IN TURKEY, OBAMA SEEKS TO SIDESTEP QUESTION OF GENOCIDE
By Steven Thomma

Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service
April 6, 2009 Monday

ANKARA, Turkey _ Navigating between domestic politics and international
diplomacy, President Barack Obama said Monday that he hadn’t changed
his mind about what he once called a Turkish genocide against the
Armenians, but he avoided repeating the word.

"I have not changed views," he said when he was asked about his stance
with Turkish President Abdullah Gul standing beside him.

He didn’t use the word "genocide," however, nor did he repeat the
condemnation he made as a presidential candidate while he was courting
Armenian-Americans.

The question underscored the diplomatic challenge that Obama faced
as he wrapped up a five-country, eight-day trip with visits to the
Turkish capital and later Istanbul: Would he fulfill a campaign
promise that could offend his hosts?

As a presidential candidate, Obama bluntly characterized the deaths
of Armenians here nearly a century ago as genocide. Saying the word
as president, however, would chill relations and perhaps even cost
support from Turkey, which he deems crucial to the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan.

Speaking later to the Turkish Parliament, he sidestepped the question
of genocide, referring to it only as "the terrible events of 1915."

"While there has been a good deal of commentary about my views, this
is really about how the Turkish and Armenian people deal with the
past," he said. "We have already seen historic and courageous steps
taken by Turkish and Armenian leaders. These contacts hold out the
promise of a new day."

The flash point is the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands
of the Turks in 1915, as World War I raged and the Ottoman Empire
started to break apart.

The descendants of the Armenians, many of them in California and
elsewhere around the United States, have long sought a formal
recognition of what they and many historians say was a planned
genocide. A resolution is pending in Congress.

The Turks, however, have called the Armenians victims of a civil war,
and reject the characterization.

It was different when Obama was seeking the votes of
Armenian-Americans.

"There was a genocide that did take place against the Armenian people,"
Obama said during the campaign. "It is one of these situations where
we have seen a constant denial on the part of the Turkish government
and others that this occurred."

While President Ronald Reagan issued a statement recognizing genocide,
other presidents have made such a promise while campaigning only to
abandon it once in office.

Samantha Power, who was then a top foreign-policy adviser to Obama
and the author of a book about genocide, made a videotaped appeal to
Armenian-Americans that Obama wasn’t just another politician currying
favor and that he would follow through.

"He’s a true friend of the Armenian people and an acknowledger of
the history," she said. "I hope you in the Armenian community will
take my word for it, but if not … pay attention … to everything
that comes out of that person’s mouth, Barack Obama’s mouth, because
he’s a person who can actually be trusted."

Armenian-Americans were hopeful that Obama would fulfill his promise,
if not in Turkey, then in time for the annual recognition of the
Armenian deaths on April 24.

The Armenian National Committee of America urged Obama this week to
break from the "gag rule" that Turkey has imposed on the United States.

"The biggest issue on the U.S.-Turkish agenda … is the
Armenian-genocide resolution," said Bulent Aliriza, the director of
the Turkey Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies, a national-security research center.

"The Turks are worried that, having committed himself to supporting
the resolution during the campaign as a candidate, President Obama
may not follow the example of Presidents Clinton and Bush in opposing
the resolution and may, in fact, use the word ‘genocide’ himself."

The diplomatic consequences would be significant at a time that
the United States is steadily improving relations after the chill
following Turkey’s refusal to allow American troops to go through
the country en route to invading Iraq.

The United States is particularly keen on better relations as it seeks
Turkey’s help in winding down American involvement in Iraq and steps
up the war in Afghanistan.

Also, Obama is reaching out to the Muslim world; Turkey is largely
Muslim. He told the Turkish Parliament, "The United States is not
at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world
is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all
faiths reject."

He added, however, that he seeks a better relationship with the Muslim
world beyond fighting the al-Qaida terrorist network.

"We will listen carefully, bridge misunderstanding and seek common
ground," he said. "We will be respectful, even when we do not agree."

Aliriza warned, however, that the word genocide, either from Obama’s
lips in Turkey or in a congressional resolution later this month,
could set back those efforts.

"None of the areas of cooperation … will materialize if (the genocide
resolution) passes," Aliriza said. "The Turks will undoubtedly
retaliate, and we may go into a deep freeze in the U.S.-Turkish
relationship if it passes."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress