GUL: POLITICIZING ARMENIAN ISSUE JEOPARDIZES TURKISH-US TIES

The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 30 2007

Armenian lobbying groups politicize the past and impose their view of
history with allegations branding a 20th century tragedy "genocide,"
and in so doing jeopardize Turkish-American ties, argued Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday in an guest op-ed in The
Washington Post.

In his op-ed entitled "Politicizing the Armenian tragedy," Gul stated
that the strategic cooperation between Turkey and the United States
is jeopardized by a single interest group that solely pursues its
own political agenda over national interests.

"A recent resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
makes mention of the events of 1915 as ‘genocide’," wrote Gul. "Its
passage will be tantamount to legislating a skewed version of history,
which will be totally unjust and thus deeply offensive to the Turkish
people who have expressed their readiness to seek out the truth."

Underlining that the Turkish-U.S. strategic partnership spans a wide
range of global challenges, from helping secure Iraq and Afghanistan
to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
promoting energy security and fighting terrorism in our region and
beyond, Gul continued, "Once again, Armenian lobbying organizations
are determined to politicize the past — and impose their view of
history — without any regard to the overriding and lasting interests
of the United States or Armenia."

Stating that the historical period in question centers on 1915, when
immense mutual suffering occurred amid the atrocities of World War I,
Gul argued that countless individual stories have been passed from
generation to generation among Turks, Armenians and others who then
made up the Ottoman Empire.

"But the complex political history and dynamics of that tumultuous
period are yet to be fully grasped," Gul argued. "Each life lost is
one too many, whether it is Armenian or Turk. It is truly regrettable
that there is no mention today of Turkish or Muslim lives lost during
the same period."

Citing’s Turkey’s 2005 proposal to Armenia to set up a joint commission
of historians to find out once and for all what really happened, and
how it took place, Gul stated that whether the Ottoman government
systematically pursued a calculated act of state policy for their
destruction in whole or in part can only be established by scholars
who have the ability to evaluate the period objectively, working with
the full range of available primary sources.

"Turkey has no difficulties in facing its past," he wrote. "All Turkish
archives, including the military archives of the period, are open
to the entire international academic community. However, important
Armenian archives are not." Gul then underlined that Turkey eagerly
awaits a positive response from Armenia, agreeing to establish this
joint commission and declaring its readiness to accept its conclusions.

Gul also called on third parties, including the United States,
to contribute to this commission by appointing scholars who will
earnestly work to shed light on this tragedy, stating that such
a commission would also help shape an atmosphere conducive to the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

Stating that following the repulsive murder of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, Turkey invited officials of the Armenian
government and representatives from the Armenian diaspora to share
the genuine grief of the Turkish people, Gul underlined that the
diaspora witnessed the enormous reaction of Turkish citizens, who
poured by thousands into the streets.

"As we today consider ways to create a much-improved atmosphere with
our neighbor, the Armenian government appears to be propagating the
fallacious idea that Turks are missing a chance to recognize their
genocide claims," he stated, underlining that Dink himself also said
in a published interview shortly before his death that he wants the
Armenian diaspora not to make any demands about accepting the genocide,
neither from Turkey, from the Parliament nor any other governments.

Gul stated that there are 70,000 Armenian citizens working in
Turkey, and there are direct flights between Istanbul and Yerevan,
underlining that Turkey is determined to save future generations from
the hegemony of bitter rhetoric and outright hostility, yet is faced
with a non-compromising, unmitigated assault not over a political
matter, but a politicized one.

Stating that he fully understands the pressures imposed by narrow
interest groups, he argued, "However, there is also the imperative
to rise above such pressures and see the national and international
repercussions of one’s choices. After all, the decisions we make return
back to us in this globalized world, where the interests of nations —
especially neighbors — are intertwined."