Author: Vasilian Manouk

TURKEY ‘NOT TO REJECT’ MILITARY COOPERATION WITH US

news.az
March 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Sergey Mikheev ‘I doubt that Turkey can afford complete disavowal of
the military cooperation with the United States.

I do not believe in the ability of Turkey to take really drastic
steps over the resolution’, said vice-president of Russia’s Center
for Political Technologies, Sergey Mikheev.

‘The Committee voted for. The results of voting of the general
composition of the Congress are unclear. Frankly speaking, I do not
believe in the ability of Turkey to take really drastic steps over
the resolution. Of course, much will depend on the reaction of the
Turkish society, but I guess that in the end Ankara will approach
this problem pragmatically and the whole anger will be just limited
with articles in media, rallies, protests and so on. Turks are most
likely not to take really serious steps aimed at the real worsening
of relations with the United States.

I doubt that Turkey can afford complete disavowal of the military
cooperation with the United States. The closure of the base also
seems unlikely. Some individual, one-time demarches are possible,
but in general any radical changes are unlikely. Although the threat
are likely to continue’.

As for the prospects for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations at a time when Armenians call on Turkey to normalize
relations with Yerevan, and are simultaneously trying to push the
issue of so-called "Genocide," Mikheyev said the following:

‘This step can really affect only the Armenian-Turkish relations. The
Armenian diaspora in the United States is really quite active.

However, today the Turkish Foreign Ministry has already issued a
statement that this fact should not affect the relations with Armenia’.

DARWIN NOW EXHIBIT IN YEREVAN EXPLORES RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EVOLUTION AND RELIGION

Tert.am
10:11 ~U 11.03.10

The British Council, in collaboration with the Young Biologists
Association in Armenia, will be presenting an exhibit called Darwin
Now in Yerevan to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of Charles
Darwin’s birth and the 150-year anniversary of the publication of
"On the Origin of Species."

The Darwin Now exhibition explores the origins of Darwin’s book,
outlines his central ideas, and explains how they remain at the core
of contemporary research in biology and medicine.

According to the program booklet produced by the British Council, "Our
international programme of activities… will provide an opportunity
to explore the relationship between evolution and religion in an
unprejudiced and open way."

The Darwin Now exhibit is being shown in over 25 countries worldwide,
notes the British Council’s official website. It is both colourful
and informative, to be enjoyed by children and adults.

The touring exhibit launched on March 10 in Yerevan’s Moscow Cinema,
where it will be on display till March 21. From March 22-31, the
exhibit will be on display at Yerevan State University.

TURKEY NOT TO COMPROMISE OVER ‘GENOCIDE’ ISSUE

Trend
March 9 2010
Azerbaijan

Turkey will continue consultations concerning the resolution on
Armenian genocide approved by the committee of the U.S. Congress,
by excluding any compromise on this issue, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said at a press conference in Ankara, Anadolu agency
reported.

On Thursday the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of
Representatives approved a resolution to recognize the so-called
"Armenian genocide". About 23 congressmen voted for adoption of the
resolution but 22 against it.

Davutoglu said that Ankara continues to consult with ambassador to
Washington Namik Tan, recalled immediately after the adoption of the
resolution. After all the details of the vote in the committee of the
Congress days are collected one of these days, Turkey will announce
about its next steps. Turkish Minister said that in any case, his
country will not compromise on the issue.

"We hope that our colleagues have received all necessary information
on this issue," Davutoglu said.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby state that the predecessor of Turkey
– the Ottoman empire committed "genocide" against Armenians living
in Anatolia in 1915. Armenians willing to recognize this fact in
the world by strengthening propaganda of the so-called "genocide"
in the world countries, achieved its recognition by the parliaments
of some countries.

The Turkish government, describing the adoption of the resolution as a
blow to Turkish-U.S relations, called on Armenia to open all archives
and negotiate face to face, rather than by pressure through the U.S.

Congress.

True/Slant
March 7 2010

>From genocide, building a beautiful arch

Christopher de Bellaigue, in his new book Rebel Land, describes the
`petty and dishonorable’ feeling of interviewing old women in the
small town of Varto, where the author is researching a book about
painful and sensitive subjects ‘ genocide, Armenians, Turks.

Why not let sleeping dogs lie? Why not leave this poor woman alone,
why jog her memories? And then arch of your design starts to fill, and
it seems like a beautiful arch, with lessons for us all, and you press
greedily on.

Writing in The New York Review of Books several years ago, de
Bellaigue wrote about a period of Turkish history. For his failure to
accurately account for the mass killings of Armenians, he was vilified
by readers and taken to task by Review editor Robert Silvers.

This new book seems, in part, to be atonement. Words beget words.

7/a-stirring-line-a-painful-time/

REVELATION OF CORRUPTION INCREASED

12:21:04 – 05/03/2010
hos17058.html

Revelation of cases of corruption and economic crimes increased, said
the Head of the Police Department for Organized Crime Prevention Hunan
Poghosyan, March 5. He says 392 cases were revealed in 2008, and 552
in 2009, the 76 percent of which was revealed by the Police Department
combating Organized Crime.

Hunan Poghosyan noted that they also fight against corruption and
bribery in the Police system too. He added that people have to help
them to reveal cases of bribery by informing about them because such
cases are latent. Poghosyan said citizens are to trust them and will
not be disappointed.

Examiner.com
March 7 2010

Vic Darchinyan batters game, but outgunned Guerrero

March 6, 8:11 PMLA Boxing Examiner
Ricardo Lois

Los Angeles – In front of a supportive crowd of Armenian and
Armenian-Americans at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Vic
Darchinyan (Armenia, 34-2) used his superior skills, power, and
experience to batter Rodrigo Guerrero (Mexico, 13-2-1) en route to a
unanimous decision victory.

Guerrero was fighting for the first time in the United States and in
his first bout with left handed fighter, but was not phased by the
spotlight and showed spunk in challenging Darchinyan with aggression
through out the affair.

As the fight wore on Darchinyan, the WBC and WBA super flyweight title
holder, was able to pepper Guerrero with barrages of punches and
opened a cut on the challenger.

Though the champion was the clearly the stronger fighter, Guerrero
would not fade into the night, taking everything Dachinyan delivered,
and even giving back what he could.

Darchinyan seems en route to a rematch with world-class Filipino super
flyweight Nonito Donaire, who defeated Vic via stunning knockout in
2007.

-Examiner~y2010m3d6-Vic-Darchinyan-batters-game-bu t-outgunned-Guerrero

elp_ArmeniaTurkey_Rapprochement/1975603.html

Radi o Free Europe/Radio Liberty
March 05, 2010

U.S. Resolution Could Help Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has narrowly passed another
resolution recognizing the Ottoman-era mass killing of Armenians in
Turkey as genocide. This was the second such resolution passed by the
committee in less than three years and third in less than five years.

In 2007 when the House committee approved a resolution asking the U.S.
president to recognize the Armenian killings as genocide, critics
argued forcefully that the passage of such measure could put the U.S.
troops in Iraq in harm’s way and damage already deteriorating
relations between Ankara and Washington.

Almost every member of the Bush administration, including former
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates, issued statements with stern warning of the dire consequences
passage of the resolution would have for U.S. interests in Iraq and
elsewhere in the wider Middle East.

The pressure from the Bush administration worked; though the committee
passed the resolution, it was never sent to the full House of
Representatives for a final vote.

Yesterday’s vote was different. The pressure from the White House was
not so visible and there were no public attempts to prevent the vote.
The statements coming from the White House and the State Department
repeated the same line, that Turkey and Armenia should move forward in
implementing the protocols to normalize relations.

The Obama administration also refrained from taking sides publicly on
the issue. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for one, had a chance
to appeal to committee members not to consider the Armenian resolution
when she was testifying before the House panel in late February.

It became known just hours before the vote on March 4 that Clinton had
spoken with committee Chairman Howard Berman expressing concern that
further congressional action could jeopardize the fragile process of
rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara.

Turkey’s reaction to the vote has been furious. Turkey accused the
Obama administration of not doing enough to stop the vote in the House
committee, and has recalled its ambassador in Washington for
consultations. The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said
today the Obama administration had not sufficiently put its weight
behind efforts to block the vote.

Why were Obama administration officials reluctant to put strong
pressure on Chairman Berman or on other fellow Democrats in the House
committee, where they have a majority?

One reason could be the level of U.S. frustration with Turkey’s
leaders. The patience with Ankara’s handling of the Armenian-Turkish
issue may be running out. The administration was hoping that the
protocols wouldn’t be held hostage by domestic politics in Turkey and
be delayed in the long process of parliamentary politicking.

President Barack Obama and Clinton have told Turkish leaders many
times that they should not tie the ratification of the protocols to
the resolution of other difficult issues, such as the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Just a day before the committee vote, Obama urged his
Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to speed up ratification.

Now that the House panel has passed the resolution, which could go to
the full House for a vote at any time, the White House may now have a
tool to break Ankara’s unwillingness to move forward and normalize its
relations with neighboring Armenia. The Obama administration can now
say, "Ratify the protocols or the genocide resolution will go to the
full House for a vote."

There is, however, another trend that is unlikely to be reversed. It’s
becoming increasingly difficult for a U.S. presidential candidate,
including Obama, to promise Armenian-Americans to recognize their
century-old tragedy as genocide, and then break that promise once
elected president. How many times can Obama skip the word "genocide"
in his annual proclamation on the mass killings of Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire? He already did last year. What will happen this year?

— Hrair Tamrazian

BOOK REVIEW: "REBEL LAND-UNRAVELING THE RIDDLE OF HISTORY IN A TURKISH TOWN"

2010/03 /03 | 11:39

media

The March 2 New York Times featured the following review of Christopher
de Bellaigue’s new book "REBEL LAND – Unraveling the Riddle of History
in a Turkish Town".

"A Look at the Snarled Past of Armenians and Turks" by Dwight Garner

Christopher de Bellaigue’s new book begins with the story of a
journalistic blunder, the author’s own. In 2001 Mr. de Bellaigue wrote
a long essay for The New York Review of Books about Turkey’s tangled
history. It was a topic he thought he knew something about. At the
time he was living in Istanbul and working as a foreign correspondent
for The Economist.

His essay had barely arrived on newsstands, though, before complaints
began to pour in. It turns out that Mr. de Bellaigue, while describing
the age-old ethnic conflict between Turks and Armenians, declared
that "some half a million" Armenians "died during the deportations
and massacres of 1915." Unknowingly, he had stumbled into bitterly
contested territory.

James Russell, a professor of Armenian studies at Harvard, was among
those who wrote to rebuke him. Three times that many Armenians "were
murdered," Mr. Russell replied, "in a premeditated genocide." Mr.

Russell’s letter to The New York Review of Books continued: "If
a reviewer wrote that only a third of the actual number of Jewish
victims of the Holocaust had died, or that their deaths came about
because they had rioted, or elected to make war against the German
government, would you print it?"

Mr. de Bellaigue was appalled at the tone of Mr. Russell’s letter, he
writes, and at the possibility that he had made serious mistakes. He
was shattered when Robert Silvers, the venerable editor of The New
York Review of Books, scolded him over the telephone for appearing
to be an apologist for the Turks.

Chastened, Mr. de Bellaigue – a talented British journalist and the
author of "In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran" (2005)
– set out to discover the truth about what happened nearly a century
ago between the Turks and the Armenians. The result of that quest is
"Rebel Land: Unraveling the Riddle of History in a Turkish Town,"
a deeply unconventional book that is as much memoir as proper history.

It’s a murky and uneven book, too, one that Mr. de Bellaigue’s twitchy
intellect and acid prose can’t quite rescue.

Mr. de Bellaigue lets us know early on that "Rebel Land" is not going
to be, at bottom, a research project. "I would not pore over books in
libraries and faculties," he declares, nor will he "solicit help from
the Kurdish and Armenian lobbies." He decides to "go to the back of
the vessel and mix it in steerage with the forgotten peoples. From
them I would get the story, gritty and unfiltered, of their loves,
their losses and their sins."

What this jaunty bit of cultural condescension (mix it in steerage?)
means in practice is that Mr. de Bellaigue begins to spend a lot of
time in a small town in southeastern Turkey named Varto, in a district
(also named Varto) that was caught up in the turmoil of 1915.

Thousands of Armenians once lived there, and the ruins of their
churches linger still.

