PanARMENIAN.Net
Turkey never blackmailed or threatened U.S.
13.04.2007 18:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish Government has never blackmailed or
threatened the U.S. Government. They have never said that they will
take retaliatory steps if the Armenian Genocide resolution passes,
said Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and
Eurasian Affairs at a daily press briefing posted at
`The Turkish government has said that Turkish opinion would be
inflamed and outraged by this resolution and that they, the Turkish
government, fear what the Turkish parliament might do in reaction to
something our parliament might do. So it’s a little bit different than
what you described.
Turkey is a good ally. It is also a country which is undergoing a
profound democratic transformation itself. Turkey has for decades had
the formal elements of democracy, but in the last 10, 15, 20 years it
has deepened this democracy, and especially in the last 5 to 10
years. The boundaries of freedom of expression are now much greater
than they were before. Civilian institutions are much stronger. The
role of the military is much more circumscribed. These things are
advancing, and as this happens there is a growing discussion in Turkey
about their own past, and in particular the past of the Ottoman Empire
and its relationship to the Armenian community there and the mass
killings that took place in 1915 and afterwards. Turks are beginning
to discuss this.
We encourage them to examine their history and the painful, what can
be called dark spots, and they’re not the only country that has
them. The United States has plenty of our own: slavery, treatment of
American Indians, treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War
II. We have a lot of things in our history of which we’re not proud.
We think that Turkey and Armenia need to discuss their shared past in
a serious way. This needs to be a discussion that historians have. The
United States doesn’t deny any of the killings. They’re an established
historical fact, but historians need to discuss the details of what
happened, why it happened, who did what. This needs to happen, and it
needs to happen as a process of genuine national reconciliation.
We also think that Turkey ought to open up the border with Armenia and
restore normal relations. We’re pleased by recent steps Turkey has
taken, like restoring the Armenian church in Eastern Turkey, even if
as a museum. That’s still something. And there is in Turkish society a
constituency for this kind of reconciliation. Hrant Dink was murdered
by an extremist nationalist, but then 100,000 Turks were in the street
saying we are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink. It didn’t mean
literally that they’re Armenians, but it means we reject
nationalism. We embrace a Turkish identity which is tolerant. That’s
very hopeful. That’s a very good thing. That’s what we want to
encourage,’ Fried said.