ERDOGAN’S INSULTING WORDS ABOUT OBAMA MAY HAUNT TURKEY AFTER THE ELECTIONS
By Harut Sassounian

The California Courier
KarabakhOpen
29-01-2008 14:10:03

Armenians can always count on Turkish leaders to make berserk and
emotional statements that inadvertently further publicize the issue
of the Armenian Genocide.

Last week, when presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama,
Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John Edwards, as well as Sen. Joe
Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued
statements reaffirming the Armenian Genocide, Turkish Prime Minister
Rejeb Tayyip Erdogan made rude and insulting comments about Sen. Obama,
thus attracting further media attention to the Genocide committed by
Ottoman Turkey.

Sen. Obama called for Congressional passage of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution and pledged that he would recognize the Armenian Genocide,
if elected President. He said: "I share with Armenian Americans —
so many of whom are descended from genocide survivors — a principled
commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with
acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history. As
a U.S. Senator, I have stood with the Armenian American community in
calling for Turkey ‘s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide. Two
years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used
the term ‘genocide’ to describe Turkey’s slaughter of thousands of
Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly
held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a
personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented
fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The
facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to
distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator,
I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the
Armenian Genocide."

Sen. Obama also pledged to maintain U.S. assistance to Armenia,
strengthen its democracy, seek an end to the Turkish and Azerbaijani
blockades, work for a lasting and durable settlement of the Artsakh
(Nagorno Karabagh) conflict, promote growth and development through
expanded trade and targeted aid, and strengthen the commercial,
political, military, developmental, and cultural relationships between
the U.S. and Armenian governments.

Sen. Joe Biden, who until recently was a presidential candidate,
followed suit by officially announcing his support for the
Congressional reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. He thus became
the 34th Senator to cosponsor the Genocide Resolution. Sen. Biden
is a longtime supporter of U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide
and many other Armenian issues.

Sen. Hillary followed by issuing her own statement supporting the
adoption of the Congressional Resolution on the Armenian Genocide
and pledging to recognize it, if elected President. She said: "Alone
among the Presidentialcandidates, I have been a longstanding supporter
of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. I have been a co-sponsor of the
Resolution since 2002, and I support adoption of this legislation by
both Houses of Congress. I believe the horrible events perpetrated
by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of
genocide. I have twice written to President Bush calling on him to
refer to the Armenian Genocide in his annual commemorative statement
and, as President, I will recognize the Armenian Genocide. Our common
morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for human rights
challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized and
remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States."

Sen. Clinton also said that she valued her friendship with the
vibrant Armenian American community: "This is in keeping with my
dedication to the causes of the Armenian American community over many
years. I was privileged as First Lady to speak at the first-ever White
House gathering in 1994 for leaders from Armenia and the Armenian
American community to celebrate the historic occasion of Armenia ‘s
reborn independence. I will, as President, work to expand and improve
U.S.-Armenia relations in addressing the common issues facing our two
nations: increasing trade, fostering closer economic ties, fighting
terrorism, strengthening democratic institutions, pursuing our military
partnership and deepening cooperation with NATO, and cooperating on
regional concerns, among them a fair and democratic resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. As President, I will expand U.S. assistance
programs toArmenia and to the people of Nagorno-Karabagh."

Finally, presidential candidate John Edwards issued his own very
supportive statement: "I am proud of my record in theU.S. Senate
fighting hard for the concerns of our nation’s one and a half million
Americans of Armenian heritage. In the Senate, I stood against
threats to Armenia ‘s security, including the blockades it continues
to endure. As President, I will prioritize our special relationship
with Armenia and the goal of a lasting peace to Nagorno Karabagh and
the entire region. I strongly believe that the United States must stand
for telling the truth about all genocides. I support the Congressional
resolution declaring the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Empire in 1915 a genocide. We must also continue to strengthen
our relationship with Turkey , an important democratic ally against
the forces of tyranny in the region. The resolution should therefore
be integrated with a comprehensive diplomatic effort to make sure
that our friends in Turkey today understand that the resolution is
not aimed at them but instead at atrocities committed almost a century
ago by the Ottoman Empire ."

The Armenian American community naturally welcomes all four statements.

However, given the long chain of not kept promises by previous
presidential candidates, Armenians should not judge these candidates
by the above statements alone. They should evaluate the candidates’
long-standing commitment to Armenian American issues and be suspicious
of opportunistic statements made on the eve of the decisive upcoming
primary elections. The Armenian American community should also judge
these candidates by their circle of close advisors. If that core group
includes individuals that have been antagonistic to Armenian issues
in the past, there is a good chance that the next president would be
dissuaded from carrying out his or her promises after the election.

Despite the distinct possibility that the statements issued last
week may be useless after the election, they have already had a very
positive effect on propagating the Armenian Cause, thanks to the rude
reaction of Prime Minister Erdogan. According to the Turkish press,
Prime Minister Erdogan called Sen. Obama "an amateur of politics. A
day may come when you will have to choose between 70 million Turkey and
two million Armenia . One has to think carefully before uttering such
words. I suggest that he outgrow the amateur period of is political
career." It appears that Prime Minister Erdogan is more concerned
about numbers than choosing between right and wrong — truth and lies!

Should Sen. Obama be elected President, he may not look kindly at
Turkish Prime Minister’s insulting words. Armenians would hope that
Erdogan would similarly lash out at all the presidential candidates who
have issued similar statements. That way, no matter which candidate
gets elected, there would be a backlash on U.S.-Turkish relations,
lessening the likelihood that Turkish leaders would get away with
blackmailing the White House again in the future!