BADD RESPONDS TO BELGIAN AMBASSADOR’S ACCUSATIONS
Selcuk Gultaþlý Brussels
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 2 2007
The Belgian Kemalist Thought Association (BADD) has responded strongly
to comments made by Belgian Ambassador to Turkey Marc Van Rysselberghe.
BADD Chairman Ýsmail Sonmez, in an exclusive interview with Today’s
Zaman, said that the association stands by its statement made at a
press conference last week, in which it accused the Belgian government
of partiality, favoring Armenian groups at their organization’s
expense. More explicitly, BADD claimed that on April 24 the Belgian
government had "sacked" a BADD coordinator for organizing a conference
on the Armenian "genocide."
Ambassador Rysselberghe, in a letter to TZ following coverage of the
BADD press conference, argued that the notification sent to BADD of
the withdrawal of funding for the coordinator of the group’s Armenian
conference, Pierre Bastin, had been posted on April 20 and had nothing
to do with April 24, the date on which Armenians commemorate the
"genocide."
Sonmez however responded that while it was true that the letter had
been posted on April 20, its delivery date was more than coincidence:
"We received it on April 24, and I think that what counts is not
the date on which it was posted, but the date we received it." He
added that the decision to sack the coordinator of the conference
was taken on April 15 by the Belgian authorities and that they did
not understand why the regional government had waited for five days
to post the notification of their decision.
"For the first time in years, in 2007 the Armenian lobby did not
present a resolution to Belgian representative bodies on the so-called
genocide. The Ministry of Labor, with this decision, has compensated
for the lack of resolution this year and has given this gift not only
to the Armenian lobby, but also the enemies of Turkey," Sonmez claimed.
Ambassador Rysselberghe further argued that no public authority in
Belgium could interfere in the management of private associations,
and consequently could not hire or sack employees, stressing that
regions in Belgium were responsible for employment policy and as such
had developed some categories of subsidized jobs.
Sonmez said the association was surprised by the ambassador’s reaction
and the way he explained the circumstances surrounding the firing of
Bastin. "I wonder how the ministry of labor of Brussels Capital Region
does not represent Belgium. Isn’t he one of Belgium’s high-level
officials? In the letter we received firing Bastin, it is clearly
stated that the minister of labor had approved the proceedings. We
are surprised by the statement of the Belgian ambassador in Turkey,
who implies that Belgian official authorities have no connection with
the firing of the coordinator of the conference."
In response to another comment by the ambassador, saying that BADD
had overstepped its mandate by organizing political activities,
Sonmez said that their very name clearly implied that they could
carry out political activities that would help Turks in Belgium to
understand the political system. Sonmez added that in the statute of
their association it is stated that, "The intercultural sphere will
be facilitated by language courses (in French, English, Turkish),
as well as courses and conferences aimed at explaining the political
systems of Belgium and Turkey in a comparative manner," underlining
that the word "political" exists in the statute.
Sonmez said he believes Belgian authorities are manipulating the
Armenian lobby to exert pressure on the Turkish community in Belgium.
Stressing that in the notification BADD received they were accused
of spreading propaganda denying the Armenian genocide, Sonmez said:
"Almost all enemies of Turkey, including terrorists, have a say in
the Belgian TV [stations] and papers. BADD has not been invited to
any TV program to clarify its point of view, nor have its letters been
published by any Belgian newspaper or TV stations." Sonmez added that
contrary to the ambassador’s claims, the letter had clearly stated that
Bastin has been sacked because of his organizing of the conference.
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