TURKEY LOBBIES US ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Sami Kohen, Ankara

Jewish Chronicle , UK
Oct 19 2007

The Jewish community of Turkey is actively campaigning to block a
US House of Representatives a draft resolution labelling the mass
Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as "genocide".

Turkey has threatened to take action that would seriously damage
US-Turkish relations if the resolution was to pass. The Bush
administration has also striven to dissuade Congress from approving
the draft.

Despite all these efforts, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted
through the resolution last week. The draft goes now to the House
floor, where it is likely to be passed unless lobbyists succeed in
blocking it.

The controversy relates to the killing of 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1922. Turkey insists that both Armenians and Turks
died in the context of ethnic conflict.

Ankara has asked Israel and US Jewish organisations for support,
and last month Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met Jewish leaders and
lobbyists in New York to get their backing.

Turkish Jews, uneasy about the consequences that the bill might have
on attitudes towards them, have contacted US Jewish groups and placed
advertisements in the media.

"We have been trying to convince congressmen that it is not right nor
wise to pass such a resolution," said Lina Filiba, vice-president of
the Jewish community. "We have been in close touch with the ADL and
other Jewish organisations. We hope that, at the end of the day, the
resolution will not be passed. It is hard to predict the implications
and effects if the House passes the resolution, but it may create
problems for everybody."

Levent Bilman, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "We highly
appreciate all these efforts.

"The leaders, businessmen and associations of the Jewish community in
Turkey – being an integral part of our society – have been active to
prevent the passage of the resolution. They have been holding meetings
with the relevant people abroad and publishing letters and statements
in the media."

However, Jewish bodies in the US are divided on the issue.

In August, the ADL faced a split when a regional director was fired
because of his campaign to support the Armenian case. An uneasy
compromise was finally reached when Abraham Foxman, the national
director, stated the ADL accepted the genocide label but rejected
the congressional action.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan last week met President Shimon
Peres in Israel, after which Mr Peres reportedly urged leading
congressmen to consider the ill effects the resolution would have on
Turkey’s relations with the US.

"We oppose the controversial resolution not only because of our
friendship with Turkey but also as a matter of principle," said
Israeli ambassador Gaby Levy. "It is for historians and not for
parliamentarians to investigate [genocide]."

However, he added: "Israel cannot be held responsible if the resolution
is passed. This is the decision of the US Congress and not of Israel or
the Jews. Our relations should not be affected by such a resolution."

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