Author: Virabian Jhanna

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 20 2005

The way I think after Srebrenica tape
View by Baris Sanli
JTW Ankara

After the Srebrenica tape, the ghosts of the past haunted the
headlines. The tragedies, the hatreds and denials were all back
again. It was as if, some one is digging the past with a knife. It
was painful for some, heroic for the other some and unbelievable for
the rest.

In ISRO/USAK we made several discussions about the events. Instead of
blaming the Serbians, we preferred discussing the possibility of
constructive policies for the Balkans. Some of optimistic, some were
pessimistic. During last week, whatever we published about Serbia was
used as an evidence for proving the hatred between Serbs and Turks by
some foreign media. It was definitely unbelievable, whatever the
subject is, the conclusion was ready: `They said this because they
hate us’.

As an Internet media, we regularly check our inboxes, read your
messages and listen our readers. Generally the readers shape our way
of writing and dealing with issues. On the other hand, as Dr. Laciner
reminds all our writers : `The sincerity is the key’. So, after all
the emails and forums, we tried to look differently to the Balkans
and think sincerely.

Turkey’s Dilemma

Most of the people may say, `what the hell Turkey has to do with
Balkans?’. This was true until late 1980s. Bulgaria’s attitude
towards Bulgarian Turks, and forcing them to immigrate were the first
signs of Turkey’s reluctant involvement with Balkans. On one hand,
Turkish Foreign Policy is based on peace and not interfering other
nation’s internal matter. On the other hand, Turkey is inherently
multicultural society. There are lots of lobby groups like
ethnic(from Balkans and Caucasus) organizations or groups those can
affect Turkish Foreign Policy.

Bosnian war was the biggest single event that attracted Turks
attention to the Balkans. In terms of Balkan policy there is `Before
Bosnia’ and `After Bosnia’. `Before Bosnia’ period was when most of
the Turks do not have any idea about the Bosnia or Balkans. The
reflection of this event even continued during the war. For example a
Serbian football player has become the key player of one of Turkey’s
most prominent teams. The crowds were cheering his name. It was
absolutely a time of neutrality.

`After Bosnia’ period was when the Bosnian’s started immigrating to
Turkey. Their tragedies were slowly becoming part of ordinary Turks
memories. While Serbs were ethnically cleansing Muslims and
-according to them Turkish presence, they were achieving the
impossible, namely `increasing the Balkan awareness in Turkey’.
Nowadays, once in a week Turkish State Television (TRT) is
broadcasting programs in Bosnian, which is hard to imagine in 1990s.

During the Kosovo events, I perfectly remember, the reporter girl
from ATV(Turkish channel) started crying when she saw the shattered
lives of the immigrants those forced to the borders. So all these
events, forced the governments to do something about the Balkans. But
the governments and their policies have ignored this pressure on
them. If Turkey has increased its influence in the Balkans, the
Serbian nationalism will grow stronger and hence may damage the
Muslims and Albanians living there. On the other hand, the weaker
Turkey acts, the more violent Serbians become. `Where are Turks now?’
like sentences from Serbs are also etched in the memories of some
Turks.

Why Balkans?

Turkey didn’t need an immigration policy until 1980s. But first the
Bulgarian, then the Bosnia and the Kosovo events led to changes in
Turkish immigration policy. Anytime a dispute starts in the Balkans,
Turkey welcomes the immigrants and hosts them. But most of the
immigrants reject to go back to their countries even after the
disputes end. An important ratio of them tries to get a Turkish
passport for their future as a sign of distrust to their home
countries’ attitudes.

This psychology is hazardous, because it helps to the aims of the
tyrants and changes the dynamics of the Balkans.

USAK/ISRO’s attitude

USAK/ISRO is an NGO. Generally, as an NGO we try to think about
constructive policies. And during this week it was such. The
discussion subjects varied from Greater Serbia to free roaming for
Balkan countries and bursaries for students. There is one way for
peace in Balkans and it is coexistence. But this is not easy.
According to BBC, two thirds of the Serbs still thinks that Mladic
and Karadzic are heroes. And this makes things very complicated.

National Heroes and the Turks of the Fantasies

National heroes are part of a cultural identity. What kind of
cultural identity should we expect from a nation whose heroes are
Mladic and Karadzic? The answer is not easy and a positive one for
Serbs. Instead of blaming Serbs, we tried to understand them. Serbia
as a country and nation has been at the cross roads of wars and
disputes. Is Serbia traumatized by all these wars? Can we conclude
that Serbian people are not thinking the way we think?