This place is a far cry from the cosmopolitan Turkey that Mr. de
Bellaigue knew and loved in Istanbul. Speaking of that urban Turkey,
the one that mostly prefers to deny its complicated past, he writes,
"I would now go behind its back and betray it."

So Mr. de Bellaigue goes to Varto and begins to poke around. Because
he is a keen observer and a natural satirist – I would like to
read a novel by him – the parts of "Rebel Land" that are akin to
travel writing are shrewd. He is good on people, observing one man’s
"flowery nose" and "grenadine complexion," another’s "white parabola"
of a mustache, yet another’s "precarious nail-bitten superiority."

Mr. de Bellaigue is a mordant sensualist, noting how a river flows
into "curvaceous oxbows" and how boots "sucked and popped" through
mud. He is particularly attentive to his meals, enjoying "mezes of
superlative quality," "a delicious apricot cake" and noting how one
local man enjoys deep-fried local trout with rocket and radishes. He
describes Varto itself as "this curious place with a name like a
cleaning detergent."

There is Kafkaesque humor, too, in the way the local authorities
trail him, and in the way he tries (and usually fails) to get the
locals to trust and to talk to him.

Mr. de Bellaigue’s peppery asides rub up awkwardly, however, against
the main story he is trying to tell in "Rebel Land," one that doesn’t
lend itself to pithy apercus. The arc of his narrative becomes lost
amid the place names and rumors and dimly remembered family stories.

He complains that he "might be told three or four versions" of every
event, and the reader begins to feel his pain.

This is a book that has a two-page dramatis personae at the front,
of the kind that makes your heart sink. Mr. de Bellaigue does not do
enough to separate all these living and historical people, to make
them distinctive, and they become a jumble on the page.

As his book progresses, Mr. de Bellaigue begins to limit his focus to
the crucial questions, notably this one: what happened to the Armenians
of Varto? His book becomes a kind of intellectual, emotional and
forensic detective story. He delivers, piece by piece, a summary of the
Armenians’ case against the Turks and he blasts the Turkish historians
who, he feels, have whitewashed a portion of their country’s history.

Ultimately, he writes, "the big historical question is not whether
very large numbers of Anatolian Armenians met with a violent end in
the spring and summer of 1915, but whether or not the killings took
place by fiat." In other words, was it genocide or merely the actions
of a few bad men? Mr. de Bellaigue worries that "a genocide fixation"
has blinded both sides to all shades of gray.

"What is needed is a vaguer designation for the events of 1915,
avoiding the G-word but clearly connoting criminal acts of slaughter,
to which reasonable scholars can subscribe and which a child might be
taught," he suggests. "By raising knowledge about this great wrong,
a way might be opened to a cultural and historical meeting between
today’s Turks, Kurds and Armenians, for they were not alive in 1915,
and need not live in its shadow."

The gimlet-eyed and sensible Mr. de Bellaigue proposes all this,
and then immediately realizes his cosmic folly. "But no; this is the
prattle of a naïf," he writes, "laughable, unemployable."

EXPERTS: U.S. CONGRESS IS UNLIKELY TO ADOPT RESOLUTION ON "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE"

Today
lytics/63016.html
March 3 2010
Azerbaijan

The U.S. Congress is unlikely to pass a resolution on the so-called
"Armenian genocide", as it will negatively affect the Washington-Ankara
relations and negate all the efforts of the United States to normalize
the Turkish-Armenian relations, experts say.

"I do not think the U.S Congress will pass a genocide resolution
with the president’s signature because such an attempt to legislate
history might help defeat what the US wants – Turkey and Armenia
should pursue a settlement of their ancient quarrel by implementing
the two protocols," American Expert on Turkey Michael Gunter believes.

U.S. Congress International Relations Commission Chairman Howard
Berman proposed to submit the issue for consideration March 4.

Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Making greater efforts to promote
the issue internationally, Armenians have achieved its recognition
by parliaments of some countries.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to the U.S. Congress.

The letter states the consideration of so-called "Armenian genocide"
will negatively influence the peace in the South Caucasus region.

Consideration of so-called, "Armenian genocide" by the U.S. Congress
will be a blow to the Turkish-American relations and Turkey hopes
that the U.S. Congress won’t consider the question of the Armenian
genocide, the letter says.

