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World Jewish News
'Turkey can bridge Muslim-West divide'
06.04.2009
US President Barack Obama said Monday he stood by his 2008 assertion that Ottoman Turks carried out widespread killings of Armenians early in the 20th century, finessing the sensitive issue by stopping short of repeating the word "genocide."
"Well, my views are on the record and I have not changed views," Obama said, standing alongside Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in the years leading up to and during World War I, an event widely viewed by many scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, claiming the toll has been inflated and the casualties were victims of civil war and unrest.
"The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence," Obama said in a January 2008 statement on his campaign Web site. "America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that president."
While not backpedaling from the campaign statement, Obama was careful not to repeat it. Instead, he praised Gul's participation in negotiations between Armenia and Turkey to "resolve a whole host of long-standing issues, including this one."
Obama said he wanted to encourage those talks, not tilt them in favor of one country.
"If they can move forward and deal with a difficult and tragic history, then I think the entire world should encourage that," he said.
Obama's visit is being closely watched by an Islamic world that harbored deep distrust of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Obama went on to say that he was looking toward ally Turkey to help bridge the divide between Muslim nations and the West, and that he wanted to build on "what is already a strong foundation" with Turkey.
He said relations between the two countries had for too long been defined on mostly military and national security terms but that they must also work together on the global economic crisis.
Obama said he and Gul had been "very clear that terrorism is not acceptable under any circumstances." He also said Turkey and the United States could build a "model partnership" between a predominantly Christian nation and a predominantly Muslim nation.
The two leaders also expressed their condolences for victims of the earthquake in Italy that killed at least 50 people. Gul said Turkey shares the sorrow of the Italian people and Obama said he hoped officials could minimize the damage.
In talks with Gul, and Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama hoped to sell his strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He should find welcoming ears, given the new US focus on melding troop increases with civilian efforts to better the lives of people in both countries.
Obama recognized past tensions in the US-Turkey relationship, but said things were on the right track now because both countries share common interests and are diverse nations. "We don't consider ourselves Christian, Jewish, Muslim. We consider ourselves a nation bound by a set of ideals and values," Obama said of the United States. "Turkey has similar principals."
Источник: JPost.com
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