By Appo K. Jabarian Executive Publisher/Managing Editor USA Armenian Life Magazine According to an April 10 article in the Turkish Daily News, titled "Foreign Ministry Provides Internet Service On Genocide 'Allegations'," the Turkish FM Abdullah Gul said: "There are more than 1 million Web sites in languages other than Turkish with regard to the Armenian question. If one takes into account the Armenian Diaspora's efforts to broadcast in almost every language for propaganda purposes, it will take a long time to determine the exact number of (pro-Armenian) publications." The Turkish Daily also reported: "Facing a mounting Armenian campaign to get international recognition for the 'alleged' genocide, Turkey called for a joint committee of Turkish and Armenian experts last year to study the 'allegations'. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian proposing the establishment of such a committee. Erdogan's 'proposal' was turned down by Kocharian, who instead offered an intergovernmental commission to study ways to resolve problems between the two neighboring countries." President Kocharian must be commended for not falling in the Turkish trap of a defrauding "study." No genuine reconciliation may occur without genuine acknowledgement by Ankara of the historic facts of the Armenian Genocide, committed at the hands of Turkey. It is very obvious that the denialist Turks' ill-developed master plan to obstruct real reconciliation with Armenians is constantly backfiring. One such most recent episode is the USC "state" fiasco that more than tarnished Turkey's already-faltering image. In late March, USC cancelled a Turkish-government initiated forum on its campus. Harut Sassounian, the Publisher of The California Courier, wrote a news analysis-commentary narrating the circumstances surrounding the embarrassing cancellation of a "lecture" show by Gunduz Aktan and Omer Lutem at USC. Aktan and Lutem are two retired top diplomats and prominent Ankara-based Turkish denialists. In an interesting follow-up analysis-commentary, titled "Those Who Live in Glass Houses, Should not Throw Stones..." Sassounian wrote on April 10: "The anticipated self-promotional puff-piece by Gunduz Aktan, a former Turkish Ambassador and member of the infamous Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC), was finally published in the April 8 issue of the Turkish Daily News. Aktan and Omer Lutem, another former Turkish ambassador and a notorious denialist, toured the U.S. during the second half of March, to spread coast to coast their perverted version of history regarding the Armenian Genocide." Sassounian's poignant commentary narrates the reversal of "fortunes" for the denialist Turks, on the one hand, and on the other, it genuinely portrays Armenians as fairly and squarely accepting the long-awaited Aktan's offer to try the Armenian Case at the Hague International Court, without blinking an eye. I can imagine Aktan hating to see 1) the squandering of his political capital, 2) the further damaging of Turkey's image because of the "state" fiasco at USC on the eve of the worldwide commemorations of the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Aktan and his beloved Turkey were subjected to political misfortunes as a direct result of the Los Angeles-based Turkish consul's willful misrepresentations to the officials of University of Southern California, one of the most prestigious American institutions of higher learning. The Los Angeles-based Turkish consul, the visiting Turkish deniers Aktan, and Lutem, and the Turkish "student" at USC further compounded Turkey's problems by "earning" a strong admonishment from Mr. Joshua Fouts of USC. As reported by Sassounian, Mr. Fouts, rightfully so, dealt the Turks a major blow by highlighting the fact that he was being lied to, by these Turkish officials. The non-Armenian observers can surely comprehend the extent to which the deniers are willing to go in order to misguide the innocent third party members. They can also realize how desperate the Turkish deniers are in covering up the historic facts of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of their grandparents' generation.

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