ANKARA (Hurriyet Daily News)–Turkey is pulling out all the stops to convince US lawmakers not to proceed with a possible vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252) in a House vote tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, reported the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to President Barack Obama outlining the gravity of the situation, while other high-ranking Turkish political figures have warned that a positive vote could have a deep effect on US-Turkish relations
Turkey is redoubling its efforts to prevent a possible U.S. House of Representatives vote Tuesday on Armenian “genocide” claims,
“In the letter Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] drew attention to the seriousness and sensitivity of the situation. He called President Obama to make active efforts in order to prevent the resolution from going to the House. Erdogan reminded [the president] of the efforts of Ankara to normalize relations with Armenia,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told the Hurriyet on Monday.
“Foreign Minister [Ahmet] Davutoglu, the Turkish Embassy in Washington, Turkish and U.S. Azerbaijani lobbies and Turkish-U.S. friendship groups are urging U.S. officials to avoid the resolution,” the same official said.
According to Hurriyet, Turkish diplomatic sources said Ankara has received overwhelming support from the upper echelons of the U.S. government, citing Deputy Secretary of State Philip Crowley’s statement Friday that the State Department was categorically against the potential vote.
Davutoglu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week and asked her to halt the adoption of the resolution.
Turkish Embassy staff in Washington have been holding talks with high-ranking U.S. executives in the White House, the National Security Council and the departments of State and Defense to prevent the vote, sources said.
The Turkish-U.S. Friendship Group in Congress has also been sending letters to members of Congress arguing against the resolution and calling on members close to Turkey to become part of the efforts against the resolution.
Meanwhile, Armenian American and anti-genocide activists across the United States continue to mobilize in support of a vote on the resolution.
The Armenian National Committee of America has been issuing appeals throughout the weekend, urging Armenian Americans to phone their Congressional representatives and request they support the resolution.
“With only about 24 hours left before a possible U.S. House vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, we need you to help ensure the passage of H.Res.252. Making a difference is as easy as 1-2-3,” The ANCA said in newsletter to its activists on Monday. “One of our most powerful assets is the vast social network that individual Armenians have developed over the years – reaching tens of millions of Americans, through relatives, neighbors, classmates, work colleagues, business contacts, and friends.”
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White House shouldn´t allow Turkey to move US capitol to Ankara!
Turkish parliament, which is far less democratic than US or European parliaments, has may time demonstrated that the Turkish parliament is able to decide differently than apparently “suggested ” by Turkish government !
When it comes to Turkish parliament one hears form Turkish FM, PM and President that Turkish parliament is independent and so on ..
Now the same “democratic Turkey” once aging is trying to teach the nation who invented and practice parliamentary democracy to act in a way as if the rude and genocide denier Turkish Prime minister were the speaker of US Congress… On could wrongly believe Turks and neo Ottomans crying for truth and “parliamentary democracy “ , while in reality they are fighting to legalize the out come of genocide committed
It was in the Bergen Record about the Armenian Genocide, that an anonymous person(s) donated $1 Million towards the education about the AG within colleges. It is very good start. I wish we did this about 20 years ago, but better late than never.
There is no question that the US should recognize this Genocide against Armenians. That Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels the globe and admonishes other governments on human rights issues and then works against recognition on this issue defines the word hypocrisy. Add Obamas explicit pledge to recognize this Genocide and his failure to do so as another example of how the world rightly views us on a host of issues. Liars and Bullies.
It seems that the genocide denial is part of the reason why so many governments have passed (and in many cases probably will do so) resolutions on the topic of the Armenian genocide. So, trying to conceal the truth has increased political attention on the issue.
With or without the passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution in the US Congress, we,as a community, have already scored a big victory. Like never before, thousands of new energized and mostly young Armenian American activists from coast to coast have joined the struggle for the first time to demand the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the US government. It is only a matter of time before the US joins the ranks of other virtuous nations that have already recognized the Armenian Genocide.
Both Countries are based on Genocide, Turks the Armenian Genocide, USA the Genocide of Native Americans. They have many points they agree on.
Hey guys. I’m an Azerbaijani-American and I regularly follow the news on Asbarez. What I notice all the time, is that Armenian-Americans are spending most of their efforts to the recognition of so-called Armenian genocide. I know for fact that your fellow Armenians who live in Armenia care more about other issues such as corruption and undesirable economic situation in their country. I wonder why you dont make solving these issues your priority? France, Swiss, and some other nations recognized the 100-year-old events as genocide? So what? What good did that do to Armenia? Or what bad did it do to Turkey???
Please, take more realistic approach to the genocide issue. Until recent years, the Armenian Community in the U.S. had had much larger population than Turkish/Turkic population in this country. Maybe you had a better chance to get your voice heard by the Senate or Congress in the past. But now, things have changed and more change is to come. Number of Turkish-Americans and Azerbaijani-Americans has increased drastically in the past couple of years and it is increasing in much higher rate thatn that of Armenian-Americans. To be honest, I do not believe that with such an increase in Turkish/Turkic pressure, the U.S. lawmakers will ever recognize an Armenian genocide.
Most likely, the Asbarez editors will block this post, but I write these, because Azerbaijan does not want a poor neighbor. No matter what has happened between the two nations, proboems need to be solved. I’m sure you all know that the current situation is hurting Armenia more than anyone else. So why dont you put all the hate against Turkish people, and step up to fix Armenia’s problems?
Dear Emir:
First, we greatly appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to visit Armenian web sites, including Asbarez.com, and giving us your sage advice – as to how we should behave and act: we were truly lost, and confused – until you appeared like a shining light and showed us the way. If you weren’t Moslem, we might have thought it’s the 2nd coming of Christ.
[1] On Azerbaijan having a ‘poor’ neighbor: if you don’t like having a – quote – ‘poor’ neighbor,
why don’t you guys pile up your junk on your donkeys and horses and go back to Central
Asia, where your Tatar ancestors galloped from.
[2] On alleged Azeri ‘wealth’: the only wealth that Azerbaijan has is in hydrocarbons,
and 90% of it goes into the pockets of the Aliyev Clan: the US privately considers your
leadership a Mafia Clan. (go read the Wikileaks cables re Alyiev)
If hydrocarbon wealth meant anything, Arab Gulf States would be ruling the world: why do
you suppose the West rules the world, and not the the other way around ?
All the wealth created in Azerbaijan – an artificial country that didn’t exist 100 years ago –
was created by, guess who ? Armenians.
Even a hundred years ago, the oil infrastructure in Baku was financed and built by
Armenians.
And whom you massacred in Sumgait and Baku: a great pretext; they all left and you
stole their accumulated wealth.
[3] On your alleged knowledge of ‘facts’ in Armenia: you don’t know squat.
[4] If Armenian Genocide Recognition is so worthless, why is Turkey spending 10s of
US$ millions fighting its adoption by US Congress ?
Spending 10s of US$ millions all over the world fighting it in every country ?
[5] On your alleged increasing numbers in the US: numbers mean nothing; if numbers
meant anything, Hispanics and Black-Americans would have far more political influence
in US then they do now, far more than our Jewish friends, who are only about 2% of the US
population.
This is a Judeo-Christian nation: like it or not, fair or not, Moslems will never be allowed to
have a political voice in this country.
Like I said, it is probably unfair, but Anglo-Saxons and Jewish-Americans will not allow
Islam to gain a foothold in this country.
And with the current hysteria about ‘Islamo-fascism’ and such – good luck convincing
anyone in power in the US to support you.
[6] On so called Armenian ‘hate’ towards Azeris/Turks: Why don’t you – Turks & Azeris – put
all your hate aside, leave our lands, stand down from arming yourselves to the teeth … then
we can sit down and have a friendly conversation.
Have a nice day. Hope to have a friendly chat with you soon.
Avery, you do look lost and confused. But thanks for taking your time to respond.
1- You know better than me, that will not happen. Because we know that we are the true owners of this lands. Lands that include Lake Sevan, and Irevan Khanate of Azerbaijan.
2- I know for sure that, writing those sentences, somewhere deep inside you wish that Armenia had all that oil and gas reserves, not Azerbaijan. You are mad that Azerbaijan is much wealthier than Armenia today, that Azerbaijan’s military budget is bigger than Armenia’s total state budget. You are frustrated that Azerbaijan’s revenue is 5-6 times higher than that of Armenia. We don’t need to rule the world, we don’t need to fight, we can buy most of the stuff with our money. And your hypothesis that Armenians created wealth in Azerbaijan is just funny. I’m old enough to remember that before the war started, Armenians in Azerbaijan were working in factories and plants. And your claim about mass killing of armenians in Sumgait and Baku, is another fake reason for you to cry in front of the Europe and U.S. I was born in Sumgait and grew up in that city, and trust me i’ve seen more than you have heard about it.
3- Also, I’ve read and know about Armenia more than you do, my friend.
4- Prove it, shew me the bank wire receipts. If you cannot, don’t just say what you hear from others.
5- Wait to see, pal. Wait to see:) And I dont understand why you mentioned Jewish-Americans:))) Jewish americans support Azerbaijan more than Armenia. Israil’s relations are stronger with Azerbaijan than with Armenia. I say that because I know Jewish people very well and I have visited that country many times. I know exactly what Jewish-Americans think of Armenians:) And I dont care about the other part, christians. because it’s that 2% Jewish fellas who control the country.
