Did Turkey’s Ambassador Really Lobby For Passage of
Genocide Resolution?
24-03-2010 20:30:00 | USA | Articles and Analyses
By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier
Thousands of articles are posted on the internet every day.
But, very few make us fall off our chairs!
Last week I came across a shocking news item posted by the
Turkish Forum -- the largest website for Turkish news. It was
titled: "Forgotten Ambassador in Sierra Leone Uses Armenian
Genocide Resolution to solve his Problem." Here is the summary
in translation of that incredible article:
"In recent years, parliaments of several countries have
adopted resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. In retaliation,
Turkey has recalled its ambassadors from these countries. It has
been revealed that some opportunistic ambassadors exploited this
situation, by abusing their position.
"According to a Foreign Ministry announcement this morning,
Orhan Emin Turkone, Turkey’s Ambassador in Sierra Leone for the
past 12 years, has been fired for having lobbied for the passage
of the Armenian Genocide bill in that country’s Parliament.
"During a press conference this morning, the Foreign
Ministry's Undersecretary Ersin Ozbukey explained: "Recently, it
came to our attention that the so-called Armenian Genocide bill
was placed on the agenda of the Parliaments of Chad, Eritrea,
and Djibouti. But, when we saw that this bill was unanimously
adopted by the Parliament of Sierra Leone, we started suspecting
that something had gone terribly wrong." Ozbukey added: "We
formed an investigative committee that uncovered some
interesting, but disturbing information."
"We confirmed that Amb. Turkone had carried out lobbying
activities in favor of the Armenian Genocide bill," Ozbukey
stated. "Of course, this can't be excused, but the Ministry also
has its fault in this affair. This man was abandoned and
forgotten in a far away country. He got that idea, after
[Turkish] Ambassadors were recalled following the adoption of
the genocide resolution by other countries. Twelve years is a
long time," Ozbukey admitted.
"Ozbukey then provided the details of Amb. Turkone
unbelievable actions in publicizing the Armenian Genocide in
Sierra Leone. Ozbukey said that whenever the Ambassador visited
a bar, he would write on facebook: "We massacred the Armenians
in such a nasty way." He told bartenders: "My grandfather alone
killed 100-150 Armenians whose bones are in the basement of our
home." The Ambassador made up such falsehoods and lies. He
basically said whatever came to his head. Sierra Leone is a
small place. Word spreads quickly. No one had ever heard of
either Armenia or Turkey. But, within a month, everyone in the
whole country was agitated over this issue. People were dancing
in the streets when they learned that the genocide was
recognized. This shouldn’t have happened, but unfortunately, it
did!
"Ozbukey explained that after this revelation, the Turkish
government started paying more attention to the agenda of
various parliaments. In order to avoid such situations in the
future, instead of recalling ambassadors, ‘we are now
considering the possibility of cutting off trade relations,
until the resolution is removed from the Parliament’s agenda,"
Even though this article sounded too good to be true, the
amount of detail and specific names mentioned in it led dozens
of Turkish websites to post it, without realizing that it was a
hoax! After learning that Turkey did not have an embassy in
Sierra Leone, the Turkish Forum deleted the fake news from its
website. It was also not true that Armenian Genocide resolutions
were being considered by parliaments of Chad, Djibouti and
Eritrea in recent months.
It is not known who concocted this elaborate hoax. Given
the extensive amount of criticism directed at Prime Minister
Erdogan within Turkey in recent weeks, the author could well be
a disgruntled Turk with a sense of humor who decided to take a
sarcastic swipe at his Don Quixotic leader. The article was
accompanied by an authentic looking photo of three African
officials along with a non-African individual at a signing
ceremony. The photo gave the false impression that the latter
was the Turkish Ambassador to Sierra Leone.
It is not at all surprising that several Turkish websites
fell for this ruse, as the government of Turkey has made a
practice of recalling its ambassadors from France, Canada, the
United States, and other countries for having recognized the
Armenian Genocide.
Namik Tan, the newly appointed Turkish ambassador to
Washington, was recalled on March 4 after the House Foreign
Affairs Committee approved the Armenian Genocide resolution. It
was reported that he might stay in Ankara until after April 24.
This is great news for Armenian-American activists, as they can
lobby Congress without facing any opposition from the Turkish
Ambassador during the crucial weeks leading to April 24, when he
needs to be in Washington trying to block the Genocide
Resolution in the House and persuade Pres. Obama not to refer to
the Armenian Genocide in his annual statement!
To the best of our knowledge, Amb. Tan did not lobby
Congress for passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution, as did
the fictional ambassador in Sierre Leone, in order take an
extended vacation with family and friends back home. However,
judging from Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent self-defeating
statements, sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction!