The Washington Times
February 26, 2008 Tuesday
EMBASSY ROW; A15
By James Morrison
‘Genocide’ politics
A grim but tireless debate between Turks and Armenians for more than
nine decades found its way into the U.S. presidential campaign, as
Turkish-Americans began organizing politically against any change in
Washington’s policy toward the "Armenian genocide" of 1915.
Officially, the United States recognizes the killings of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians as a tragedy, but not genocide. Washington
repeatedly has cited its concern over angering Turkey, a key NATO
ally, as the reason for avoiding the loaded word. Turkey and Armenia
also dispute the number of victims, with Turkey claiming about
300,000 and Armenia 1.5 million.
Yesterday, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations warned its
members that the "Armenian dispute with Turkey is being politicized
to the point of becoming an issue in the U.S. election campaign."
Democratic hopefuls Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton
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and Barack Obama have promised to reverse U.S. policy and recognize
the slaughter of Armenians under the old Ottoman Turkish Empire as
genocide, if either of them is elected president. Republican
front-runner Sen. John McCain stuck to the U.S. line and referred to
the massacre as a "tragedy."
"Far from the desired change that Americans are calling for, this
sadly appears to reflect old-style politics as usual," the assembly
said, referring to the statements of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.
"As Turkish-Americans, we are getting involved, watching the debates,
volunteering and voting in this election process."
The assembly, which represents more than 40 Turkish-American
organizations, called for Turkish and Armenian scholars to work
jointly to study documents from the period.
"It is critical that this matter be handled by objective experts in
proper forum," the assembly said. "It is our firm belief that
historians should write history, not politicians."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
