Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: info@aaainc.org
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
May 27, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: ckojoian@aaainc.org
CONGRESSMAN PALLONE CONDEMNS TURKISH GOVERNMENT ASSAULT ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Says Turkey is “Not Yet A Democratic State”
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America today praised
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
for condemning Turkey for accusing its own citizens of committing
treason against the state and challenging its longstanding policy of
denying the Armenian Genocide. As a result, an unprecedented Armenian
Genocide conference was postponed this week due to outside “pressures,
threats and slander,” according to organizers.
In a speech before Congress last night, Pallone said in part, “[this]
development affirms the speculation that the image that the Turkish
government has attempted to create for itself is nothing more than a
desperate attempt to create a facade. Contrary to what Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan and other Turkish officials would have us believe,
the Government of Turkey is not democratic, is not committed to
creating a democracy, is not making an effort to create better
relations with Armenia and is definitely not ready to join the
European Union.”
Conference organizers said that more than 720 people were to
participate in the May 25-27 conference at Istanbul’s Bosphorus
University entitled, “Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the
Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy.”
In a joint press statement issued yesterday, organizers said the
postponement followed intense government pressure to scrap the event –
including Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek’s outrageous claims in
parliament on Tuesday that the conference amounted to a “stab in the
back of the Turkish people.”
“We must end this treason, the spreading of propaganda against Turkey
by the people who belong to it,” Cicek said.
“We find the unjust and prejudiced accusations made against the not
yet presented papers of a not yet actualized conference totally
unlawful,” conference planners said in their statement. “Had the
actualization of this conference been tolerated, the rich, varied and
not at all monotonous approaches to the issue of what happened before,
during and after 1915 would have emerged.”
A European Union diplomat this week told Reuters that Cicek’s remarks
were “unbelievable.”
“It not only kills the government’s policy on the Armenian issue. It
will also kill support for Turkey’s EU drive,” the diplomat told
Reuters.
Yesterday in Washington, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Bulent
Arinc criticized his own government for blocking the conference and
said, “Even if I do not like it, the speeches should not be
prevented.”
Additionally, at least 150 Turkish academicians from more than 10
universities have signed a public statement protesting the assault on
university autonomy and academic freedom.
Turkey characterizes itself as a mature democracy with hopes of
becoming the first Muslim nation to accede to the European Union. As
such, it faces mounting pressure to normalize relations with
neighboring Armenia in addition to reforming its minority and civil
rights record. The European Parliament has gone further, calling upon
Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide. And senior European
officials have repeatedly called on Turkey to deal with the fact of
the Armenian Genocide as part of its accession process.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.
###
NR#2005-055
Editor’s Note: Attached is the full text of Congressman Pallone’s
speech in the House of Representatives on May 26, 2005.
IN OPPOSITION TO CANCELLATION OF GENOCIDE CONFERENCE IN TURKEY —
(House of Representatives – May 26, 2005)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to voice my outrage
and great disappointment about a recent development in Turkey. A
conference set to begin yesterday in Bogazici University, of Turkish
scholars and academics, entitled “Ottoman Armenians During the
Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and
Democracy,” was indefinitely postponed by the university organizers.
According to Agence France-Presse, Turkish Justice Minister Cemil
Cicek yesterday accused conference organizers of committing treason,
saying, “We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insults, of
spreading propaganda against the Turkish nation by people who belong
to it.” In addition, Turkish officials have demanded copies of all
papers submitted to the conference.
The development further affirms the speculation that the image that
the Turkish Government has attempted to create for itself is nothing
more than a desperate attempt to create a facade. Contrary to what
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and other Turkish officials would have
us believe, the Government of Turkey is not democratic, is not
committed to creating a democracy, is not making an effort to create
better relations with Armenia and is definitely not ready to join the
European Union.
Over the last year, we have witnessed the Government of Turkey attempt
to move towards democratization. However, the manner in which they
have chosen to do so is an insult to any truly democratic
government. Their attempts have included the adoption of a penal code
that, in reality, represents a dramatic display of the Turkish
government’s campaign to deny the Armenian genocide. Furthermore, this
new criminal code further hindered improved relations between the
Republic of Armenia and Turkey.
Section 306 of this penal code punishes individual Turkish citizens or
groups that confirm the fact of the Armenian genocide in Ottoman
Turkey or call for the end of the Turkish occupation of Northern
Cyprus, with up to 10 years in prison. Far from coming to terms with
the genocide or reaching out to Armenia, Turkey, in adopting Section
306 of its new penal code, hardened its anti-Armenian stance and
undermined hopes for reduction of tension in the region. This sets the
stage for possible legal action against conference planners and
participants. The Turkish Government has refused to support rescinding
this prohibition against free speech, despite international criticism.
Mr. Speaker, with the cancellation of this conference, we find that
the Government of Turkey will go to any length to avoid facing its
bloody past. In just 2 weeks, Turkey’s prime minister will be in the
United States for an official visit, proclaiming that his nation is a
democracy ready for full membership in the European Community and
asking for U.S. support. The sad reality, Mr. Speaker, is that when it
comes to facing the judgment of history about the Armenian genocide,
Turkey, rather than acknowledging the truth, has instead chosen to
trample on the rights of its citizens and still maintain lies.
Hrant Dink, editor of the Armenian weekly Agos in Turkey stated,
“This decision strengthens the hand of those outside Turkey who say
Turkey has not changed, it is not democratic enough to discuss the
Armenian issue, it shows there is a difference between what the
government says and its intentions.”
Numerous European countries, including Poland, France and Greece, have
passed Armenian genocide resolutions and have continuously urged
Turkey to admit its crime. Just this week, French President Jacques
Chirac urged Turkey to recognize the genocide and said failure to do
so could harm Ankara’s drive to join the European Union.
We cannot sit by and allow any nation that we consider an ally and a
nation that is desperately seeking admission into the European Union
to behave in such a manner. To bring this development into
perspective, consider that according to current law in Turkey, dozens
of U.S. Senators and hundreds of Congressmen would be punished simply
for having voted for Armenian genocide resolutions, spoken about the
lessons of this crime against humanity or commemorated the victims of
the atrocity. So, too, would the American academic establishment,
human rights groups, the mainstream media and just about everyone else
aside from the Turkish embassy and its paid lobbyists here in
Washington, D.C.
Only by being prepared to admit mistakes and make amends can the
Turkish Government truly be considered a nation governed by the values
of democracy. This recent event reveals the vulnerable side of Turkey,
one that is still hiding from its history and is incapable of learning
from its mistakes so as to ensure that they will not be repeated in
the future.
Mr. Speaker, the United States prides itself on being the world’s
leader in spreading democracy and liberty. As an effective leader, it
is our duty to recognize that Turkey is not yet a democratic state and
it will take a sincere effort on the part of Turkey to make a
transition from a government that currently advocates censorship and
lack of freedom of speech to one that embraces the principles of
democracy in its true meaning.