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T U R K I S H R E S P O N S E T O A N T I-T U R K E Y L E T T E R
(By Some Armenian-Greek-Kurdish Groups)
From: Dr. K. Buyukataman, TurkishForum
To:
American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Congress
Anti-Defamation League
B'nai B'rith International
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Hadassah - The Women's Zionist Organization of America
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Orthodox Union
Copy:
Armenian National Committee of America
American Hellenic Institute
American Kurdish Information Network
Hellenic American National Committee
Hellenic American Women's Council
Subject:
Turkish Response To Anti-Turkey Letter Dated February 13,2002,
Signed By Some Armenian-Greek-Kurdish Groups
Date: February 27, 2002
Mr. David A. Harris
Executive Director
American Jewish Committee
Jacob Blaustein Building
165 East 56th Street
New York, NY 10022
A heartfelt 'Thank You!" for your letter of December 18, 2001,
to President Bush, urging additional economic assistance to Turkey.
Dear Mr. Harris:
Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for the kind and thoughtful letter
you jointly sent to President Bush, on December 18, 2001, urging
additional American economic support for Turkey.
Just last week, a five-member delegation from U.S. Congress visited Turkey
after which a U.S.-Turkish economic partnership commission meeting took
place yesterday and today in Ankara. Congressman Wexler stated that lack
of U.S. commitment to Turkey, particularly in the economic field, could
dishearten other potential allies for Washington among the Muslim
countries. "I think it is a very credible argument that should Turkey
have even more significant economic problems, many people, particularly in
the Islamic World, would say 'Hey, if you go out of your way as an Islamic
nation to be a friend of the United States like Turkey does, look what
happens. Your economy fails and America does not show up to support you,"
he told the Turkish Daily News in an interview.
The United States, highly pleased with the unconditional Turkish support
for its international war against terrorism in the aftermath of the Sept.
11 attacks, has dubbed overwhelmingly-Muslim Turkey's secular order as the
"best model" for the Islamic countries.
These comments and positions are reminiscent of your observations in your
December 18 letter that, "Turkey - a secular nation with an overwhelmingly
Muslim majority - stands resolutely in solidarity with the United States
in a common defense of freedom. As in every major international crisis of
the past fifty years, Turkey has made a principled decision in support of
American interests - acknowledging that our two nations do indeed share a
strategic partnership…" President Bush praised Turkey, numerous times, for
the sincere and unconditional support Turks gave to America in its war on
terrorism.
It is interesting to note that while Turkey, a foreign country, supported
America's war on terrorism unconditionally, some Armenian American groups,
right here at home in America, shamelessly hindered America's war efforts
by creating selfish and nuisance obstacles to Bush administration's plans
of establishing friendly ties with strategically located Muslim allies,
such as Azerbaijan.
America paid a very high price on September 11 at the hands of terrorists.
Israel, too, has paid, and continues to pay, a very high price for
terrorism.
Turkey, quite possibly, paid the highest price among these three,
especially in the last 30 years, at the hands of separatist terrorists
(Kurdish PKK), religious terrorist (Iran-sponsored-Hizbullah),
Marxist-Leninist terrorists (Soviet-sponsored-DHKP-C), and Armenian
terrorists (ASALA, JCAG, and other). More than 50,000 Turks, mostly
noncombatants and innocent bystanders, were killed.
Yet, to my shock, horror, and sadness, I saw no remorse in the February 13
letter signed by the Armenian, Greek, and Kurdish groups. How come, for
example, the Armenian groups did not apologize for the hate crimes of
Armenian terrorists like ASALA, JCAG, and others, victimizing Turks and
other nationalities?
How come, for instance, the Greek groups failed to apologize for the
wanton murders of Americans in Athens by November 17 terror organization?
CBS - 60 Minutes exposed recently the hate crimes of Greek terrorist
organization and hinted at the wide political support the Greek terrorists
enjoyed in Athens. In the last 30+ years, not one terrorist has ever been
convicted, tried, or even caught for these dastardly hate crimes. (It
makes one shiver to think that 2004 Olympics will be held there!)
How come, for example, the Kurdish Group -- a recent Armenian invention
and façade with very few people behind it and with at least one person in
that group having made an illegal entry into this country -- failed to
condemn the acts of the ruthless Kurdish terrorist organization called
PKK? After all, PKK cause the deaths of 37,000 Turkish citizens, mostly
non combatants, mostly from Southeastern Anatolia, and mostly Kurdish.
As you can see, the same people who "hindered America's war on terror"
also failed to condemn their terrorist brethren. It is about time,
therefore, that the Greek, Armenian and Kurdish organizations to decide
whether to serve the American interests or to disregard the American
interests, by supporting the international terrorist organizations to
further their "hate" campaigns against Turkey. To paraphrase our
president Bush: "Greeks, Armenians, and Kurds… You are either with us or
against us… You are either with terrorists or against terrorists". There
are no two way about it… It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the
hate-filled February 13 letter is created by the Armenian groups who
recruited the Greek and Kurdish groups for the purpose of increasing their
"credibility", as they must have reasoned somehow that with only Armenian
signatures, their letter would not be credible. The letter attached,
signed by Turkish Organizations from 5 continents, condemning Armenian
terrorism, explains why the Armenians are not to be believed. We think,
therefore, it is timely to re-circulate this letter. Let me also briefly
answer their baseless allegations for the record: n "…Turning a blind-eye
to…the Armenian Genocide…" Armenian Allegations of genocide can not be
substantiated by historical evidence. More than 70 American historians
published a signed statement on May 19, 1985, declaring that the events
are more truthfully described as "..a civil war within a world war, mainly
fought by Christian and Muslim irregulars…" Armenians betrayed their
motherland, the Ottoman Empire, and joined the advancing enemy armies,
while the motherland was fighting a war of survival. Because of this high
treason, they were moved to non-war zones of the empire. Armenians ignore
Turkish suffering and deliberately misrepresent these events as genocide,
a notion rejected by Turkey, as well as Great Britain and Israel.
"..to the invasion of Cyprus… Some Greek groups deliberately misrepresent
Cyprus problem, totally ignoring the brutal ethnic cleansing campaign
waged by Greeks on the Island between 1963-1974, victimizing Turks. They
also withhold the vital information from unsuspecting readers that Greeks
engineered a bloody takeover of the government, in order to unite the
island with Greece (enosis) against international law, and Turkey's
protests as one of the guarantors of the Turks on the Island fell on deaf
ears in Zurich and London. When the other two guarantors, Greece and
United Kingdom. Looked the other way, Turkey decided to save Turkish
Cypriots from a total annihilation at the hands of Greek Cypriots.
"… to the genocidal crimes against the Kurds…" Crude propaganda language
preferred by the Armenian lobby that contradict the facts of life in
Turkey. Turks and Kurds enjoy the same rights and freedoms afforded by
the Turkish constitution and Kurds are well represented in all walks of
life in Turkey (politics, economics, business, sports, music, commerce,
etc.) 3 of the 10 Turkish presidents were of Kurdish origin. Kurdish
ethnic party, HADEP, only got 4% of the nationwide votes in the last
elections, making liars out of the February 13 letter signatories.
As for the other anti-Turkish allegations, it suffices to remind our
friends that Turkey has been a reliable member of the Western defense
alliance, NATO, which acted as a bulwark against now defunct "evil" Soviet
Empire. Turkey is a true friend of America and Israel. Turkey is an
island of stability in the "turbulent triangle", namely the Balkans, the
Caucasus, and the Middle East. Turkey is the only Muslim country with
democracy and free market system. Turkey is a bridge between the East and
the West; the Christian, Jew, and the Muslim; the rich and the poor; the
old and the new…
I was shocked and saddened by the deliberate misrepresentations contained
in the February 13 letter When we sent our joint letter below last fall,
we thought reasonable people would quit waging hate campaigns, but as the
February 13 letter shows, some Greek-Armenian-Kurdish hate merchants still
did not get our message of truth and peace. Therefore, please allow me to
present the letter "Is Armenian Terrorism Acceptable...?" again. Under
the circumstances, perhaps, in future, we should change the title to read
"Are Greek, Armenian, and Kurdish Terrorism Acceptable...?"
In the different world we live, after the September 11 terrorist attacks
on America, the actions of some Armenian, Greek, and Kurdish groups do not
help world peace.
*****************************
IS INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM ACCEPTABLE
IF IT COMES FROM ARMENIANS?
(OR Is International Terrorism Acceptable if it victimizes Only Turks?)
Terrorists who claim allegiance to the Armenian cause have killed more
than 70 Turkish diplomats and their family members in the last 30 years.
Most of these assassinations and bombings took place "deep in the heart of
Western Cities". In broad daylight, during business hours, in the middle
of some of the worlds largest cities... Is terrorism tolerated if it comes
from Armenians? Is terrorism welcome if it victimizes only Turks?
Before you rush to a judgment, please consider the following facts. Very
few Armenians terrorists were ever caught and even fewer were convicted.
Those who were convicted got very lenient sentences. Some of those
convicted were released before they served their full sentence, before the
blood of their victims dried. Many more suspects were released on minor
technicalities.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that some KNOWN TERRORISTS have legitimately
established efficiently functioning OFFICES in Europe where they quietly
conduct BUSINESS? That they plot their next hate crime, which can be
perpetrated next week, next month or next decade? Are they immune to
civilized law in every country? Will we allow them to continue their
destructive hate crimes just like those terrorists managed to stay out of
the reach of law in the United States of America until September 11, 2001!
These facts speak for themselves. No matter how one slices it, all will
agree, it is not a pretty picture.
Armenian terrorists base their hate crimes on allegations that genocide
was committed against their ancestors residing within the Ottoman Empire
during World War I. These claims are not based on facts, but on
deliberately distorted historical rhetoric.
The facts is that the certain Armenian groups located in Eastern Anatolia
resorted to a wide scale, bloody uprising during World War I, when the
Ottoman Empire was fighting for its survival. These Armenians sided with
invading Russian armies in 1914 and in doing so lost the trust and
protection of the Ottoman forces. Since it was a time of limited
technological resources the Ottoman forces were not able to precisely
distinguish between who betrayed and who didn't. To minimalist an
internal conflict during a period of global struggle the Ottoman Empire
decided to relocate the Armenian population of Eastern Anatolia away from
a vulnerable border and further from the influence of the Russian forces,
since that group posed the most serious threat to Ottoman security. The
displaced Armenian group was to be sent to the non-war zones within the
Empire, such as Iraq and Syria.
It is important to note that the Armenian population of Istanbul, the
capital of the Ottoman Empire where the Ottoman power was most secure, was
not affected by this wartime measure. These Armenians remained in
Istanbul, at their homes, throughout WWI and their descendants are still
there today.
"In time of war, nine months after general mobilization, the Ottoman
government had to stop the subversive actions of Armenian political
organizations, and arrested on April 24, 1915 their leaders, 2345 persons
in Istanbul. If this was genocide, why did they do nothing to the
remaining 78,000 Armenians of Istanbul?" (Hurried Oct., 16,2000)
Likewise, the Armenian groups of Izmir and Edirne and other Western
provinces of the Empire, were unaffected by this relocation measure,
because these Armenians were not judged to pose a "threat" to the Ottoman
war effort.
Last but not least, even in Eastern Anatolia not all Armenians were
relocated. The following groups, for example, were not moved because they
did not engage in fifth column activities and did not harbor Armenian
fighters brought in from Russia: 200 families in Elazig, 100 families in
Malatya, 1700 families in Konya, 1000 families in various other parts of
Eastern Anatolia. (Reference: Salim Cohce, Head of History Department,
Inonu , University Malatya, Turkey)
The Turkish families bid a tearful farewell to their Armenian neighbors
and friends who were deported from Erzurum. The Turks walked with them to
the city limits and poured water behind them, a Turkish tradition meaning
'Come Back Safely'. Sadly, through misunderstanding and the deliberate
distortion of facts, the children of those departing Armenians later came
back to Erzurum and killed 90% of the remaining Turkish population in cold
blood. (Reference: Official Russian Document No.31 to the Caucasus Army
Commander dated March 3, 1918 - Erzurum, written by Lt. ABGRAL the
Military Commander of Erzurum. Also see, the preface handwritten by the
Erzurum Deveboynu Region, Artillery Officer, Lt. Col. Twerdo-Khlebof to
the book 'The History Of The Second Artillery Contingent In Erzurum
Kale".)
On route to Syria Turkish soldiers shared their rations with the Armenian
deportees. It was a time of famine; nevertheless, the Turkish soldiers
showed their gallantry. Also Turkish families took in and cared for many
children until the war was over.
It is important to point out that most of those who were relocated did
make it to their destinations. Ottoman governors cared for them upon
their arrival and throughout the war with what limited resources were
available.
Ottoman government records clearly show that the intention was to remove
not eradicate, as alleged, Armenians located in a certain region in order
to preserve the safety of the whole of the Empire. Not all Armenians were
deported, as alleged. Not all those relocated perished, as alleged.
Due to typical limited resources and supplies available during a terrible
wartime, disease and famine took more lives than bullets and battles.
These events cost both Turks and Armenians great suffering. In the end,
for every Armenian casualty, there were 4 Turkish casualties. During the
same time period, living with the same wartime conditions. The ratio is
4:1!
And yet, what one has consistently heard in the West, mainly due to
relentless Armenian nationalist propaganda, was that only the Armenians
suffered during WW1, as if Turks were not humans. This 4:1 ratio meant
nothing to some biased minds.
It is indeed, important to remember that: Turkey did not retaliate against
the Armenians or any other minority after its victory for independence, in
spite of the fact that Armenians joined the enemy invaders causing serious
casualties. Also the Turks have in no way retaliated against Armenians in
the last 30 years, although the Armenian terrorist attacks around the
world by ASALA, JCAG and others claimed more than 70 Turkish lives. These
simple but irrefutable facts clearly demonstrate that Turks did not
harbor, neither at the beginning nor the end of the 20th century genocidal
intent, feeling or tendencies, despite the fact that the Armenian
extremists have worked very hard to provoke such feelings among the Turks.
The simple fact is, while it was a terrible human tragedy, costly to BOTH
SIDES, it was an uprising-caused-relocation-turned-civil
war-during-a-world-war, but not genocide. Genocide is defined as the
deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political or cultural
group. Nothing even remotely like that was intended, attempted or
realized during the relocation of this group of Armenians during WW1.
Here is the whole picture in a few simple words.
" While Turkey and Russia were at war, in Anatolia, the various
communities fought and killed one another. This was civil war, not
genocide... If one calls this genocide, then this is genocide for both
sides. Thus, the word is inappropriate as it has become meaningless." (J.
McCarthy, historian, Binyil, November 10, 2000)
It was a civil war during the time of a world war, provoked by bloody
Armenian uprisings, designed to establish a Greater Armenia on Turkish
soil, where the Armenians were not even close to a majority, in fact they
comprised less than 30% of the population in any Ottoman province. Here
is the rub: If the Armenians had succeeded, it would have been the first
"apartheid" of the 20th Century, where an Armenian minority would be
ruling over a Turkish majority.
The British government agrees with the above characterization. In a press
release dated July 23, 2001, the British Ambassador to Ankara stated that
he could not consider these events, while tragic and costly to both sides,
genocide.
The Israeli Government also agrees with the above statement of fact. In an
interview dated April 9, 2001, Shimon Peres, Foreign minister of Israel,
told the press "The Armenian allegations are meaningless". He said what
happened to the Armenians cannot be compared to the Jewish Holocaust.
Turkish Academicians are in agreement, too. More than 300 of them signed a
statement on April 23, 2001, saying the events were a civil war within a
world war, provoked by wide scale Armenian uprisings. (See
www.turkishforum.com for further information)
Western Scholars & Historians voiced similar sentiments. More than 70
prominent historians in the United States of America signed a statement on
May 19, 1985, urging the U.S. Congress NOT to legislate history. They
said, "Historical evidence unearthed so far showed, that it was a civil
war, mainly fought by Christian and Muslim irregular forces."
Recognizing only Armenian suffering, and ignoring Turkish suffering would,
therefore is untrue, unscholarly, and unfair.
To that, it must be added, that such "selective morality" would also be
unethical, discriminatory, and racist. Plain and simple!
Armenian delegations tried once again to partition Anatolia, despite the
fact that they comprised no more than 30% of the total population in any
province within the Ottoman Empire, at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.
The delegation was given an opportunity to speak directly to the
victorious Allied forces, without-it must be added the scrutiny or
cross-examination of a Turkish delegation, and deliberately misrepresented
the facts in order to gain favor. They did not succeed in this attempt
and have not succeeded in subsequent attempts. Today when there is a
Global Turkish Collation determined to let the truth be heard, they will
never succeed.
The truth is easy to locate. The vast archives of the Ottoman Empire,
spanning over 7 centuries, were classified and opened to scholars for
research more than a decade ago. The root of the lies are well hidden
because the Armenian archives in Erevan, Armenia, and Armenian
Revolutionary Federation archives in Boston, USA, still remain closed to
this day! Collectively called "The Armenian documents", these archives
contain crucial information on thoughts, plans, schemes, connections,
propaganda, agitation and terror used by the Armenian nationalists and
terrorists. They constitute the other side of the story, so it is not
surprising that they remain closed to this day!
As the strongest and most reliable friend of the Western world in the
troubled near and Middle East, Turkey was recently devastated by
activities of Kurdish terrorists who are in collaboration with Armenian
extremists. Unfortunately, all this was observed with a callous
indifference by our allies, with an attitude that can only be summarized
by an ancient Turkish proverb: "Let the snake that doesn't touch me live
1000 years". However, as the September 11, 2001 atrocities indicate,
terrorism has become a universal epidemic, which can only be stopped by
eradicating it everywhere. "The Snake" has perhaps bitten off more than it
can chew.