In the orthodox world, there is this image of Turks. I have mails
from Armenian and Greek readers, those claim Turks are not as they
were described. Nearly all claims that we(Turks and Greeks, Turks and
Armenians) are so similar. In one real life story told to me by an
academician, an Armenian who promised himself to spit to every Turks’
face he meets, was stunned by the similarities between he and a Turk,
they went for a drink after an hour or so.

The Turks in the fantasies of the Serbs, Armenians and Greeks have no
relation whatsoever with Turks. They are just `the other’ puppet used
by authorities to gain ground domestically. Greeks are slowly
embracing the real Turks. The similarities between two nations
surpass the disputes between each other. When a Greek sits with a
Turk he may talk about three or four disputes, but they can talk for
days about the common points.

Now, I believe, it is time for Serbs to wake up from the
hallucinations. To achieve this, education is a must. Education is
the key to wake up people from dreams to realities. For example,
there must be a student exchange programs between two nations. Serbs
may think that they are better than Turks, but the new generation in
Turkey has a potential. Even this year, I was surprised by a Leonardo
da Vinci project from a high school student from Trabzon about
nanotechnology. They should see Turkey and judge their fantasies.

In terms of nationalism, most of the Balkans think that Turks are
like them, nationalist. We talked about it a lot, we are not
nationalist but patriotic. Turkish nationalism is very hard to
implement, because there are lots of groups and races in Turkey. It
is hard to define a race as Turkic race. Instead, as appeared in the
Economist few weeks ago, being a Turk is more or less defined with
sentences like `strong family relations, risk takers and etc.’
On the other hand, Turkish nationalism is a one of its kind. Turkish
nationalists are annoyingly relaxed people. Whenever you ask them
about their policies, they will say `We will sort it out’. Of course
what is meant by `sorting out’ is a mystery, because most of the
nationalist are silent and calm figures in Turkish society. As one
high ranking nationalist puts it, young generation of nationalists
are more interested in girls than politics.

The Future

Serbia, with Russia, is key to the peace in the Balkans and with the
crisis EU and US struggling, the region may turn to bloodbath.
Turkey, although reluctant, must calculate and consider the future of
Balkans for the sake of its stability. The peace and stability in the
region is -as always been, the priority of Turkey. To achieve this,
there had to be constructive policies. Policies those need the
cooperation of Russians, Turks, Serbs, Bosnians, Croatians, Albanians
and Macedonians. The process may be painful and may require lots of
commitments from both parties, but doesn’t it worth for our children?

[email protected]

ISRO : International Strategic Research Organization
USAK: Uluslararasi Stratejik Arastirmalar Kurumu (Turkish of ISRO)

Armenian foreign minister upbeat about Karabakh talks

Noyan Tapan news agency
20 Jun 05

YEREVAN

The next visit by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to the region is
expected in mid-June, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan told a
press conference on 20 June.

The minister said that the latest meeting between Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents in Warsaw was a step forward in settling the
Karabakh conflict. The presidents instructed their foreign ministers
to build on that, however, “we have not managed to do it in Paris but
we found commonalties”. Oskanyan does not doubt that “the talks
between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will go in a
positive direction”.

The minister reiterated that a series of issues, including the issues
of refugees and Nagornyy Karabakh’s security, were on the agenda of
the negotiations. In the meantime, Oskanyan said that the issue of
Nagornyy Karabakh’s political status was the most important one to
Armenia. As for the deployment of peacekeepers in the conflict region,
the minister said: “It is too early to speak about the deployment of
foreign peacekeepers, there are more pressing issues to deal with.”

[Passage omitted: repeat of earlier items and hails parliamentary
polls in Karabakh]

PROGRAMME OF REVIVAL MUST BE SUCCESS

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
17 June 05

After the construction of the highway road `North – South’ the
All-Armenian foundation `Hayastan’ will launch a new large-scale
programme in Karabakh `Revival of Artsakh’. Fundraising for the
programme will begin with the telethon to be held in coming
November. Other programmes are being implemented in parallel as well,
which are also directed at the revival of Artsakh. With the support of
the American Armenian and the foundation the city will soon have a new
building of the polyclinic, corresponding to the European standards.
The NKR representative of the foundation Michel Tancrez told us that
the total cost of the policlinic is 700 thousand US dollars. About 600
thousand was provided by the American Armenian benefactor for buying
equipment. Two years ago the programme of reconstruction of houses in
Haterk, Vaghuhas and other villages of Martakert region was completed.

With the support of Armenian benefactors from Argentina and the
foundation a new school building was built in the village of Vaghuhas.
Now the foundation supports reconstruction works in the village. In
the current year the school buildings of the village of Drmbon and
Shosh were built and operated. M. Tancrez said the foundation is
implementing a programme of support to nursery schools as well.
Recently new furniture was ordered for 10 nursery schools. Later it
will be decided to which nursery schools the furniture will be
distributed. M. Tancrez mentioned that it is the first time that the
foundation orders furniture here. Michel Tancrez explained the record
sum raised during the previous telethon by the contribution of big
sponsors and good organization. M. Tancrez has great expectations from
the upcoming telethon: `The programme of revival of Artsakh must be a
success. The first stage of the programme will include the region of
Martakert. Later funds will be raised for the reconstruction of Hadrut
and Martuni, and then the other regions of the republic.’ M. Tancrez
said the funds raised during the telethons of 2007 and 2008 will be
spent on the reconstruction of the water system and roads in the
republic.

SRBUHI VANIAN.
17-06-2005

JOurnal of Turkish weekly
June 20 2005

Steps Leading Up to the October 3 Start Talks for Turkish EU Acceptance

source: Hurriyet

The most important step leading up to the October 3 talks which will
begin the process to determine Turkey-EU relations is the Framework
for Accession Talks document which will be published by the EU in
September. There is, however, the fear that relations between Turkey
and the EU could be affected negatively prior to the start of October
3 talks due to aspects of this document. Despite budget crises and
overturned referendums in the EU, there are no legal barriers to the
October 3 talks starting. A brief look at the process which will
proceed these talks for Turkey is as follows:

*** It is expected that Turkey will sign an additional protocol to
widen the current 25 country member Customs Union.

*** Following the signing of the additional protocol, a written
declaration that Turkey does not recognize the Cypriot Republic will
be recorded.

*** The Framework for Accession Talks document will be presented by
the EU Commission to the EU Council on June 29. This document is
expected to be a confirmation of the decisions made on December 17,
2004 regarding the Turkish EU membership process.

*** It is expected that this document will have many changes and
additions made to it be current EU member countries.

*** The real risk is that this document will have additions made to
it which will ultimately prevent Turkey’s EU membership. Demands made
on the Armenian matter, Cyprus, or the use of the “privileged
partner” expression are all aspects which could spell danger for
Turkey. If the requests made in the document become too heavy for
Turkey to handle, there is a real possibility that the start talks
could be rejected by the Turkish side.

NEW ELECTORAL CODE NOT PERFECT

A1plus

| 15:14:27 | 18-06-2005 | Politics |

Choice is yours public organization worked out an interesting variant
of the reformed Electoral Code, all the pages of which are painted
either red or greed. The correlation of colors is almost equal, with
slight prevalence of red. Members of the organization, who participated
in the elections as observers tried to mark the positive and negative
aspects of the process. To note, negative ones are marked with red.

The organization members stressed the items referring to the rights
of the empowered persons and observers. However, there is an item
in the new Electoral Code that nullifies all the reforms. “Very
often the NA Speaker and the CEC members says how many proposals
by the Venice Commission they have adopted. However they had better
re-consider the order of the formation of the election commissions”,
organization chairman Khachatur Voskanyan says.

“If you examine the Constitution carefully you will see that such
functions are not offered to the courts. If we take into account
the current situation, when the Justice Council and the juridical
system are dependent, nothing will change”, he adds. In his opinion
the judge, who is appointed member of the election commission should
for some time suspend his activities as a judge.

The new Electoral Code says that the list of the candidates for
the post of the commission members should be presented to the
President. Only after that the composition of the commission is
established. To note, if the Court of Cassations and the NA group do
not manage to present their candidates within the terms fixed, the
posts will be occupied by the candidates appointed by the President
of the republic.

Lena Badeyan

Turkey protests German vote: Killing of Armenians

Dawn, Pakistan
June 17 2005

BERLIN, June 16: Germany’s parliament on Thursday condemned Turkey
for what it called the mass killing of Armenians by Turks 90 years
ago, sparking an angry protest from Ankara. In a vote shortly after
Germany’s government and opposition clashed over whether Turkey
should join the European Union, all main parties in the Bundestag
joined forces to deplore the killing.

The resolution stopped short of calling the killings genocide, a term
Turkey rejects, but looks sure to test relations between Ankara and
Berlin, until now a key supporter of Turkey’s EU aspirations.

The resolution urged Turkey to set up an independent committee
of Turkish, Armenian and international historians to document what
happened and to hold a conference in Istanbul – postponed last month –
to examine the issue.

Turkey denies the claims that 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered
in a systematic genocide between 1915 and 1923 as the multi-ethnic
Ottoman Empire collapsed.

It accepts that hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed,
but says even more Turks died in a partisan conflict in which many
Armenians backed invading Russian troops.

Turkey is worried that it will come under mounting pressure to
recognize the killings as ‘genocide’ after it starts EU entry talks
in October.

“This resolution is regretful and we strongly condemn it,” said the
Turkish foreign ministry in a statement.

President Jacques Chirac of France, home to Europe’s largest Armenian
diaspora, has said failure by Turkey to recognize the genocide could
harm the country’s EU bid.

Several European nations, including France, Poland and Greece, have
passed resolutions recognizing the killings as genocide.

Ankara’s foreign ministry described the resolution as one-sided and
‘provocative’ and said it would hurt Turks’ feelings. It said German
lawmakers had been motivated by domestic politics and had ignored
repeated warnings of the harm the resolution would do to ties.-

U.S., Turkey must say the words ‘Armenian genocide’
By Jim Boren / The Fresno Bee

Fresno Bee, CA
June 16 2005

In the close-knit Armenian families of the San Joaquin Valley, the
stories of the first genocide of the 20th century are passed along
to each generation at dinner tables and family gatherings. It’s a
ritual to ensure that this scar on world history won’t be forgotten.

But this isn’t just a history lesson about nameless victims of the
Armenian genocide of 90 years ago. These stories are very personal.
They trace how family members made their way to the Valley and the
tragic circumstances of those who died in a calculated slaughter that
meets every definition of a genocide.

They talk about the great-grandmother whose children were murdered
by the Turks and only escaped the genocide by being hidden in a
basement by a friendly doctor and his wife. Or the 8-year-old girl
whose brother was killed and her only hope was to find a way to
survive a Turkish death march through the desert.

They talk about how 1.5 million Armenians were killed during a massacre
that the Turkish government still won’t acknowledge.

U.S. reluctance The Turks’ intransigent attitude about those events
still angers many Armenian-Americans. There’s also disappointment
because the United States government has buckled under threats from
Turkey if our nation dares call this tragic chapter what it is — a
“genocide.”

Because Turkey sits in a strategic spot in the world, the U.S. State
Department, several presidents and Congress have refused to officially
declare that a genocide occurred.

The United States doesn’t want to offend the Turkish government.
Never mind that our leaders are offending the survivors of those
1.5 million Armenians slaughtered during World War I. This wasn’t
the collateral damage of war. The Armenians were rounded up by the
Turks and executed.

But the politics of this issue could change thanks to Turkey’s desire
to become part of the European Union. French President Jacques Chirac
says Turkey must admit to the genocide as one of the conditions of
entry into the EU.

That says a lot about Turkey standing on principle. Its leaders won’t
acknowledge the genocide, but they may admit to it occurring if the
Turks get an economic benefit. That tells you all you need to know
about this ally of the United States.

Today is a special day for the Armenian community. It’s the 90th
anniversary of the genocide and a series of commemorative events have
been held the past week across the Valley. One of those was a dinner
by the Armenian Community School of Fresno that honored survivors of
the genocide.

In a north Fresno banquet room last week, family members told moving
stories about how their relatives were killed in the genocide and
what it took for some of them to survive. They all know these family
stories very well, and they will not shield their children from this
awful history.

It’s something that must be passed on.

Harrowing experience

The Armenian Community School honored genocide survivors from four
families. All but one have since died, but Oghda Boghosian, at age
98, was there to receive her honor surrounded by family members. Also
honored were Mourad and Elizabeth Bedrosian, Anna Boyajian Koligian
and Dertad and Siroun Tookolan.

Oghda Boghosian was 8 when the Turks came for her family. Her oldest
brother was killed and her mother thought her best chance at survival
was to send Oghda on a march with her brother’s wife.

Going on a march usually meant death to participants, either through
the sheer torture of the procession without adequate food and water
or being shot when Turkish soldiers tired of marching along with
their victims. But it also could be a chance to flee.

