2104) Unearthing the Past, Endangering the Future

House Resolution 106 is not what Congressional representatives think it is. . . They claim this resolution condemns "another government from another time" having nothing to do with Turkey or Turks today. They are wrong.

Lobbying efforts directed at recognizing Armenian genocide claims are tied to land restitution claims, nothing else. Armenia and Armenian nationalists do not recognize Turkey's sovereign borders[1] and want to create a "Greater Armenia" in Eastern Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus, and their plan has not changed in over 100 years—

FIRST, the Turkish Republic must be made to admit there was an "Armenian Genocide" and apologize for it.

SECOND, the Turks must pay reparations.

THIRD, a "Greater Armenia" must be formed out of lands within the sovereign territory of the Turkish Republic.

These claims are based on unchanging Armenian nationalist ideology. Armenian nationalists want to form a "Greater Armenia" encompassing Eastern Turkey —even if it requires rewriting history and disregards the rights of people living there now.

House Resolution 106 states an Armenian genocide occurred from 1915-1923. Yet, Armenian genocide claims are founded upon relocation orders issued by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 to remove Armenians from locations near the WWI Russian front. Relocation efforts ceased before WWI ended in 1918. The relevant period for this disputed genocide claim is thus 1915-1918.

In 1919, the grandparents of today's Turks began an independence movement against the Ottoman regime under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. During this independence movement, the "French" Armenian Legion—comprised solely of Armenians—invaded south east Anatolia. The Armenian Legion's goal was to "liberate" south east Anatolia from the overwhelming majority Turkic population and merge those lands into a larger Armenian state. The Armenian Legions fought only Turks and were intended to become the future Armenian state's army.

House Resolution 106 was deliberately written to include this period of time, after WWI when Armenian armies backed by Allied powers were clearly, openly, unapologetically waging war against the Turkish people.

Turning history on its head, Armenian nationalists intend to classify the Turks' justified defense of their homeland from 1919-1923 under the leadership of officials who formed the Republic of Turkey in October 1923 as "genocide," and allege the Republic of Turkey must apologize and relinquish lands Armenians failed to conquer by force.

What Armenians could not obtain by waging a conventional war against Turks, they now seek by winning a sophisticated strategic war of words.

Don't be fooled. House Resolution 106 most definitely IS about today's Republic of Turkey and Turks who live there now.

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[1] The eleventh article of the Proclamation of Independence, adopted by Armenia on August 23, 1990, states that: "The Republic of Armenia supports the aim of achieving the international recognition of the 1915 genocide that took place in Turkey and western Armenia." This article not only validates the allegations of genocide that Turkey rejects, but also regards the eastern portion of the Republic of Turkey as western Armenia. The Armenian constitution endorses the national goals set forth in this proclamation and thus fails to recognize Turkey's sovereign borders.

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Kemal P. Lazlee, USA

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