Turkish Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Murat
Mercan said that the discussion of the 1915 events in the U.S.

Congress would damage Turkish-American relations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that submission for
consideration of the bill on the so-called, "Armenian genocide" March
4 by the U.S. Congress’s Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Howard
Berman is not accidental and planned by Armenia.

He said that for some reason, when Ankara announced the protocols’
signing in August there was no pressure. According to him, someone
is trying to convince Ankara of something it did not commit.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey have been broken due
to Armenia’s claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of
Azerbaijani lands. The border between them has been broken since 1993.

According to observers, the U.S. is unlikely to adopt such a
controversial document, as it will affect its relations with Turkey.

In previous years, the US congress has been extremely active in
pressing US Administrations into recognizing the 1915 events as
Genocide. This has played out in the wider foreign policy calculations
of the United States in the Middle East, namely in its relations with
Israel and now more clearly in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Turkey’s
support is crucial, European Expert on Caucasus Licinia Simao said.

According to American expert on Iran Mark N. Katz, it is likely that
the resolution on the so-called "genocide" of Armenians would be
adopted by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

"But will the resolution then be passed by the House of Representatives
as a whole? But will the Senate also pass the resolution? In my view,
this is highly unlikely–if only because it is very difficult for the
Senate to pass anything that is controversial," Politics Professor
at the Public and International Affairs Department at George Mason
University Mark Katz wrote Trend News in an e-mail.

How this affects US-Turkish relations depends on how Turkey reacts,
Katz said. "If both the House and the Senate pass the resolution,
US-Turkish relations are highly likely to be negatively affected. But
this, I believe, is highly unlikely," he added.

Turkey may react negatively if just the House Foreign Affairs Committee
passes the measure, he said. "I would hope not, but if it does, this
will actually increase the chances that the full House and perhaps
even the Senate will also approve the measure," Katz added.

Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Eurasian Division Head Mehmet Fatih Ceylan
said that it is difficult to predict whether the U.S Congress will
take a resolution on the so-called "genocide" of 1915 in the Ottoman
Empire. Even if it happens, it does not mean that the U.S. government
will put its signature under the document, he said.

"However, the just of consideration of the document in the U.S.

Congress – is not the most friendly move by the United States to
Turkey, and if it would be adopted by the Congress, it will be a
severe blow to the American -Turkish relations," he told Trend News
over the telephone. "Presently, Turkey occupies the position of
expectations. We are waiting for action from the American side. "

Armenian Turkologist Artak Shakaryan believes Turkey has a certain
approach to the adoption of the resolution on the Armenian genocide
by the Congress.

According to him, some believe that if the U.S. passes a resolution,
and Obama will deliver on April 24, the term "genocide", the United
States will lose this leverage on Turkey.

According to experts, the adoption of the resolution on the so-called
"Armenian genocide" could have a negative impact not only on the
U.S-Turkish relations, but also on the Turkish-Armenian settlement.

"I have seen commentary about how re-introducing the Armenian genocide
resolution in the House may be intended to pressure the Turkish
Parliament into ratifying the Turkish-Armenian Protocols," Katz said.

"In my view, though, House approval of the Armenian genocide resolution
would make Turkish parliamentary approval of the Turkish-Armenian
Protocols less likely."

Gunter believes the U.S interference at this time would not help, but
actually hinder this promising process. Passing a genocide resolution
will hurt the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement.

The Turkish-Armenian protocols might indeed be running into trouble,
not only because of the U.S Congress moves, but because both Turkey
and Armenia seem not to be ready to take the next step, Simao believes.

"In my view, although the protocols should advance without
pre-conditions, a sensitive reading of the domestic pressures is
necessary in both capitals, making concessions that would allow
the original spirit of the protocols to survive," Expert on South
Caucasian countries, fellow of University of Coimbra, Simao said.

This could have positive impacts in regional security, beyond the
U.S Congress ability to overturn them. In fact, that would maintain
U.S engaged in the process, the expert said.

