PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkey wrangles with US: Resolution in exchange for PKK
12.10.2007 19:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A delegation of Turkish members of parliament, who
were in Washington to lobby against the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
warned on October 11 that the US-Turkish alliance could suffer serious
damage unless Washington made a goodwill gesture, such as adopting a
much tougher stance toward the PKK, a Kurdish terrorist organization.

"The only remedy of yesterday’s mistake is concrete cooperation in the
fight against the PKK," said Egemen Bagis, an MP and foreign policy
advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I don’t know
of any other option that can somehow soften the hearts of 72 million
Turks."

"Some members of the US Congress yesterday wanted to play hardball,"
he continued. "I can assure you that Turkey can play hardball. Our
experience of having a state is 1,000 years old. The ball is in your
court, and you have to show us that Turkey matters. Show us on the
PKK, show us on bringing this to the floor or not bringing this to the
floor, or other issues."

Asked if the PKK-for-genocide-resolution trade might be the strategy
before the full House vote, another parliamentarian, Gunduz Aktan,
said, "We don’t know yet, but that is a possibility, that is a real
possibility." The Turkish MPs declined to speculate on what specific
action Ankara would seek from Washington regarding the PKK issue.

Meanwhile, Turkish leaders in Ankara were infuriated by the House
committee vote. "This unacceptable decision of the committee, like
similar ones in the past, is not regarded by the Turkish people as
valid, or of any value," the Anatolia news agency quoted President
Abdullah Gul as saying. Turkish officials indicated that the
ambassadorial recall would be temporary.

Bush administration officials said immediately after the vote that
they will continue to work to oppose the resolution. "The
administration continues strongly to oppose this resolution, passage
of which may do grave harm to US-Turkish relations, and to US
interests in Europe and the Middle East," said State Department
spokesman Sean McCormick in a statement.

"If what we saw before the committee vote was any indication, I think
the administration will continue to press," said Aram Hamparian,
executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America. "But
we have truth and morality on our side."

For the October 10 hearing, both a large hearing room and an overflow
room were filled. Dozens of Armenian-Americans, including a handful of
elderly survivors of the 1915 tragedy, wore stickers reading "Stop the
Cycle of Genocide." A large Turkish press corps was also in
attendance, as were a much smaller number of Turks opposing the
resolution. In the overflow room, where a closed-circuit television
showed the proceedings, the Armenians and Turks alternately cheered or
booed the members’ statements.

Several members of Congress described agonizing decisions they had to
make on the resolution. Most recognized that that the events of 1915
met the standard of genocide; Many of those who opposed the resolution
said they did so out of respect for Turkey as a friend, or out of fear
that Turkey could retaliate by curtailing cooperation on Iraq. On the
other hand, many who voted for the resolution said they resented
Turkey’s threats

"There was indeed a genocide of the Armenians and it will not be
forgotten," said Representative Mike Pence, a Republican from
Indiana. "But I can’t support this resolution. With American troops in
harm’s way, dependent on a critical supply route from Turkey, this is
not the time for our nation to be speaking about this dark moment in
history."

Another Republican, Dana Rohrabacher of California, however, decried
the "the audacity that some Turks have to threaten to cut logistics to
US troops… Perhaps they’re not as good friends as they profess," he
said.

The hearing was broadcast live in both Armenia and Turkey, and the
Turkish parliamentarians said that even the tenor of the hearing
offended them. For example, several congressmen suggested that Turkey
might be bluffing and that if the resolution passes it will be
forgotten quickly in Ankara.

"Those people who claim Turkey is bluffing should not mock Turkey on
live TV," Bagis said. "I think that was a big mistake. Turks are very
peculiar about their honor."

"What was bothering me yesterday was that those [US representatives]
who were supporting the Turkish case, 21 of them, they said loud and
clear that the events of 1915 amounted to genocide," Aktam
said. "Despite this fact, because of the strategic importance of
Turkey, because of the national interest of the US, they are voting
no. This was unbearable," he said, Eurasia.net reports.