US DEMOCRAT SCHIFF ‘SURPRISED’ BY TURKISH SIDE OF ARMENIAN STORY
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 20 2007
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, uneasy with the pro-Kurdish
Democratic Society Party (DTP) acting as if it is the representative
of all Kurdish people living in Turkey, asked his deputies of Kurdish
origin to initiate diplomatic action — he has now begun to harvest
the first fruit these efforts.
At Erdoðan’s request, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ankara
deputy Burhan Kayaturk and Mardin deputy Cuneyt Yuksel, went to the US
to meet with Democrat Congressman Adam Schiff, the architect of the
"Armenian genocide bill" accepted by the US House of Representatives
Committee on Foreign Affairs. Listening to the stories of Kayaturk’s
own family, Schiff was surprised by the Turkish side of the story
concerning the Armenian issue.
Kayaturk, who has Kurdish orgins, and a Turkish delegation went to the
US as invited guests of the US Youth Council (USYC). A meeting with
Schiff provided Kayaturk with the chance to speak about experiences
from his own life. The deputy told Today’s Zaman about his experience,
explaining first his own story, as told to Schiff.
"The name of my father’s grandfather was Yusuf. Despite their good
relations with the Armenians, the latter killed my grandfather, and
I’m sure that my grandfather’s relatives also killed some Armenians
in return. The Armenians and the Muslims had good relations at the
time, however, due to the promises the Russians made, the Armenians
began doing wrong to their neighbors. As a result some atrocious
events occurred between both sides. Moreover, tens of thousands of
people from both sides died because of these wrongs. Then the forced
Armenian emigration — in addition to the illnesses, the clashes and
traumatic events occurred along the route — caused people to die.
However, the Ottomans never killed the Armenians based on an
intentional scheme. This cannot even be a matter of discussion."
When faced with the alleged claims of Armenian genocide, Turkey
has opened the state archives for historians, Kayaturk said, and
underlined: "We are ready; both Armenian and Turkish scholars are
welcome to make research. Your [US] attempt harms Turkish-American
and Turkish-Armenian relations."
He also asserted that 40,000 to 60,000 Armenians work illegally in
Turkey. "Most of them nurse our children. If we were hostile, could
we entrust our children to them?" In response Schiff reportedly
emphasized that he was surprised with what he heard, adding: "I’ve
never heard these [stories] before, and quite frankly I’m touched by
them. For the first time, I’m hearing something different."
Kayaturk asserted that the Zeve cemetery was full of numerous graves
belonging to Turks and Kurds whom the Armenians massacred in Van. He
invited Schiff to Van to see for himself how many Turks were killed
by the Armenians during those times of upheaval and confusion. Schiff
said he was planning a visit to both Armenia and Turkey and that he
could visit Van during his trip.
Meeting with Matt Bryza, US deputy assistant secretary of state for
European and Asian affairs, Kayaturk explained that he is of Kurdish
origin, underlining that the Kurdish issue has nothing to do with
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Kayaturk also emphasized: "The AK Party represent the Kurdish people
in the best way. As the votes that AK Party received in southeastern
province of Hakkari increased by 430 percent, it proves the fairness
of the policies the party follows. The average number of supporters in
the eastern and southeastern regions rose by 51 percent." He stressed,
"The sooner the PKK problem in northern Iraq is eliminated, the better
for both Turkey and the US."
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