THOSE WHO POLITICIZE HISTORY WILL CERTAINLY BE JUDGED BY HISTORY

Today’s Zaman
March 8 2010
Turkey

This week, as the eight members of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign
Affairs Committee and the Turkey-US Inter-parliamentary Friendship
Caucus, we conducted official visits in the US.

The so-called Armenian Genocide Resolution, numbered HR.252, was
voted on last Thursday in the US House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs. Both our government and the opposition parties
closely followed the adoption of the resolution with 23 yes and 22
nay votes with great anxiety and worry.

Prior to the voting process, both the Turkish-American nongovernmental
organizations in the US and we as politicians exerted great efforts.

As an academic and a member of Parliament who has worked in the US
as an international lawyer for many years, I can say that Turkey
is not the way it used to be; the world’s perspective on Turkey
is not what it used to be. Turkey is a country that does not make
concessions from its principled stance; it performs the requirements
of public diplomacy daily, and it acts responsibly in every situation
by refraining from reacting emotionally and thinking through every
option. The fact that the committee had a hard time adopting the
resolution is evidence that we and Turkish-American NGOs and are
playing the game by the rules. Committee Chairman Howard Berman,
in our discussion during the voting, stated that an issue relating
to Turkey will not be put on the agenda without consulting Turkey.

Naturally, the adoption of the resolution has resulted in a
great amount of rightful public censure in Turkey. However, as the
politicians of this country, we must not alter our principled stance
by reacting emotionally; we shall manifest our rightful position by
intensifying our efforts of public diplomacy, by playing the game by
the rules and acting responsibly.

Of course, the fact that the resolution passed the committee does not
mean that it is final. Moreover, we believe that Congress will not
pass the resolution. In fact, even though the resolution was adopted
in the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2000 with 35 to 11 votes,
in 2005 with 40 to 7 votes and in 2007 with 27 to 21 votes, it was
never passed by Congress.

We made some remarkable observations in the hall during the passing
of the resolution and the voting process. Berman’s personal efforts
and the pressure he exerted on other members of the committee in
order to pass the resolution were like scenes from a play.

The adoption of the resolution — which is full of material mistakes as
well as historically controversial, biased and selective references
— by the committee is not befitting of Turkey-US relations. The
intervention of third parties in the Turkey-Armenia normalization
process only serves to hinder the process. This development has
damaged the efforts for peace and stability in the Southern Caucasus.

Illuminating the events of 1915 is the work of historians, not
politicians. A decision such as this one, taken solely to serve
political interests, is first and foremost a bane on history.

In this regard, the events of World War I in 1915 and the aftermath
are freely debated in Turkey; published works expressing different
views on the subject are available in bookstores and libraries.

The universal definition of genocide is expressed in Article 6 of the
1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide. Only a competent international tribunal can rule
on the crime of genocide, which is the gravest crime against humanity.

Therefore, such a political decision is against the 1948 Charter of
the United Nations.

Turkey and the US have a common vision of welfare, stability and
peace in our region and beyond. As two close allies and strategic
partners, Turkey and the US are in cooperation on the issues of the
international fight against terrorism, the safety of energy sources,
Iran’s nuclear program, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East,
the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the eastern Mediterranean
and even overcoming the global financial crisis.

For more than half a century, the relationship between Turkey and
the US, two NATO allies, has continuously developed based on the
shared principles of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and
establishing a free market economy.

This decision — which was taken solely for votes and the campaign
worries of politicians and which could negatively affect the
relationships we conduct within the context of our broad common agenda
with the US — also points out the unfortunate lack of strategic
vision of these politicians.

In addition to being against the interests of the US, this resolution
harms the national interests of Turkey. These serious allegations
not only impeach Turkey with the crime of genocide but bring about
territorial claims and damages against Turkey.

The adoption of this resolution has only benefited the radical Armenian
diaspora in the US.

The wrongness of a topic relating to historical events being assessed
by politicians was once again revealed. This decision is saddening
on the one hand; on the other hand, it is significant for a country
that is taking steps to restore its reputation in the world with the
Obama administration.

An unprofessional scene unfolded with the voting procedure; the
fact was revealed that some of the representatives voting on the
resolution had no real knowledge of the events of 1915. Certainly
without knowledge, one cannot have an idea. We must once again
emphasize to the international community that Turkey will not be
responsible for the ramifications this vote might have in any area,
and those who politicize history will certainly be judged by history.

*Associate Professor Cuneyt Yuksel is a member of Parliament, political
and legal affairs deputy chairman and a Turkey-US Inter-parliamentary
Friendship Caucus member.