Babikian says the discussions touched on bilateral issues,
including the possibility of opening a Canadian embassy in Armenia,
and also the genocide.
"Once [Mr. Harper] became prime minister, we asked him to uphold
his position [on the genocide]," says Mr. Babikian. In April at the
opening of the offices of the ANCC, Conservative MP Jason Kenny, who
is Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, attended the event.
"He congratulated the community for finally taking this step [opening
the office]," says Mr. Babikian, who adds that the ANCC has known Mr.
Kenny since 2004, after the MP visited Rome during an occasion when an
Armenian priest killed during the genocide was named a saint by the
Pope. On May 1, during a debate on Darfur in the House of Commons,
Mr. Kenny commended Mr. Harper for having the "courage" to recognize
the "historical reality of the first genocide of the last century,
the Armenian genocide."
But as the Armenian Diaspora's lobbying effort seems to be growing
in influence with the new Tory government, the Turkish community in
Canada is up in arms, sounding alarm bells about being sidelined by
the Harper government.
"Our viewpoint is never considered," says Kevser Taymaz, an executive
of the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations. After Mr. Harper
met an Armenian delegation in March, Ms. Taymaz says the Turkish
community wrote a letter to the prime minister requesting a similar
meeting, but were referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
"I don't know if [Mr. Harper] will meet us," she says. "We are being
deliberately sidelined."
"If [the Harper government is] talking about votes, there are 100,000
Canadians of Turkish origin in Canada," Ms. Taymaz says. She also
condemns Canadian politicians for "listening to the views of the
Armenian lobby."
"History cannot be decided upon by political lobbying," she says.
"Here in Ottawa, we have people who lost their relatives to the
Armenian bandits [in 1915]."
Ms. Taymaz also says people of Turkish origin are not used to the idea
of lobbying governments because "we have come to terms with the past
[regarding the genocide]."
She added that Armenian children in Canada are being raised on a diet
of hatred towards Turks and Turkey, and that this does not bode well
for Canada as a whole.
"Now we know Canadian companies will be left out of bids," she says of
a story circulating in Turkish media following the recall of Aydemir
Erman, Turkey's Ambassador to Canada, last week.
Yonet Tezel, Counsellor at the Embassy of Turkey, says Mr. Erman was
called to Turkey for consultations, but could not say when the envoy
will be back in Ottawa.
"We are very concerned and worried that these claims of genocide are
finding reflection at that level in Canada," says Mr. Tezel.
"It is very serious, it is an attack on us," he says. Asked what kind
of reciprocal measures Turkey would take, Mr. Tezel says he is not
in position to divulge any information.
Kim Girtel, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Canada, says the
department was notified last Thursday that the Turkish ambassador is
being recalled for "consultations for a short time" in Ankara. "These
consultations are internal to the government of Turkey and we will
not speculate at this time," she says.
Dmitri Kitsikis, an expert on Turkey and professor of international
relations at the University of Ottawa, says the diplomatic spat is
not likely to last long because it is a symbolic move designed to
appease the Turkish military, the real power brokers in the country.
Mr. Kitsikis says the Turkish military, who are the custodians of
the country's secular politics has had an uneasy relationship with
the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who heads a
moderate Islamist party.
"The victim is Mr. Erdogan himself, the military could step in and
take power," says Mr. Kitsikis, who adds that Mr. Harper's comments
on the Armenian genocide do not help democracy in Turkey.
"Why did he say that except if he wants a coup in Turkey," Mr. Kitsikis
says.
[email protected]
http://www.em bassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_ path=/2006/may/10/genocide/
--Boundary_(ID_foVyk8 v8pUoNYI48/X7PXA)--