Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA 02472
Tel: 617-923-1918
Fax: 617-926-5525
ancaer@mediaone.net
www.anca.org

PRESS RELEASE

August 30, 2001

Contact: Michelle Alenak
617-923-1918


ANCA ER Urges Alabama Governor to Set the Historical Record Straight
Open Letter Addresses Revised Proclamation on "Turkish Tragedy"


WATERTOWN, MA--In an open letter to Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (see full text of letter below), the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA ER) urged the Governor to set the record straight following the release of a revised Gubernatorial Proclamation declaring August 30, 2001 a "Day of Remembrance of the Turkish Tragedy for Liberation to Sovereignty and Independence."

The "WHEREAS" clauses in both the original proclamation of August 8, 2001, and the revised proclamation released on August 30, 2001, are premised on inaccuracies and omissions, including the long time myth that Turkey is a "staunch ally of the United States."

Armenian and Greek Americans and human rights activists across the country have contacted the Governor of Alabama expressing shock and disappointment with the announcement of the proclamation.

In a August 30 letter addressed to Governor Don Siegelman, ANCA ER Director Arin Gregorian urged the Governor to "acknowledge the oversight made when determining the appropriateness of proclaiming a 'Day of Remembrance of the Turkish Tragedy for Liberation to Sovereignty and Independence in the State of Alabama." Gregorian further called on Governor Siegelman to "set the record straight and not allow the great State of Alabama to be used to muddy the clear waters of United States history and historical truth in general."

This week the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) also released an action alert urging individuals to call and write the Governor to reconsider and withdraw the proclamation "as it promotes a false account of history and is a disservice to the people of Alabama."

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots political organization. The ANCA actively advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian-American community.

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Full text of the ANCA ER Letter to Alabama Governor Don Siegelman

August 30, 2001

Honorable Don Siegelman
Governor of Alabama
State Capitol
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36130

Dear Governor Siegelman:

I regret deeply that I am compelled to write this letter. Your original proclamation of August 8, 2001 and the revised proclamation released today, declaring a "Day of Remembrance of the Turkish Tragedy for Liberation to Sovereignty and Independence in the State of Alabama" is deeply flawed, premised as it is on inaccuracies and omissions.

I hope that this letter might shed light on Turkey's historical record. I further hope that you will consider setting the historical record straight.

The proclamation is correct in stating that "Millions of citizens of the Ottoman Empire from different religious and ethnic backgrounds" died during the years in which World War I raged. However, these were mainly Armenians, as well as Greeks and other minority victims, who were massacred by the Turkish military in what constituted the first genocide of the twentieth century.

The "forced migration" of the Armenian population was also carried out by the Turkish military.

The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government, is well-documented by many historians and foreign diplomats, including US Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau, who had close diplomatic contact with the perpetrators -- that is, those who governed Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is lionized in the August 8 proclamation, was personally responsible for the burning of Izmir (Smyrna) in 1922 during which approximately 150,000 Armenians and Greeks were slaughtered.

As indicated in the enclosed documents, Human Rights Violations in Turkey, and The Armenian Minority in Turkey, Turkey does not now nor has it ever enjoyed a "long history of friendship by living in harmony with different ethnic groups."

Turkey has not made significant contributions to US foreign policy.

It has been over a quarter of a century since Turkey occupied northern Cyprus by force, violating the United Nations Charter, NATO's Charter, and international law. Today, Turkey refuses to leave Cyprus despite the efforts of the United States, the United Nations, and the European Community.

Turkey continues its economic blockade of neighboring Armenia. For over a decade, Turkey has forbidden US humanitarian assistance from traveling to Armenia via Turkish airspace. Turkey even stopped US humanitarian assistance from reaching Armenia in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 1988. It was for this reason that the United States Congress enacted the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, prohibiting US assistance to any country which blocks US humanitarian aid from reaching a third country. This law applied only to Turkey, the sole country that has blocked US humanitarian aid.

Turkey is not a staunch ally of the United States.

To begin with, during World War I, Turkey's so-called "Tragedy for Liberation to Sovereignty" was the result of Turkey waging war against Allied forces, including those of the United States.

During World War II, Turkey sided with Germany, and switched sides only at the last moment, when it became evident that the Allies would be victorious.

During the recent US and Allied conflict with Iraq, Turkey refused to allow the United States to utilize its flyover rights over Turkey's airspace, as it has during several conflicts in the Middle East. Moreover, Turkey refused to join the Allied forces during the Persian Gulf War.

Between 1976 and 1983, Turkey allowed three Soviet aircraft carriers to pass through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits to the Mediterranean - despite NATO objections and in direct violation of the 1936 Montreaux Convention.

In 1979, Turkey refused to allow the United States to use US military bases in Turkey for evacuating Americans from Iran.

I hope you will consider the facts noted in this letter. As you must certainly see, Turkey has caused a great deal of tragedy in the brief span of the last century alone. I would be happy to provide specific documentation on each of the points of this letter, at your request.

I hope that you will acknowledge the oversight made when determining the appropriateness of your proclaiming a "Day of Remembrance of the Turkish Tragedy for Liberation to Sovereignty and Independence in the State of Alabama."

I also hope that you will set the record straight and not allow the great State of Alabama to be used to muddy the clear waters of United States history, and historical truth in general.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Arin Gregorian
Director

enclosures: Human Rights Violations in Turkey, 1993
Human Rights Violations in Turkey, 1994
The Armenian Minority in Turkey: An Oppressed Minority
Fact Sheet: The Armenian Genocide
The Kurds, Turkey and the Gulf War