6- See answer #1
Have a good night.
P.S. Thanks Asbarez for listing numbers in the article about H.Res.252. One of the numbers in Turkish Coalition of America was not correct, so thank to you, we were able to call the House Majority Leader to voice our objection to the Resolution. Thanks!
Emir, I’m not sure what to make of your comment here. Your first point is loaded with irony, since Armenians, being an Indo-European people with a richly documented history, have treaded this region far longer than the Turkic Azerbaijanis have. Perhaps you should take a good, long look at the Behistun inscriptions.
It’s also highly unusual that you dislike Aliyev yet thrive on and believe the garbage his government doles out with their racist, pseudo-historic Pez dispenser.
On your second point, I will simply ask, what will happen to Azerbaijan when the oil dries up and your hydrocarbon industry collapses? Especially when your economy is so dependent on said hydrocarbon industry? Just a thought. Also keep in mind how Aliyev is a kleptomaniac ruling an unstable country, and that economies can collapse in a heartbeat.
There were no pogroms in either Sumgait or Baku? Yet the evidence seems so contrary to your statement
You know more about Armenia than Armenians? That I doubt, my friend. Though I would love to know where you’ve read all about Armenia.
Wow, Israel supports Azerbaijan more than it supports Armenia, thank you for the news flash, Dr. Obvious.
“Sweet dreams, pudding pop.”
[1] Sure it will happen: Last time one of your guys mentioned Lake Sevan …let me see … oh yeah it was Mr. Abulfaz Elchibey … something about
washing his feet in Lake Sevan, hanging the last Armenian in
Stepanakert: how did it work out, Emir ? he had to hightail it out of Baku
to occupied Nakhichevan, before his own Azeri buddies could hang him
in Baku.
[2] Sorry, I don’t wish it: I am glad we don’t have oil. It’s a double edged
sword; short term gain, long term disaster for the country.
Azerbaijan can buy all the shiny weaponry it wants: Armenia will take it
from them, like Astrakhtsi warriors took all your tanks, artillery, and
other weapons Azeris had bought, and used it to chase them out of our
lands in the 1990s.
And if you are old enough to remember Sumgait, you are old enough to
remember that you guys had at least a 5-to-1 advantage in manpower,
had more tanks, more artillery, and all around superior weaponry than
Artsakh’s fighters. You had an Air Force; Artsakh didn’t. What would
you say was the result of that dustup ?
[3] Impossible.
[4] You are right I can’t prove it. Then all the diplomatic cables leaked by
Wikileaks are lies, right ? If they are, they are. If not, then you can’t
pick and choose which ones you believe. And I am sure every piece of
information you come across – you personally verify, before you use it
for reference, right ?
[5] You are right, Israel helps Azerbaijan, for a fee: Israel will sell weapons
to any country, even to the enemies of US – e.g. China.
Doesn’t mean they like you.
Israel also attacked a Turkish ship in international waters and
killed 9 Turk civilians: pretty unfriendly, wouldn’t you say ?
And I am sure Jews in your circle do not like Armenians. And Jews in
my circle do not like either Azeris or Turks. So ?
Read again why I mentioned Jewish-Americans and Anglo-Saxons:
Azeris and Turks are Moslem; Overwhelming majority of Americans
are not…Islam is fundamentally incompatible with the Western
and American worldview and lifestyle: that’s all there is to it.
You are fantasizing about allegedly ‘drastic’ increase in numbers of
Azeris/Turks in US, and I am saying your numbers – increasing or not –
mean nothing.
[6] See [1] above.
Over to you, pal.
How is an Armenian to live with the predicament of Turkish denial? How is one to heal? Will genocide denial implode the victims, and the descendants of the victims? Can any victim consummate his relationship with the past without the perpetrator’s confirmation of wrongdoing? Can there be forgiveness without apology, without some acts or gestures towards justice?
Scholars have noted that the Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide is singular. No other nation in the modern age has engaged in such a massive cover-up campaign about such a crime. Richard Falk, Milbank Professor of International Law at Princeton, writes that the Turkish denial is a “major proactive, deliberate government effort to use every possible instrument of persuasion at its disposal to keep the truth about the Armenian genocide from general acknowledgment”
Bound up in the pathology of denial is the blaming of the victim. In denying the crime of genocide and blaming the victim, the perpetrator culture continues to create a false reality through which it attempts to rehabilitate itself. As Charey and Lipstadt have written, the DENIAL of genocide is the FINAL stage of genocide; the first killing followed by the memory of the killing. The perpetrator’s quest for impunity by denying continues to abuse the victim group by preventing the process of healing for the survivors and the inheritors of the survivors. In denying the crime, the perpetrator seeks to rob the victim of a moral order. Clearly, denying genocide paves the way for future genocide, for it suggests the world that governments can commit mass murder with impunity. Hitler in 1939 was inspired by the collective absence of memory of the Armenian Genocide.
