TURKEY NEEDS TO COME TO TERMS WITH ITS PAST: LOS ANGELES TIMES

Tert.am
14:50 ~U 09.03.10

Turkey needs to come to grips with its bloody past so it can move
forward in its relations with Armenia and the US, reads a March 8
editorial in the Los Angeles Times.

An estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the final
throes of the Ottoman empire. That blood bath, carried out by the Turks
between 1915 and 1918, was genocide, and should be called by that name.

In approving a nonbinding resolution to make this the official
US position, Chair Howard L. Berman and other members of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee were responding to constituent demands that
the United States take a moral stand.

Now, Congress and the Obama administration must decide whether such a
symbolic act also serves the strategic interests of the United States.

For the moment, just like presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton
before him, Barack Obama appears to be saying no.

It is important for the United States to stand for historical truth on
the Armenian slaughter. Even more important is that Turks themselves
come to terms with their brutal history. From Germany to South Africa
to Argentina, there are many examples of countries that have confronted
their violent pasts honestly.

Instead, Turkey recalled its ambassador for consultations after the
23-22 House committee vote, saying the resolution offends the country’s
honour and warning of negative consequences for US-Turkish relations,
as well as for the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with
the Republic of Armenia. A more productive approach would be for the
Turks and Armenians to adopt the protocols hammered out last year to
establish diplomatic relations and reopen their shared border.

The US vote must not become a pretext for further stalling.

During the 2008 campaign, Obama was unequivocal in his support for
labeling the killings a genocide. As president, however, he has the
unenviable task of weighing that position against the need for Turkey’s
support in Afghanistan, in stabilizing Iraq and for United Nations
sanctions against Iran. Turkey is the only Muslim country in NATO,
and it currently sits on the UN Security Council.

We understand that any US administration must nurture the vital
strategic alliance with Turkey. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton, who coaxed Turkey and Armenia into signing the protocols last
year, noted that the agreement established a commission to examine
their bloody history and argued that "it is not for any other country
to determine how two countries resolve matters between them." That’s
true, but we also understand Armenian fears that such a commission
could whitewash history.

The goal is Turkish and Armenian reconciliation, putting to rest the
ghosts of the past. That is in the US interest as well as that of
both peoples. For it to happen, the onus is on Turkey to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide.