-Caveat Lector- : Haaretz : Sept 28, 2000 : Turks and Armenians corner Jews in debate over genocide : By Nitzan Horowitz : Washington - Turkish newspapers seemed to be filled in recent days : with articles smearing the United States. "A knife in the back," "An : ugly plot," "Betrayal" scream the headlines in Ankara. Turkish fury : is : aimed at a legislative initiative of the Armenian lobby in : Washington. : The law, if passed, is only symbolic, but is a symbol of great : significance, especially in the bitter dispute between the Armenians : and the Turks. : The bill was endorsed a week ago by a subcommittee of the House : of Representatives, and is expected to be debated in the committee : plenum. The law calls upon the president to "define as genocide the : systematic and intentional murder of a million-and-a-half Armenians," : and asks the State Department to pass on this material to American : diplomats. The Armenians are of course seeking to obtain American : recognition for the genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey in 1915. : The Armenian initiative did not make waves in the American media, : and has little chance of passing the coming stages of legislation. : The : State Department even published a condemnation of the decision in : the House of Representatives. "Historians, not lawmakers, are the : ones who should be concerned with this matter," explained the State : Department spokesman. "We are prepared to assist the efforts of the : Turkish and Armenian experts, together with academics from other : countries, to study their joint history." : The State Department, by the way, has clear instructions not to use : the expression "Armenian genocide." In the recent announcements : concerning the congressional initiative, the spokesman was careful to : use the word with quotation marks, gesturing with his fingers to : signify this, but also saw fit to add that the "slaughter of the : Armenians in 1915," is already mentioned in two courses for American : diplomats. : The administration has warned the lawmakers that if the Armenian : proposal passes, it could undermine the entire Caucasus and harm : American relations with Turkey, "our strategic partner in the : region," : according to the official designation. : There is nothing vague about Turkey's position on the matter. It has : threatened to close down its Incirlik air force base from where : American planes take off for bombing missions in Iraq. Washington : got the hint. The pressure on Congress mounted. : But the Armenians did not let up either. After years of failed : attempts to pass decisions of this kind, it was a more radical : Armenian group that succeeded this time. The upcoming elections and : the tight race between the Republicans and Democrats over control of : the House of Representatives played into their hands. The powerful : Greek lobby also lent a hand. : The National Armenian Congress of American has just announced a : general mobilization from coast to coast. The Armenian community in : the United States is eager to strike out against the "great Turkish : Satan." It has also threatened to obstruct the $4.5-billion sale of : 145 American assault helicopters to Turkey. The Turks, for their : part, : have recruited their real lobby in Washington: the Pentagon. They : even mobilized the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Turkey, Masrob : II, who warned that the Armenian initiative would harm the relations : between the two communities. : Both sides have made it clear that in this confrontation, "Anyone who : is not with us is against us," as a Turkish source put it. Both have : also promised not to forget those who helped whom "at the moment of : truth," as an Armenian activist put it. : This fierce struggle is difficult for the Jews. More than any other : group of Americans, they feel caught between a rock and hard place. : A major element in the close ties between Israel and Turkey is the : Turkish aspiration to enjoy the assistance of Jewish organizations in : the United States. The Jewish lobby, well aware of the importance of : these relations, indeed generously extends Turkey its assistance. But : it is finding it difficult to accede to the Turkish demands to block : the Armenian initiative, which are based on the Turkish denial of the : Armenian Holocaust. : The Jewish organizations and Israeli representatives chose not to : take : a public stand on this matter, "because it does not concern Israel." : As a result, the Turks and the Armenians are angry and the Jews may : end up losing on both ends. Behind the scenes, Jewish sources in : Washington have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the : Armenian initiative. They feel that it is harmful to everyone. : To the Armenian activists they say that there is no chance for this : legislation to pass in the House of Representatives and afterward in : the Senate, but the Turks, in revenge, are liable to harm Armenia, to : stop flights there and to block its outlet to the Black Sea. Moderate : Armenians, by the way, share these warnings. : The Jews have reiterated to the Turks that there is no reason for the : Turkish anger because it is merely a symbolic bill that will not be : passed. They also claim that the dramatic Turkish response is what : caused the uproar and that they are playing into the hands of the : Armenians who seek to tighten the ranks in their communities in the : United States. And Turkish leaders, including Prime Minister Bulent : Ecevit, have cautioned against taking hasty steps. As for the matter : in question, the Jews have said that they cannot block initiatives : that concern genocide. : "There is a limit to Jewish influence, and this is where our red line : goes," said a senior Jewish source. Do the Turks understand this? : "They understand that it is difficult for us to take sides but they : don't quite accept it, and they are angry and frustrated and claim : that we have disappointed them. The whole matter is very difficult : for us and puts us in a very uncomfortable position. It is a grave : moral issue." : Another Jewish representative maintained that there should be a clear : division between the excellent ties with Turkey and the historical : question of the Armenian Holocaust. Turkey should not make one : conditional on the other. : Others are really angry. They view the fact that the Jews are forced : not to take sides publicly on the matter of the Armenian Holocaust : because of Turkish dictates very seriously. "I am proud of Yossi : Sarid and Yossi Beilin who stood up courageously to Turkey," says : an Israeli source. "After all, we, as Jews, should be the first to : understand the Armenians. Jewish organizations wage struggles all : over the world against attempts at Holocaust denial. So how can se : stand back and remain 'neutral' when the denial of another nation is : at stake?. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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