Abdullah Gul
Abdullah Gül (Աբդուլա Գյուլ) is the current president of Turkey. He also served as the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of under former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
POLITICIZING THE ARMENIAN TRAGEDY
By Abdullah Gül
- I'm going to add my commentary to Gül's commentary in order to point out some... shortcomings in his arguments. --Raffi 22:51, 29 March 2007 (PDT)
Washington Times, DC
March 28 2007
Today, as the United States and its allies confront critical challenges around the world, there is perhaps no nation more at the forefront of our collective efforts than Turkey. Our strategic partnership spans a wide range of global challenges, from helping secure Iraq and Afghanistan to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, promoting energy security and fighting terrorism in our region and beyond.
- Or not helping, as the case may be...
This relationship also has an important bearing on regional and global stability. Yet, such strategic cooperation is jeopardized by a single interest group that solely pursues its own political agenda over national interests. Once again, Armenian lobbying organizations are determined to politicize the past -- and impose their view of history -- without any regard to the overriding and lasting interests of the United States or Armenia.
- Jeopardized by who? The Armenian-Americans wanting their own government in Washington to recognize plainly and honestly a historical event that happened almost a hundred years ago? Or Turkey who throws a tantrum like a 2 year old baby not getting its way every time it hears the "g" word, saying things like "I'm not going to be your friend anymore"??
The historical period in question centers on 1915, when immense mutual suffering occurred amid the atrocities of World War I.
- Oh boy, the word "mutual" has come up... where could he be going with this I wonder??
Countless individual stories have been passed from generation to generation among Turks, Armenians and others who then made up the Ottoman Empire. But the complex political history and dynamics of that tumultuous period are yet to be fully grasped. Each life lost is one too many, whether it is Armenian or Turk. It is truly regrettable that there is no mention today of Turkish or Muslim lives lost during the same period.
- Ah, how did I know? The poor Turks, their victims should memorialize them too when they remember the genocide! Just like the Jews are told to mention the suffering the Germans went through and the loss of life during WWII, the Armenians should always remember to mention that Turks died during WWI as well! Oh, what's that you say? The Jewish victims are not actually expected to mention German loss of lives? But how is that possible? Could it be this request is actually a bit on the insane side, and perhaps a diversion and distraction from the issue at hand?
With regard to the Armenian allegation describing the tragedy that befell them as genocide, the question, from the point of view of international law, is whether the Ottoman government systematically pursued a calculated act of state policy for their destruction in whole or in part. The answer to this question can only be established by scholars who have the ability to evaluate the period objectively, working with the full range of available primary sources. Hence Turkey made a proposal to Armenia in 2005 to establish a joint commission of historians to find out once and for all what really happened, and how it took place.
- Ah yes, the OTTOMAN government... so why are you having such a tizzy fit if you don't feel so... what's the other "g" word? Guilty? And why hasn't the Armenian government accepted your offer? Because everybody already knows it happened - including you and your government. We are not jackasses with nothing better to do than sit around contemplating whether or not for example there was a place called the Soviet Union, so why should we be expected to sit around and discuss this? Not only did the guy who invented the word genocide call the Armenian Genocide just that, but third parties have again and again confirmed it, as have many Turks, and even the Turkish government appears to accept that it was a genocide. So again, we have better things to do than sit on a panel with your "historians" for 20 years trying to figure out what happened while you happily announce to every government considering recognizing the genocide that it's being discussed, no need to interfere! We're not that stupid, but thanks so much for the implication.
Turkey has no difficulties in facing its past. All Turkish archives, including the military archives of the period, are open to the entire international academic community. However, important Armenian archives are not.
- I almost choked when I read that Turkey has no difficulties facing it's past. Even somebody blind, deaf and dumb wouldn't say that if they'd spent any time in Turkey, so we can just assume you are ok with even lay people on this topic knowing you are a liar. It's good to establish these things in a dialog. Now moving on to your next claims. The Turkish archives were notoriously closed for about 80 years while they were being "cataloged". Can you say sanitized? Do you think we could believe for one minute that a government spending millions of dollars a year denying the genocide would allow that process to go ahead without removing whatever they could about the genocide? You can remove all the orders you like about the genocide - I'd like to see you produce one single, solitary document that shows that Armenians being "relocated" were actually provided with any of the following: transportation, food, shelter, protection (even from the troops escorting, raping, robbing and murdering them). The fact that no Armenians remain in Anatolia is proof enough that they were wiped out - we don't need your documents for that. But can you show us they were ever, in any case, at any point cared for? Clearly not, or we'd have seen it already. As for your tendency to try and twist EVERYTHING you are accused of around at us, Armenia's archives have been open since independence, and nobody has ever been turned away, Turk, Chinese or Argentinian...
We eagerly await a positive response from Armenia, agreeing to establish this joint commission and declaring its readiness to accept its conclusions. We are also prepared to work together with other parties to conduct this research. I hereby extend an invitation to any third country, including the United States, to contribute to this commission by appointing scholars who will earnestly work to shed light on this tragedy and open ways for us to come together. The establishment of such a commission will also help shape an atmosphere conducive to the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.
- We eagerly await your apology for the genocide, and almost a hundred years of painful, unforgivable denial. We eagerly await the reparations, the admission of guilt, and humane treatment. The only thing needed for a normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations is for your government to stop acting like a bunch of assholes, and we'll have normal relations. YOU are responsible for the complete lack of diplomatic relations, YOU are responsible for the close land border, YOU are responsible for the antagonizing railway being built in a circle around Armenia to cut it off completely, YOU are responsible for the lack of a single mention of Armenians at their ancient capital of Ani... yes Abdullah, YOU are the problem. Stop dreaming of a commission, and start dreaming of a normal relationship with a country and people you have wronged so violently, for so long.
- A recent resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives makes mention of the events of 1915 as "genocide."
- As have resolutions passed in many another country...
Its passage will be tantamount to legislating a skewed version of history, which will be totally unjust and thus deeply offensive to the Turkish people who have expressed their readiness to seek out the truth.
- The Turkish people have nothing to do with this. The Turkish Government (represented by you) have blindfolded the Turkish people since WWI and have made it illegal to talk of the Armenian Genocide - a policy which led to article 301 making "insulting Turkishness" illegal. That article convicted Hrant Dink, and Armenian living in Turkey and that conviction led directly and irrefutably to his murder. And still you carry on with this charade, you murderous asshole. You can't even say that the genocide is in the past, when this sort of environment exists.
Following the repulsive murder of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Turkey invited officials of the Armenian government and representatives from the Armenian diaspora to share the genuine grief of the Turkish people. These guests witnessed the enormous reaction of our citizens, who poured by thousands into the streets. Yet, as we today consider ways to create a much-improved atmosphere with our neighbor, the Armenian government appears to be propagating the fallacious idea that Turks are missing a chance to recognize their genocide claims.
- We already established you are directly responsible for Hrant Dink's death, so don't you think it's in poor taste for you to invoke his name for any reason? This is a man who stated quite clearly there was a genocide, why have you failed to mention that? His only fear was that genocide resolutions in the west cause Turkey to have tizzy fits, and stir up unreigned ultra-nationalists like the one who ended up killing him, and posing with policemen who captured him like he was their hero. A hundred thousand did march to remember him, they are the good ones... it has always been the Turkish government that's been the problem though, not the people.
As Mr. Dink himself said in a published interview shortly before his tragic death, "What I want from the Armenian Diaspora is not to make any demands about accepting the genocide, neither from Turkey, from the parliament nor any other governments."
- See my last comment.
Today, there are 70,000 Armenian citizens working in Turkey.
- I'm sorry your plans didn't work completely... but considering there were 2.5 million Armenians a hundred years ago, you did pretty a pretty good job I'd say. You still have time, too.
There are direct flights between Istanbul and Yerevan. Turkish and Armenian organizations are in direct contact with each other, from NGOs to business-people to local authorities. We are determined to save future generations from the hegemony of bitter rhetoric and outright hostility. Yet we are faced with a noncompromising, unmitigated assault not over a political, but over a politicized one.
- You are only determined to weasel your way out of the truth as long as your pawn (the USA) allows it. Keep threatening to revoke uses of US military bases in Turkey, keep threatening your cooperation... you've been quite stingy with it anyway, let's see how much longer that can work.
Self-examination is an inseparable part of any process of comprehension. In this regard, Turkey has been doing its share of soul-searching. It is high time for Armenians to do the same.
- Ummmmm....... right.
As a politician, I fully understand the pressures imposed by narrow interest groups. However, there is also the imperative to rise above such pressures and see the national and international repercussions of one's choices. After all, the decisions we make return back to us in this globalized world, where the interests of nations -- especially neighbors -- are intertwined.
- As a politician, you fully understand what a despicable asshole you are.
Abdullah Gul is the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Turkey.
- Absolutely disgusting, he's an embarrassment to the Turkish people.
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070327-094847-1376r.htm
| This article contains text from a source with a copyright. Please help us by extracting the factual information and eliminating the rest in order to keep the site in accordance to fair use standards, or by obtaining permission for reuse on this site.. |
TURKISH FM ABDULLAH GUL'S MESSAGE TO CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
AZG Armenian Daily #175, 30/09/2005
Turkish FM's letter
Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul sent a letter to the organizers of the September 24-25 closed-door conference on Armenian issue. Bellow we present the minister's letter extracted from Turkish Daily News September 26 issue:
The last years of the Ottoman Empire are subject to discussion and research in academic circles, with increased interest. Nearly every day new documents from that era emerge and new books, articles and research papers are published. Yet it is not possible to say that all data and documents related to those times have been properly analyzed. With the aim of helping redress this shortcoming, our government is in the process of taking important steps to enable the Ottoman archives to serve researchers under modern conditions. Our archives have begun to serve scientists through documents converted to a digital medium since 2003. Within this context many researchers, coming from 75 different countries, have completed their research in the Ottoman archives. These activities are ongoing. We want not only our own archives but at the same time all other archives that will shed light on the history of the day to be opened in an organized fashion that will serve all researchers. We believe that deeper research into that era will bring new historical facts to light and will facilitate an improvement in relations between countries and peoples. Thus, we have proposed to the government of Armenia the establishment of a historical commission between our two countries that will research joint Turkish-Armenian history and which will make its findings public. We hope to reach a conclusion on this subject.
The history of Turkish-Armenian relations is one of a coexistence and common life of almost 1,000 years. During the course of this period, the Turkish and Armenian peoples have contributed to each other's culture, prosperity and security. We should not ignore this reality when we examine the tragic period when the Ottoman Empire was crumbling and the Turks and Armenians were suffering deeply, like all other peoples of the empire.
It is a fact that in some chapters of history, or even today, some societies cannot tolerate one other's language, religion, identity or even very existence. It is an unfortunate reality that such intolerance can turn into deep-rooted and destructive ideologies or prejudices that become ingrained in the social subconscious. Some serious and very dangerous trends, from xenophobia to racism and from anti-Semitism to attitudes against Muslims, are present and are on the rise today, even in societies that represent the highest level of contemporary civilization.
It is a source of pleasure that such a psychology does not exist between the Turks and Armenians. This also constitutes a major advantage for the future of relations between the two peoples.
Another issue I want to draw your attention to is that many studies carried out so far on the theme of "Ottoman-Armenians during the Breakup of the Empire," particularly outside Turkey, have been conducted with political motivations in a manner inconsistent with scientific ethics and objectivity. Regretfully, humanitarian issues have been sacrificed to political designs, and double standards have been applied in determining and presenting human suffering. There have been attempts to impose subjective, non-legal and artificial claims upon Turkey and the Turkish people, with political motivations. Furthermore, there have been situations in which some foreign circles could not even tolerate scientific skepticism. Young generations from all nations must know and draw lessons from the facts that during the last years of the Ottoman Empire the imperialist-colonial powers ruthlessly exploited peoples' ethno-religious sensitivities for their own interests and that some elements, knowingly or unknowingly, became instruments to these provocations. I hope your conference will be a contribution to raising awareness on this issue as well.
The Turkish people are at peace with themselves and with their history. The approaches of our government and our people towards our past, including Turkish-Armenian relations, constitute an indication of our confidence in ourselves and our future.
| This article contains text from a source with a copyright. Please help us by extracting the factual information and eliminating the rest in order to keep the site in accordance to fair use standards, or by obtaining permission for reuse on this site.. |
Armenia Congratulates New Turkish President
By Ruben Meloyan for Armenialiberty.org
President Robert Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian joined world leaders on Wednesday in congratulating Abdullah Gul on his election as Turkey’s president.
Kocharian’s office did not release any details of what is a rare congratulatory message sent from Yerevan to Ankara.
