Zaman, Turkey
Jan 26 2007
Turkey Goes on Diplomatic Offensive Against Genocide Allegations
Friday , 26 January 2007
With some believing that the assassination of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink has given the Armenian diaspora an important
trump card for recognition of an Armenian genocide around the world,
Turkey has unleashed an ambitious diplomatic plan.
In the first step of the plan, supported by Turkish Parliament
Speaker Bülent Arınç, a delegation of 10 deputies will pay a
visit to the United States Feb. 9-16 to lobby the US Congress. The
delegation will be headed by Turkey-US Interparliamentary Friendship
Group Chairman Egemen Bağış.
The 10-person delegation is composed of Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) Sakarya deputy Süleyman Gündüz, Aksaray Deputies Ali
Rıza Alaboyun and Ramazan Toprak, Kırıkkale Deputy
Vahit Erdem, İzmir Deputy Zekeriya Akçam, Antalya Deputy Mevlüt
Çavuşoğlu and Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul
deputy Onur Öymen. They will meet with US congressmen and NGO
representatives. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül will have meetings in
European countries, and Turkish representatives will meet with
leading figures of the Armenian diaspora for the first time as part
of its initiative.
Diaspora invited to Akhtamar
One of the most important steps in Turkey’s new anti-genocide
strategy is opening dialogue with representatives of the Armenian
diaspora. During Dink’s funeral, the change in attitude of the
diaspora representatives invited to ceremony also resulted in a
change in Turkey’s attitude: It now prefers to explain itself rather
than adopting a defensive posture. Meetings have been held not only
with the Armenian diaspora but also with the Armenian administration.
Following the invitation of the Armenian diaspora to Dink’s funeral,
the Turkish government took its second step and invited diaspora
representatives to the inauguration of a recently restored Armenian
church on Akhtamar Island in eastern Turkey on April 15. Minister of
Culture and Tourism Atilla Koç said the opening of the church was
previously scheduled for April 24 but has been moved back to April 15
since April 24 is the day Armenians remember the so-called genocide.
Koç hoped Dink’s funeral would serve as a starting point for
Turkish-Armenian and Turkish-diaspora relationships. "If we accuse
somebody of something, then we must prove it. If we cannot, this is
an offense. Every country must face its own history; those who tell
us to face our history must also face their own history."
A number of parliaments have recognized an Armenian genocide as a
result of the lobbying efforts of the Armenian diaspora. Turkey’s
attempts to have Argentina, Uruguay, Switzerland, Canada, Slovakia,
Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Lithuania change their
decision to recognize it have so far proven fruitless. However, bills
in the Spanish, Bulgarian, Austrian, Estonian, Romanian, Hungarian,
Ukrainian and Latvian parliaments failed to become law.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress