Those who politicize history will certainly be judged by history
by
Cüneyt Yüksel*

Prior to the voting process, both the Turkish-American nongovernmental organizations in the US and we as politicians exerted great efforts. As an academic and a member of Parliament who has worked in the US as an international lawyer for many years, I can say that Turkey is not the way it used to be; the world's perspective on Turkey is not what it used to be. Turkey is a country that does not make concessions from its principled stance; it performs the requirements of public diplomacy daily, and it acts responsibly in every situation by refraining from reacting emotionally and thinking through every option. The fact that the committee had a hard time adopting the resolution is evidence that we and Turkish-American NGOs and are playing the game by the rules. Committee Chairman Howard Berman, in our discussion during the voting, stated that an issue relating to Turkey will not be put on the agenda without consulting Turkey.

Naturally, the adoption of the resolution has resulted in a great amount of rightful public censure in Turkey. However, as the politicians of this country, we must not alter our principled stance by reacting emotionally; we shall manifest our rightful position by intensifying our efforts of public diplomacy, by playing the game by the rules and acting responsibly.

Of course, the fact that the resolution passed the committee does not mean that it is final. Moreover, we believe that Congress will not pass the resolution. In fact, even though the resolution was adopted in the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2000 with 35 to 11 votes, in 2005 with 40 to 7 votes and in 2007 with 27 to 21 votes, it was never passed by Congress.

We made some remarkable observations in the hall during the passing of the resolution and the voting process. Berman's personal efforts and the pressure he exerted on other members of the committee in order to pass the resolution were like scenes from a play.

The adoption of the resolution -- which is full of material mistakes as well as historically controversial, biased and selective references -- by the committee is not befitting of Turkey-US relations. The intervention of third parties in the Turkey-Armenia normalization process only serves to hinder the process. This development has damaged the efforts for peace and stability in the Southern Caucasus.

Illuminating the events of 1915 is the work of historians, not politicians. A decision such as this one, taken solely to serve political interests, is first and foremost a bane on history.

In this regard, the events of World War I in 1915 and the aftermath are freely debated in Turkey; published works expressing different views on the subject are available in bookstores and libraries.

The universal definition of genocide is expressed in Article 6 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Only a competent international tribunal can rule on the crime of genocide, which is the gravest crime against humanity. Therefore, such a political decision is against the 1948 Charter of the United Nations.

Turkey and the US have a common vision of welfare, stability and peace in our region and beyond. As two close allies and strategic partners, Turkey and the US are in cooperation on the issues of the international fight against terrorism, the safety of energy sources, Iran's nuclear program, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and even overcoming the global financial crisis.

For more than half a century, the relationship between Turkey and the US, two NATO allies, has continuously developed based on the shared principles of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and establishing a free market economy.

This decision -- which was taken solely for votes and the campaign worries of politicians and which could negatively affect the relationships we conduct within the context of our broad common agenda with the US -- also points out the unfortunate lack of strategic vision of these politicians.

In addition to being against the interests of the US, this resolution harms the national interests of Turkey. These serious allegations not only impeach Turkey with the crime of genocide but bring about territorial claims and damages against Turkey.

The adoption of this resolution has only benefited the radical Armenian diaspora in the US.

The wrongness of a topic relating to historical events being assessed by politicians was once again revealed. This decision is saddening on the one hand; on the other hand, it is significant for a country that is taking steps to restore its reputation in the world with the Obama administration.

An unprofessional scene unfolded with the voting procedure; the fact was revealed that some of the representatives voting on the resolution had no real knowledge of the events of 1915. Certainly without knowledge, one cannot have an idea. We must once again emphasize to the international community that Turkey will not be responsible for the ramifications this vote might have in any area, and those who politicize history will certainly be judged by history.