TURKISH, US SCHOLARS DISCUSS TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONSHIP
VelÝ Baysal Dallas

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2007

Turkish and US scholars discussed relations between Turkey and Armenia
at a conference titled "Turkish-Armenian Question:

What to do now?" held in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday and organized by
the Raindrop Foundation, a nonprofit group founded by Turkish students
in Houston for cultural and educational purposes.

Participants mentioned the importance of coexistence and said,
"It is time to speak instead of sowing seeds of hatred and to start
a new era in history." Turkish and US historians emphasized that the
tension that has existed between the two societies since 1914 can be
settled with discussion.

The conference started with an opening address by Ýstanbul’s Armenian
Patriarch Mesrob II, who said, "The nations can live together in
peace, but everyone should treat each other as he is without making
a distinction of language, religion and race."

Huseyin Demirci from Erciyes University said Armenian-Turkish relations
can be improved by efforts based on dialogue. Stating that in visits
he paid to Yerevan and other Armenian cities he saw that relations
between the two peoples are still at the highest level, Demirci said
the diaspora and politically based actions damage relationships. "It
is time we repaired the cracks with constructive efforts as much as
we can," he urged.

Dr. Gregg Webb from Baylor University congratulated the Raindrop
Foundation, which organized the conference, and said he hoped the
organization would pave the way for further friendships. Quoting
Benjamin Franklin, "All I want is to make the enemy in front of me
into a friend of mine,"

Turkish scholar Dr. Naci Bostancý said: "We wish Armenian views
were also expressed here. What we want is to come together on
broader platforms. Dialogue does not mean people fix their ideas
and speak accordingly. Dialogue does not mean making speeches based
on written texts. On the contrary, it is a journey among words where
the speech has a wide frame." Journalist Ali Bayramoðlu also stressed
the importance of the Armenians and Turks’ coming face-to-face and
discussing their problems, noting, "We all should learn to face
each other."

Dr. Michael Fontenont of Southern University at Baton Rouge said,
"Handling the Armenian issue one-sidedly means ignoring the historical
and social events,"

Turkish and US scholars joined the conference organized by the Raindrop
Foundation; however, Armenian scholars declined the invitations
sent to them. Several Turkish and Armenian students followed the
meeting. "Bridges can be established between Armenians and Turks,"
said Raindrop Foundation Chairman Yaþar Tiryakioðlu.

Tiryakioðlu said the enmity between Armenians and Turks should be left
in the past and that ways of dialogue should be sought. He described
the goal of the conference as follows: "Our goal was to build the
first leg of the bridge today. We believe we have achieved this. We
will already make our plans to organize new events to establish a
closer relationship between the two societies."

–Boundary_(ID_HK4jKBLYjbTGMK77k yswXg)–