BUSINESS WORLD EYES PM ON ‘GENOCIDE’ STANCE

Hurriyet
March 14 2010
Turkey

The canceling of a scheduled visit to the United States by the
Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association, or TUSIAD,
in response to a Armenian "genocide" resolution passed in Congress
has other business organizations following suit.

A U.S. House committee passed a resolution March 5 recognizing the
deaths of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.

Rona Yırcalı, the president of the Foreign Economic Relations
Board, or DEÄ°K, is one of those who has announced that he will not
be attending a Washington, D.C., conference organized by the American
Turkish Council, or ATC. The stance of Rifat Hisarcıklıoglu, chairman
of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges, or TOBB, is
said to depend on the attitude of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The 29th Annual Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations, scheduled to
be held between April 11 and 14, is organized by DEÄ°K, the ATC, the
Turkish-American Business Council, or TAÄ°K, and the American Friends
of Turkey. With the Turkish Foreign Ministry saying it expects a
"sensitive" approach in the wake of the March 5 resolution, many
other prominent businesspeople are expected to cancel their planned
attendance.

Turkish businesspeople seem to be divided on the issue, however. While
some say the Foreign Ministry’s position should be supported by the
business world, others say participating in the conference would
benefit Turkey. Still others are opting to wait and see what position
the prime minister takes.

"I am still evaluating the situation. I have not made a concrete
decision," said Hisarcıklıoglu.

In the aftermath of the March 5 vote, expected attendances by many
high-level Turkish officials – including Erdogan, Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönul, Energy Minister Taner
Yıldız, Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, Trade Minister Zafer
Caglayan, chief negotiator for EU affairs Egemen BagıÅ~_ and Alpaslan
Korkmaz, chairman of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of
Turkey – are all in doubt.

The impact is expected to become clearer when Erdogan clarifies his
stance on attending the Nuclear Security Summit to be held the same
week in Washington. This international meeting will be hosted by U.S.

President Barack Obama.