ARMENIA REJECTS TURKISH WARNINGS TO U.S. CONGRESS
Emil Danielyan

/1972355.html
02.03.2010

Official Yerevan dismissed on Tuesday Turkish warnings that a U.S.

congressional resolution describing the 1915 massacres of Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire as genocide would set back the normalization
of Turkish-Armenian relations. (UPDATED)

It also emerged that a group of mostly pro-government Armenian
parliamentarians is heading to Washington in an apparent effort to
facilitate the passage of the resolution introduced by pro-Armenian
U.S. legislators a year ago.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives is
scheduled to discuss and vote on the proposed legislation on Thursday.

It urges President Barack Obama to "accurately characterize the
systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as
genocide."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry warned on Monday that its approval by
the House committee would harm not only U.S.-Turkish relations but
also efforts by Turkey and Armenia to normalize bilateral ties. "We
would like to believe that the members of the committee are aware
of the damage… the endorsement of the resolution will bring and,
in this context, act responsibly," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly issued a similar
warning over the weekend. He said passage of the genocide resolution
to would bring the U.S.-backed Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process
to a halt.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian brushed aside the warning,
saying that the biggest threat to that process emanates from Ankara’s
"preconditions" for the implementation of the Turkish-Armenian
normalization agreements which were set by Ankara months before the
House panel scheduled a debate on the resolution.

"It is statements made in Turkey and the return to the language
of preconditions that deal a blow to the process of normalizing
Turkish-Armenian relations," Nalbandian told a news conference. "We
hope that Turkey will rid itself of artificial complexes created by
the Turkish side and that we will be able to move forward in accordance
with our understandings."

Nalbandian stopped short of explicitly urging U.S. lawmakers
to recognize what many historians consider the first genocide of
the 20th century. But in a sign of Yerevan’s tacit support for the
resolution, four members of Armenia’s parliament will fly to Washington
on Wednesday at the invitation of Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk, the
two U.S. lawmakers co-chairing the congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues. The bipartisan group, currently numbering 150 House members,
has long been pushing for Armenian genocide recognition.

An official in the National Assembly told RFE/RL’s Armenian service
that Pallone and Kirk asked their Armenian colleagues to "present
their views on and approaches to issues of mutual interest" to U.S.

legislators and foreign policy-makers. The genocide resolution will
be the main focus of their meetings in Washington, said the official.

A similar delegation of Turkish parliamentarians is already in
Washington, meeting with U.S. officials and lobbying against the
resolution. "My impression is that the (Obama) administration is not
fighting against it very effectively," one of them, Sukru Elekdag,
said on Monday, according to Reuters.

Obama has so far declined to openly endorse or, as past U.S.

administrations did, oppose the measure. The Associated Press cited
aides to senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee as saying last week there has been no
pressure against the resolution from the White House yet. According to
a spokesman for the pro-Armenian committee chairman, Howard Berman, the
Obama administration was informed about Thursday’s vote ahead of time.

Obama repeatedly pledged to recognize the Armenian genocide when he
ran for president, earning the overwhelming backing of the Armenian
Americans. However, he has refrained from using the word "genocide"
since taking office, implicitly citing the need not to undermine the
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement.

"His view of that history has not changed," US National Security
Council spokesman Mike Hammer said last week. "Our interest remains the
achievement of a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts."

"The best way to advance that goal is for the Armenian and Turkish
people to address the facts of the past as a part of their ongoing
efforts to normalize relations," said Hammer. "We will continue to
support these efforts vigorously in the months ahead."

Some observers have speculated that Washington is using the prospect
of U.S. recognition of the genocide to try to get the Turks to ratify
the two Turkish-Armenian protocols signed in October. The Turkish
ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan, seemed to give weight to
this view on Saturday.

"The greatest lobbyist in Washington is the administration," Tan said,
according to the Associated Press. "We have not seen them around
enough on this."

Still, Erdogan expressed confidence on Tuesday that Obama will display
"common sense" on the matter. Speaking before parliament deputies from
his Justice and Development Party, he said he conveyed the Turkish
concerns to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at their recent
talks in Qatar.

"I separately discussed with her what would be the cost of an adverse
result from that," "Hurriyet Daily News" quoted the Turkish premier
as saying. "I am calling on everyone once more to act with common
sense. I’d like to say it would be more accurate to research genocide
claims not at the House of Representatives but at universities and
archives."