The burden of bereavement can be alleviated if shared and witnessed by a larger community. Only then can redemption, hope and community be achieved. Once, Turkey admits to their crimes, we can heal and move on to further fix the problems of Armenia.
True forgiveness can be granted only after the perpetrator has sought and earned it through confession, repentance, and restitution. If the perpetrator government stalks the victims in an effort to prevent the victims acts of commemoration, there can be no full healing. The victim culture is held hostage in a wilderness of grief and rage, and is shut out of its moral place in history.
I would love to send you my great grandmother memoirs so you can understand the horror our ancestors were put through. Then maybe you would understand.
Please note that most of the ideas above were articulated by writer Peter Balakian.
Emir,
Why don’t you complain about how your Azeri “mafia run” country(according to Wikileaks) is stealing $ from its population? Most of Azeribaijan is poor. Why don’t Azeris complain about this?
Instead, when they do Azeri presidents starts shooting at NK defenders. This diverts Azeris attention from their poverty. He becomes popular again. He know how to stay in popular despit most of the population being poor.
Why can’t Turkey admit to its past. If Germany can do it, why not Turkey? The reason is because most of the population doesn’t want ITS bloody history brought up to itself and the world. It is ashamed of it or it supports its genocide against its christians.
emir not us but u.you turks used all ur energy to bloc the vote,armenian are alive . and this is exactly ur pain.because u cant complate ur aim.lesson to mi ,armenia and armenian are richer than ur poor tukic nation in every thing,look to ur country man than talk about the athers. i understand the angry off turky. and it is normal, 70 year ur contry was and is a police dog vor the west and stil is , sure u would be sad, turky can live normaly only when ur fashist country aknwolage the grime they did agenst my grand familly.ur country ur nation is shame lees. more then 10 times ur ask to be a part off erope and every time is answer is not.shame less . finally turky is nothing and ur littele country is surly noting is better for u to clean ur own country from the godfather and his maffias and solve ur own problem. and say to hen he armenian are alive and if he dose stay cool the armenian will break his big nouse.grating from analphabet armenian
Emir, what good did it do? It did a lot of good, actually. By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, France, Switzerland, and other countries like them recognize an ugly event in history that denialists so pitifully attempt to discredit, and deal a blow to Turkey, its bloated ego, and its blatantly hypocritical method of dealing with Armenia, Armenians, and the rest of the world.
Interesting point Emir. What with 40% of Azerbaijan’s population residing in destitution and your government run by a openly corrupt, despotic, kleptomaniacal, dynastic, petroleum-fueled dictator, perhaps Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis should deal with their problems before serving subtle, underhanded insults like you just did. Perhaps Azerbaijan should dumb down the warmongering and the furious racism and hatred of Armenians permeating every aspect of its society. Perhaps you should point that high-powered perception at yourself and your country of origin, Emir, before making another thoughtless comment.
Leo, well that didn’t harm Turkey at all and the same is not gonna happen in the U.S. We Turkish and Turkic Americans won’t let it happen.
What a meaningliss comments by you related to Azerbaijani Government. Yes we dont like our current government, but you should really love Aliyevs, because it is them who never attacked Armenia to start a new war. Trust me, if I. Aliyev goes tomorrow from the presidency, a week later will between our countries will resume.
Actually, since you dragged the issue of poverty and corruption in Armenia into this commentary, my comment about Aliyev, corruption, and poverty in Azerbaijan was absolutely relevant.
Actually, it does harm Turkey. Why would Turkey put such a fearsome fight, spendings millions of dollars on lobbyists and historians, making pitiful threats to damage relations with other countries, merely to put off the recognition of a widely documented and accepted fact? Unless you’re right, and all recognition will do is bruise Turkey’s ego and its sense of unwarranted self-importance.
“We Turkish and Turkic Americans won’t let it happen.” Sure you won’t. And, we Armenian Americans will ensure that it does. What with the academic world accepting your bloody history, only the blood-sucking parasites known we call ‘politicians’ seem to have an issue with it, since they don’t want to hurt little Turkey’s feelings and spark another tantrum.
Pkk is the best: Sorry, pal. I did not read a single word of yours. Is that one longe sentence you wrote? No capital letters, irrelevant punctuation. Honestly, if you have more than one sentence in that pile, I have no idea where each sentence starts and ends. I will definitely read and respond to your comment, if you make it readable.