DID TURKEY’S AMBASSADOR REALLY LOBBY FOR PASSAGE OF GENOCIDE RESOLUTION?

Noyan Tapan
March 24, 2010

By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier

Thousands of articles are posted on the internet every day. But,
very few make us fall off our chairs!

Last week I came across a shocking news item posted by the Turkish
Forum — the largest website for Turkish news. It was titled:
"Forgotten Ambassador in Sierra Leone Uses Armenian Genocide Resolution
to solve his Problem." Here is the summary in translation of that
incredible article:

"In recent years, parliaments of several countries have adopted
resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. In retaliation, Turkey has
recalled its ambassadors from these countries. It has been revealed
that some opportunistic ambassadors exploited this situation, by
abusing their position.

"According to a Foreign Ministry announcement this morning, Orhan Emin
Turkone, Turkey’s Ambassador in Sierra Leone for the past 12 years,
has been fired for having lobbied for the passage of the Armenian
Genocide bill in that country’s Parliament.

"During a press conference this morning, the Foreign Ministry’s
Undersecretary Ersin Ozbukey explained: "Recently, it came to our
attention that the so-called Armenian Genocide bill was placed on the
agenda of the Parliaments of Chad, Eritrea, and Djibouti. But, when we
saw that this bill was unanimously adopted by the Parliament of Sierra
Leone, we started suspecting that something had gone terribly wrong."

Ozbukey added: "We formed an investigative committee that uncovered
some interesting, but disturbing information."

"We confirmed that Amb. Turkone had carried out lobbying activities in
favor of the Armenian Genocide bill," Ozbukey stated. "Of course, this
can’t be excused, but the Ministry also has its fault in this affair.

This man was abandoned and forgotten in a far away country. He got
that idea, after [Turkish] Ambassadors were recalled following the
adoption of the genocide resolution by other countries. Twelve years
is a long time," Ozbukey admitted.

"Ozbukey then provided the details of Amb. Turkone unbelievable actions
in publicizing the Armenian Genocide in Sierra Leone. Ozbukey said
that whenever the Ambassador visited a bar, he would write on facebook:
"We massacred the Armenians in such a nasty way." He told bartenders:
"My grandfather alone killed 100-150 Armenians whose bones are in
the basement of our home." The Ambassador made up such falsehoods
and lies. He basically said whatever came to his head.

Sierra Leone is a small place. Word spreads quickly. No one had ever
heard of either Armenia or Turkey. But, within a month, everyone in
the whole country was agitated over this issue. People were dancing in
the streets when they learned that the genocide was recognized. This
shouldn’t have happened, but unfortunately, it did!

"Ozbukey explained that after this revelation, the Turkish government
started paying more attention to the agenda of various parliaments. In
order to avoid such situations in the future, instead of recalling
ambassadors, ‘we are now considering the possibility of cutting off
trade relations, until the resolution is removed from the Parliament’s
agenda,"

Even though this article sounded too good to be true, the amount
of detail and specific names mentioned in it led dozens of Turkish
websites to post it, without realizing that it was a hoax! After
learning that Turkey did not have an embassy in Sierra Leone, the
Turkish Forum deleted the fake news from its website. It was also
not true that Armenian Genocide resolutions were being considered by
parliaments of Chad, Djibouti and Eritrea in recent months.

It is not known who concocted this elaborate hoax. Given the extensive
amount of criticism directed at Prime Minister Erdogan within Turkey
in recent weeks, the author could well be a disgruntled Turk with
a sense of humor who decided to take a sarcastic swipe at his Don
Quixotic leader. The article was accompanied by an authentic looking
photo of three African officials along with a non-African individual
at a signing ceremony. The photo gave the false impression that the
latter was the Turkish Ambassador to Sierra Leone.

It is not at all surprising that several Turkish websites fell
for this ruse, as the government of Turkey has made a practice of
recalling its ambassadors from France, Canada, the United States,
and other countries for having recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Namik Tan, the newly appointed Turkish ambassador to Washington,
was recalled on March 4 after the House Foreign Affairs Committee
approved the Armenian Genocide resolution. It was reported that
he might stay in Ankara until after April 24. This is great news
for Armenian-American activists, as they can lobby Congress without
facing any opposition from the Turkish Ambassador during the crucial
weeks leading to April 24, when he needs to be in Washington trying
to block the Genocide Resolution in the House and persuade Pres. Obama
not to refer to the Armenian Genocide in his annual statement!

To the best of our knowledge, Amb. Tan did not lobby Congress for
passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution, as did the fictional
ambassador in Sierre Leone, in order take an extended vacation with
family and friends back home. However, judging from Prime Minister
Erdogan’s recent self-defeating statements, sometimes truth is indeed
stranger than fiction!