TUSIAD TO VISIT US DESPITE TENSIONS

Today’s Zaman
March 24 2010
Turkey

The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD)
has revised its previous decision to call off a trip to the US amid
tension between Turkey and the United States over the passage of a
resolution by a US congressional committee to endorse Armenian claims
of genocide by the Ottoman Empire.

A TUSIAD delegation is now planning to visit the United States April
19-20, according to a report published on Tuesday in business daily
Referans.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on March 4 to label the
Armenian killings in eastern Anatolia during the World War I years
as genocide, straining relations between Turkey and the US. Turkey
protested the vote angrily, recalling its ambassador in Washington for
consultations and suspending government visits to the US. Earlier this
month, TUSIAD also announced it had indefinitely delayed a scheduled
visit, saying it would be tainted by political tension and was unlikely
to produce results.

According to Referans, the business group later reconsidered the
decision and conceded that it would harm Turkey to delay the trip.

TUSIAD’s tentative US visit program is not yet clear; the association
is awaiting a reply from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding
an appointment requested.

Along with Chairperson Umit Boyner, members of the board of directors
such as Haluk Dincer and Cem Duna will be among the TUSIAD delegation
visiting the US.