What any civilized person or institution must urge for first, is the
opening of all ARCHIVES by all parties. Second, we must allow and support
free and unrestrained scholarly RESEARCH of all evidence. Finally, all
this must be followed by a meaningful, just and equitable DIALOG between
the Turks and the Armenians. Siding blindly with partisan Armenian
allegations of genocide, attempting to legislate history by votes of
politicians and ignoring much larger Turkish suffering and loss, does not
facilitate peace efforts.
This same civilized route to resolving conflicts peacefully can and must
also be applied to Armenian aggression in Azerbaijan. Today, it is a
bitter and sad fact, that Armenia continues to occupy 20% of Azerbaijan
property by use of force, causing more than a million Azerbaijani
non-combatant men, women and children to spend their 9th winter in cold,
leaky tents with little food, medicine or hope.
It is because many fair-minded people started abandoning those baseless
Armenian allegations of genocide during WWI and expansionist Armenian
policies of 1990s, in favor of the Archive-Research-Dialog approach, that
three major events took place in the West recently:
1. On October 11, 2001, the Foreign Relations Commission of the Austrian
Parliament rejected to include into its agenda a resolution, stubbornly
advanced by pro-Armenian and anti-Turkish circles, attempting to unfairly
label the events of WWI as genocide.
2. On October 24, 2001; the European Parliament refused to include into
the "Lamasery Report" a precondition, advanced by Armenian lobbyists in 4
separate legislative attempts (on the same day), that would force Turkey
to accept the baseless allegations of genocide as the truth prior to
acceptance to the European Union.
3. On October 24, 2001, the U.S. Senate rejected pressure from the
Armenian community and Armenia's President Robert Kocharian to maintain
Section 907 in its current form. The U.S. Senate voted to amend the fiscal
year 2002 foreign aid bill to include language that would modify Section
907 of the Freedom Support Act. This would allow President Bush to waive
this law if he determines that providing USA assistance to Azerbaijan is
necessary to support United States efforts to counter terrorism.
As one can clearly see, the tide is turning. Common sense, reason, and
fairness are replacing bias, hype, and hysteria.
We would like to reiterate our hope that the threesome of
archive-research-dialog approach will eventually lead to an even bigger
threesome: understanding, friendship and peace.
Isn't it time to stop this senseless blame-game and give peace a realistic
chance?
Thank you for your time.
Peace,
Dr. Kayaalp Buyukataman, President
Turkish Forum, CONNECTICUT, USA
Mr Egemen Bagis, President
Federation of Turkish American Associations, NEWYORK, USA
Dr. Orhan Kaymakcalan, President,
Assembly of Turkish American Associations, WASHINGTON, D.C., USA
Dr. Seyhan Nuyan
President, Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations, ONTARIO, CA
Dr. Seyhan Nuyan
President, Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations, ONTARIO, CA
DI. Birol Kilic, Secretary General
Head Association of The Turkish Organizations in Austria, WIEN, AUSTRIA
Kufi Seydali, Masc., DIC
President Friends of TRNC
President European Cyprus-Turkish Associations Congress, WIEN, AUSTRIA
V. President World Cyprus-Turkish Associations Congress
Dr. Ata Erim,
President, World Turkish Congress, NEWYORK, USA
Mr Nazmi Kaya
President, Australian Turkish Association- VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
Mr Ali Sencer
Federation of Turkish Cypriots Association, NEWYORK, USA
Gurkan Capar, Secretary General
Australia Turkish National Unity Council
Ali Bonab, President
Azerbaijan Cultural Organization (BIRLIK) ANGERED - SWEDEN
Mustafa ALINCA, Président
Association Pour l'Echange Culturel avec l'Azerbaidjan
(APEC AZERBAIDJAN) STRASBOURG/FRANCE
Gokhan Genc, President
Turks Forum Nederland, Leiden The Netherlands
Shadman Huseyn,Chairman
West Azerbaijan-International Society of Deported People, Baku Azerbaijan
Ramadan Arif President
The Federation of Turkish Cypriot Associations of Canada
Dr. Manaf Sababi, Secretary General
Chamber of Azerbaijani studies, Lund Sweden
Bahar Yucel, President
TURKISH WOMEN LEAGUE OF AMERICA, NJ, USA
Yilmaz Gursoy, Ex. Director
Australian Turkish Media Group, Victoria Australia
Dr. Ergun Karamuk, President
Turkish Community in Switzerland, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
Turkan Aksu, President
Turkish Mothers Association , Istanbul TURKEY
Kemal Akin, President
Peace and Democracy Platform, Bonn, Deutschland
Dipl.-Ing. Birol Minik
EATA, European Association of Turkish Academics, BERLIN, GERMANY
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