Oghda was taken from the march by two Turkish boys and given to a
Turkish family that wanted an Armenian girl to keep. She ultimately got
away, and then finally arrived at Ellis Island in 1920. She married
Nigholas Boghosian, and after several years they ended up in Fowler
and went into the farming business.

Oghda Boghosian’s story is not unusual and this 98-year-old woman
knows all too personally that there was a genocide that claimed family
members, and so many others. It only compounds the tragedy for this
genocide to be officially ignored.

The Turkish government knows the truth. The American government knows
the truth. It’s time for both to speak it publicly.

Jim Boren is The Fresno Bee’s editorial page editor. His column appears
Sunday. E-mail him at [email protected] or write him at 1626 E St.,
Fresno 93786.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOREIGN AID PANEL APPROVES NEARLY $68 MILLION FOR ARMENIA FOR
FY 2006

Assembly Commends Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Knollenberg

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly praised members of a key House
Appropriations Subcommittee today for maintaining robust aid levels
to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh despite ongoing overall reductions
to former Soviet states. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill, which lawmakers passed by voice vote, calls for
$67.5 million for Armenia, up to $5 million for Nagorno Karabakh and
maintains military assistance parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan
with $5.75 million allocated to each country.

“Given the current budget restraints, we appreciate the leadership of
Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and commend Chairman
Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and his Subcommittee for securing this assistance to
Armenia and Karabakh,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.
“We also thank Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) for her steadfast
support.”

The level of funding for Armenia is $12.5 million above the Bush
Administration’s request submitted to Congress earlier this year.
The overall request level is part of a continued trend that reflects
a serious drop in U.S. assistance to the former Soviet states –
specifically from $555 million in FY 2005 to $477 million for FY 2006.

Today’s action also allocated $5 million in Foreign Military Financing
and $750,000 for International Military Education and Training to
both Armenia and Azerbaijan, as requested by the Bush Administration.
These funds will improve inter-operability between Armenia’s military
and its Western partners, upgrade Armenia’s communication systems
and better its personnel training.

In April, the Assembly submitted testimony before the House Foreign
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, outlining the need for
Congress to continue funding to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The
Assembly said that such assistance has helped both countries move
forward as independent, market-reformed and democratic states.

Also that same month, the Assembly sent separate letters to
Chairman Kolbe and Ranking Member Lowey, reiterating the Assembly’s
priorities for the South Caucasus generally, and Armenia and Karabakh
specifically. The Assembly also supported a similar letter to both
lawmakers that was initiated by Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ) and Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA) and supported by
43 additional Members of Congress.

The bill will next be considered by the full House Appropriations
Committee. Once the full House and Senate complete action on their
version of the bill, a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will
reconcile the differences.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

NR#2005-067

–Boundary_(ID_EuaYl2jYPZrQWdKj0P46MQ)–

German parliament passes Armenian genocide motion

ddp news agency, Berlin
16 Jun 05

Berlin: Just over 90 years after the beginning of the expulsions and
massacres of Armenians in Turkey in April 1915, the Bundestag has
unanimously called for the “sincere reappraisal” of what happened in
the Ottoman Empire. Without a debate, parliament adopted a joint motion
by all parliamentary groups in Berlin on Thursday [16 June], focusing
on the “nearly complete extermination of the Armenians in Anatolia”.

The Bundestag also pointed out the “inglorious role of the German
Reich”, which, in spite of manifold information on the “organized
expulsion and extermination of Armenians did not even try to stop
the atrocities”. Yet the term “genocide” was not used in the actual
motion but only in the pertaining explanation, in which the Social
Democratic Party of Germany, the Christian Democratic Union/Christian
Social Union, the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party point out
that over 1 million Armenians were killed in the deportations and
mass murders, according to calculations by independent experts.
“Numerous independent historians, parliaments, and international
organizations have described the expulsion and the extermination of
the Armenians as genocide,” the explanation reads.

Yet the dimension of the massacres and expulsions continues to be
played down and to be largely denied in Turkey, the four Bundestag
groups criticized in the explanation, stressing: “This Turkish position
conflicts with the idea of reconciliation that guides the community
of values of the EU.” The Bundestag resolution calls on the Federal
Government “to ensure that the Turkish parliament, government, and
society reappraise their role towards the Armenian people in the past
and present without prejudice.”

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Terminal)

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06/15/05

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