OP-ED: GW’S SHAMEFUL AFFILIATIONS
By Alison Tahmizian Meuse
Daily Colonial, DC
George Washington University
April 25 2007
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at GW? Have
you ever taken the time to look into our university’s political and
financial commitments? Well I have, and I am distressed to report
that the hands of our administration are filthy.
My individual awareness to such matters began when it came to the
attention of the Armenian Students Network that GW holds a membership
in the American Turkish Council (ATC). While the ATC has many positive
goals in regards to promoting Turkish interests in the US, one of its
more touchy objectives is to block the Armenian Genocide resolution
in the United States Congress. As an Armenian whose grandparents
were forced to flee Turkey in the face of systematic massacres
and deportations, it was rather revolting to discover that my own
university is a party to such an objective. President Trachtenberg is
to be commended for his straightforward affirmation of the genocide;
nevertheless, the university’s affiliation with the ATC derogates his
individual candor. By attaching the university’s name to such a lobby,
the GW administration is implicitly agreeing with all of the policies
and viewpoints adopted by that council. I encourage all students,
campus organizations, and faculty members to further investigate the
broader issue at hand. There is no doubt that the ATC is simply one
lobby group among many supported by our university.
Living in our nation’s capital has shown me the sway that Turkish
lobby groups exert in America. Indeed, it is groups like the ATC that
keep the Armenian Genocide out of our textbooks, despite the fact
that it was not the current Turkish government which perpetrated the
massacres. Even on April 24, when Armenians from around the world
gather to remember the deaths of loved ones, the Turks mobilize to
protest our commemoration observances. And they have that right. We
are all blessed to live in a country that permits free speech; a free
land where journalists do not fear for their lives and intellectuals
are not jailed for insulting the state. We do not have a penal code
whereby individuals are imprisoned for insulting "Americanness,"
as is the case in Turkey.
I was not compelled to write this article because I am against
Turkey. I have a dear friend who is Turkish, and I am in favor of
Turkey’s ascension to the European Union – an ongoing process that
is reforming both the government and society as a whole. Perhaps the
Turkish government will never accept the term "genocide" to describe
the events of the early twentieth century, but that seems unlikely
given that both the European Parliament and the Council of Europe
recognized the Armenian genocide years ago. The obstruction of genocide
recognition in the United States cannot be attributed to a historical
quandary on the veracity of the event; rather, it is a political
dilemma. Turkey is a crucial ally in the region; the combination of
its NATO membership, useful military bases, and positive relationship
with Israel has long forced our government to skirt the issue.
The author, a sophomore in the Elliott School, is an intern at the
Embassy of Jordan and Social Coordinator of the International Affairs
Society.
Editor’s Note: The article this story references can be found here.
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