Hurriyet, Turkey
Feb 5 2010

Better or worse days for the ATAA?

Friday, February 5, 2010
Ä°LHAN TANIR

There were many reasons for the Democratic Party’s mammoth Senate loss
in Massachusetts. In trying to elaborate on the importance of this
loss in my recent columns, I emphasized that many of the Democratic
voters, as well as the independents, were dissatisfied by what they
came to view as a failed Obama presidency during the first year.

They wanted to punish him severely for seeing none of the sort of
change Obama promised.

The state of the American economy, the ongoing wars and the
ever-increasing budget deficit annoyed the American voters, as did the
health-care debacle that has become a nightmare for all, as it seems
it will never get passed in the American Congress, nor go away.

For Obama, like every other politician, there were many great
obstacles to fulfilling his promised `change’ mantra, and he can
explain them quite marvelously, as seen once more in the recent State
of the Union speech.

Therefore, Democrats and the Obama administration suffered a huge blow
in Massachusetts, which was felt heavily in Washington, D.C.,
especially by the lifting of the Democratic Party’s super-majority in
the Senate. The American media heavily faulted the Obama presidency
for this loss, along with the flawed campaign of the Democratic
Party’s Massachusetts Senate candidate, Martha Coakley.

However, the Massachusetts loss was reported in the Hürriyet Daily
News with a very different touch than many could have predicted.
According to a recent report in the Daily News, the Armenian-Americans
played a big role in this Massachusetts election, and wanted to punish
the Obama presidency. As a self-described political junkie, I must
confess that I have never seen such analyses in any of the American
media organizations or columns. I think that if the Armenian-American
community was such an important factor in such a vital election, one
that has changed the political calculation deeply in Washington, it
would have been a nationwide topic and discussed overtly.

A letter featured last week in the column of David Judson, editor in
chief of this newspaper, and written by Ergun Kirlikovali, the
president-elect of the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations, or
ATAA, a `30-year-old nonprofit umbrella organization with 60
components, fielding 5,000 members nationwide,’ also attracted some
attention.

The ATAA, unfortunately, has not had a good reputation among the
Turkish community living in America until recently for its internal
fights. It has become mostly a grassroots organization that uses
almost all its energy, time and money to fight the Armenian diaspora’s
efforts, especially before and during the April 24 fever every year `
when the American administration announces how it considers and words
the tragic events that happened to the Armenians during World War I.

Although I understand the logic of this struggle, seeing a Turkish
nonprofit organization being tied to this struggle only, in addition
to the never-ending internal fights ` until recently ` painted a
picture of a narrow-minded and reactionary organization that turned
me, along with many others, off over the years.

When I saw the letter that Kirlikovali, president-elect of the ATAA,
sent to Judson, claiming that the Hürriyet Daily News uses `a
persistent anti-Turkish, pro-Armenian slant’ in its reporting over
`the past few years,’ I was caught by surprise. I was saddened at
hearing a point of view that usually would not be expected from a
person who will assume an important position representing the Turkish
community in America.

So I wanted to get in touch with Kirlikovali, and then with current
president Gunay Evinch, to talk about the assembly, but also to ask
about this letter. I wanted Kirlikovali to explain to me his remarks
calling the Hürriyet Daily News’ coverage `pro-PKK, and anti-Turkish,’
with which I totally disagree. I made it clear over the conference
call between the three of us ` Evinch, Kirlikovali and myself ` that I
disagreed with his complaining about the Hürriyet Daily News just
because it gives space to different opinions, including opinion pieces
that run contrary to the official Turkish state policies in many
matters. I think the reflection of such tolerance, by giving a wide
variety of perspectives in a Turkish paper that functions as a window
to the outside world, in a time when Turkey’s image is in despair in
terms of press freedom, lifts some hopes.

Apart from this disagreement, however, both presidents’ complaint
about the recent reporting on the Armenian effect on the Massachusetts
loss should be taken into consideration. This time, I disagree with my
own newspaper’s reporting on the issue, for it does not exactly
overlap with the realities of local and national politics in America.

And second, it was a great pleasure to listen to both presidents at
the same time and hear them getting along so well, when it was only a
few years ago that this kind of compatibility seemed impossible. I
hope that the outreach programs designed in recent times by the ATAA
will be continued by the future president, Kirlikovali. The
presidents’ excitement over the phone urged me to accept Evinch’s
polite invitation to visit the ATAA as soon as possible.

Turkish-Americans comprise a relatively small community when one
compares them with others, especially the Armenian and Greek
communities. However, after a long battle, the assembly is now getting
into a preferable shape by better learning the spirit of advocacy day
by day. And I think they also have right reasons to complain when they
are not consulted over the grassroots issues in America that are
serious concerns for them, as people who do this work day in and day
out.

ATAA tries to do better work and I am ready to give the group the
benefit of the doubt, even if I disagree sharply with some of its
perspectives.

I believe this spirit of endurance and indulgence is needed to
appreciate the Hürriyet Daily News better.