AAA CALLS ON AMBASSADORIAL NOMINEE FOR TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.09.2008 16:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has
scheduled the nomination hearing of Bush’s Ambassadorial Nominee
for Turkey, James F. Jeffrey, for Wednesday, September 24, 2008,
the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) told PanARMENIAN.Net.

"We are hopeful the nomination hearing is not a question and answer
session, which in the past has resulted in equivocating on the
historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and America’s proud record
of humanitarian intervention," said Assembly Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny. "This represents a critical opportunity for the
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey to go further than Ambassador Yovanovitch and
this time to squarely affirm the Armenian Genocide. The U.S. record
of affirmation is clear as evidenced by the 1951 U.S. filing before
the International Court of Justice. The Armenian Genocide is an
historical fact and Mr. Jeffrey would be well served to follow in
the tradition of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau," continued Ardouny. In
addition to its campaign of denial and application of article 301 of
its penal code, which punishes discussion of the Armenian Genocide,
for more than a decade, Turkey, in coordination with Azerbaijan,
has blockaded Armenia. The Turkish blockade not only costs Armenia
hundreds of millions of dollars, but also undermines the stated
U.S. policy goals of regional cooperation and economic integration
in the South Caucasus Region.

While Turkey’s President Gul did accept the bold invitation by
Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan to visit Armenia on the occasion
of a soccer game between the two countries earlier this month, more
concrete steps are needed, including establishing working diplomatic
relations and a process of normalization that removes blockades,
opens borders, restores economic relations, and strives toward the
peaceful resolution of differences and disputes in the region. In
fact, the U.S. Administration has repeatedly called upon Turkey
"to restore economic, political and cultural links with Armenia."