Kocharian, who is currently in Greece on a private visit, received an official congratulation from Gul’s predecessor, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, after his reelection in 2003.
“There is much work to be done in this region, and I am sure you will bring your contribution to global peace and prosperity,” Oskanian said in a separate letter to Gul released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
Gul repeatedly met with Oskanian in his previous capacity as Turkey’s foreign minister to discuss ways of normalizing strained relations between their countries. No major progress was made during the talks.
Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, with successive governments in Ankara making their establishment conditional on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and an end to the long-running Armenian campaign for international recognition of the 1915 genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The current Turkish government, formed by Gul’s Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP), has essentially stuck to those preconditions despite showing signs of a softening of Turkish policy on Armenia.
Accordingly, few politicians and analysts in Yerevan expect a rapid improvement of Turkish-Armenian as a result of Gul’s election. Giro Manoyan, a senior member of the governing Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), also argued that Turkish presidents have had little say in the formulation of government policies.
“Turkey’s president is not in charge of foreign policy,” Manoyan told RFE/RL. “That is the government’s prerogative.”
Manoyan further pointed to the volatility of the political situation in Turkey where the powerful military has been at odds with the AKP-led government and openly opposed Gul’s election. “One thing is clear: Armenia needs a stable and predictable Turkey,” he said.
Another analyst, Stepan Safarian of the opposition Zharangutyun party, predicted that Turkey will now come under stronger Western pressure to establish diplomatic relations and open its land border with Armenia.
Incidentally, Zharangutyun leader Raffi Hovannisian also congratulated the new Turkish president. “It is to be hoped that, during your tenure and that of the next Armenian president to be elected in several months' time, Turkish-Armenian relations will enter a wholly new phase of reflection, exploration, discovery, and ultimate normalization,” Hovannisian wrote in a letter made public by his party’s press service.
“The deep divides between our countries, be they of contemporary character or part of the legacy of the Great Armenian Dispossession, must be overcome and resolved in truth, with integrity, and through the partnership of the two new leaders and their fellow citizens of good faith and conscience,” he said. “May God grant you the vision, commitment, and health to achieve that day.”
| This article contains text from a source with a copyright. Please help us by extracting the factual information and eliminating the rest in order to keep the site in accordance to fair use standards, or by obtaining permission for reuse on this site.. |
Gul mother called an Armenian
Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy J. Aritman hinted after Gul supported the right of Turks to apologize to Armenians that the president's mother was Armenian. "We see that the president supports this campaign. Abdullah Gul should be the president of the whole Turkish nation, not of his ethnic origin. Investigate the ethnic origin of the president's mother, and you will see," he said.
GUL DECLARES HIS FAMILY IS MUSLIM AND TURKISH
armradio.am 22.12.2008 13:43
President Abdullah Gul released a statement yesterday about his family's ethnic origins in response to a Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy's attempt to link the president's attitude toward a recently launched apology campaign for the Armenian killings at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire in 1915 to his ethnic roots, Today's Zaman reported.
As CHP deputy Canan Arıtman who claimed that President Gul's mother is of Armenian origin, continued to attack the president in an interview published in the Milliyet daily yesterday, saying that she would like to throw a shoe at the president when she sees him in the same way an Iraqi journalist last week hurled a shoe at visiting US President George W. Bush. Gul released a statement denying claims that his family has Armenian roots.
In his statement yesterday, Gul announced that his mother's side, the Satoglu family from Kayseri, and his father's side, the Gul family also from Kayseri, are Muslim and Turkish, according to centuries of written genealogy records.
"I respect the ethnic background, different beliefs and family ties of all my citizens and see this as a reality and also the wealth of our country with its imperial history. I also would like to emphasize that all my citizens are equal to one another regardless of any differences. No one has any superiority whatsoever over another one. Everybody has the equal and same rights under the guarantee of our Constitution," the statement read. "I am proud of our country, which has reached this level of understanding."
When Gul was asked for his opinion on the campaign, he said the state's stance is to improve relations with its neighbors. "We believe dialogue to be the solution for problems we have with our neighbors. Perpetuating problems is not useful to anyone," he said.
| This article contains text from a source with a copyright. Please help us by extracting the factual information and eliminating the rest in order to keep the site in accordance to fair use standards, or by obtaining permission for reuse on this site.. |