TURKISH MINISTER, BUSINESSMEN SHUN US OVER RESOLUTION

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 15 2007

The sentiment of Turkish public opinion is rising against the US
since a congressional committee passed a resolution on Wednesday,
accepting Armenian claims of genocide during the war in 1915.

A recent example of this reaction was when Turkey’s Minister for
Foreign Trade Kurþad Tuzmen canceled a trip on Saturday to the US
because of the resolution. Tuzmen was scheduled to attend a conference
organized by the Turkish-US Business Council. The Anatolia news
agency reported the minister as saying he had canceled his trip in
protest of the genocide resolution passed by the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs.

The Turkish-US Business Council, which has long been struggling to
improve non-political relations between the two countries and which
operates under the umbrella of the Foreign Economic Relations Board
(DEÝK), has also announced that they will also not participate in the
"Turkey in 2008 and after" conference which was scheduled to be held
on Oct. 16. In a written statement yesterday, the council declared
that the conference had been shelved "to convene on a later date."

The statement further said: "The resolution passed by the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs was met with deep sorrow in Turkey and
triggered justified reactions."

The conference was aiming to form a discussion platform on the
investment and business environment in the post-election period,
the recent developments about private investment funds, the general
economic climate, the legal regulations and the current conditions
on real estate, information technology, agriculture and food. It
was going to be hosted by Chairman of Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Rifat Hisarcýklýoðlu and Chairman of the
Turkish-US Business Council Ferit Þahenk.

The committee passed a nonbinding resolution calling the massacres
of Armenians in 1915-17 in the Turkish Ottoman Empire a genocide,
sparking angry comments by Turkish leaders, including the prime
minister and the president. Turkey, a key supply route to US troops
in Iraq, recalled its ambassador to Washington and warned of serious
repercussions if the US Congress passes the resolution.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress