FORBES: ANKARA DOESN’T WANT OBAMA TO WIN OVER HIS PLEDGE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.09.2008 18:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is no doubt that much of the Muslim world
is rooting for Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race, Asli
Aydintasbas, an Istanbul-based journalist and former Ankara bureau
chief of the newspaper Sabah, writes in "Obama, Turkey And The
G-Resolution" published by Forbes magazine.

"But here in Turkey, the Obamania in the rest of the Muslim world was
quick to fade early in the race. Once intrigued by the young senator
and his life story, much of the Ankara establishment and the Turkish
elite now say they prefer John McCain to snatch the presidential
seat. And all this has little to do with Barack Obama himself,"
the article says.

"Modern Turkey is a nation still sorting through the cultural and
political clashes that have emerged with the foundation of a secular
modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. It
is a nation accustomed to both domestic and foreign conflict and
obsessed with the idea of its loneliness on the world stage. So it
is no surprise that, on any given subject under the sun, most Turks
would ask, "But is it good for Turkey? In this case, the political
establishment in Ankara and Turkey’s secular elite seem to think that
Barack Obama is not good for Turkey," it goes on.

It all has to do with the Armenian issue, according to a Turkish
politician.

"Barack Obama has pledged he would support a genocide resolution. Worse
for Ankara, his running mate Senator Joe Biden has long been an
ally of Greek and Armenian lobbies in Washington and sponsored bills
questioning Turkish policies on Cyprus and Armenia," he said.

"John McCain on the other hand knows Turkey well and can understand
our strategic value," the politician added.