California Courier Online, January 22, 2004
Armenia Should Not Allow TARC to Meet in Yerevan
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The members of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) are back at their old tricks again, secretly plotting their next moves. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) revealed last week that TARC, composed of a small group of Turkish and Armenian individuals, mostly financed and directed by the U.S. government, held yet another secret meeting -- this time in London. The meeting was chaired by David Phillips, an adviser to the State Department, and Joseph Montville, a former U.S. diplomat.
RFE/RL reported that the meeting, held at the Royal United Services Institute, a private think tank "close to the British Defense Ministry," lasted for three days. An Armenian member of TARC who did not wish his name disclosed told RFE/RL, "the two sides agreed to avoid publicizing their activities for the time being given the political sensitivity of the subject."
It does not come as a surprise that the members of TARC want to hide their activities from the public. They have learned valuable lessons from their earlier "mistake" of telling the public at large what they were really up to. Shortly after TARC was formed back in 2001, Ozdem Sanberk, one of its Turkish members revealed to an Azerbaijani internet newspaper the true intent of the group. He said, "the basic goal of our commission is to impede the initiatives put forth every year in the U.S. Congress and parliaments of Western countries on 'the genocide issue'.... The key goal is to prevent 'the genocide' issue from being regularly brought onto the agenda in Western countries.... The significant matter for us is that 'the genocide' issue is not discussed by the American Congress anymore. As long as we continue the dialogue, the [genocide] issue won't be brought to the congressional agenda. If it is not discussed in Congress, we, meaning Turkey, will gain from that. The US Congress will see that there is a channel of dialogue between Turks and Armenians and decide that 'there is no necessity for the Congress to take such a decision while such a channel exists.'"
After Sanberk's amazing revelation was quoted in this column, the Armenian members of TARC had a very unusual reaction. Rather than immediately resigning from the group and condemning its sinister goals, at their next meeting which was held in Istanbul, they chastised Sanberk for making such a public statement and decided that henceforth the members of TARC would not speak to the media.
It is interesting that a secretive group which wants to hide from the public its sources of funding, expenditures, discussions, decisions, and activities, recently set up a website (www.tarc.info) ostensibly to provide information to the world at large. Not surprisingly, the website has very sketchy information. Nevertheless, it does confirm that while the four Armenian members of TARC are (shockingly) still on board, four of its six Turkish members have resigned. Mr. Sanberk, the Turkish member who had made that important revelation about TARC's real goals, is no longer on board. The four Turks were replaced by five others: Emin Mahir Balcioglu, Ahmet Evin, Ersin Kalaycioglu, Sule Kut, and Ilter Turan. The TARC website provides no information on their backgrounds. One wonders why TARC is composed of only four Armenians and seven Turks? When TARC was first formed, one of its four Armenian members proudly announced that several other Armenians would shortly join TARC!
Fortunately, in almost three years, the TARC members have not been able to persuade a single Armenian to join the group, while there seems to be no shortage of Turks who want to come on board!
Haykakan Zhamanak, an opposition newspaper in Armenia, revealed last week that the TARC members decided in London that their next meeting would take place in Yerevan. While the group has had meetings in Geneva, New York, London and at least once in Istanbul, it has never met in Armenia. Given the shadowy nature of this group, its covert funding by a foreign government and its goal of subverting the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian government should consider not permitting the group to meet in Yerevan by refusing to issue entry visas to the foreign members of TARC. By allowing such a meeting on its soil, the Armenian government would be facilitating the aims of those who are intent on undermining the recognition of the Genocide. At the very least, the Armenian government should demand that TARC make public its funding sources, expenditures, activities, and future plans!
Armenia Should Not Allow TARC to Meet in Yerevan
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The members of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) are back at their old tricks again, secretly plotting their next moves. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) revealed last week that TARC, composed of a small group of Turkish and Armenian individuals, mostly financed and directed by the U.S. government, held yet another secret meeting -- this time in London. The meeting was chaired by David Phillips, an adviser to the State Department, and Joseph Montville, a former U.S. diplomat.
RFE/RL reported that the meeting, held at the Royal United Services Institute, a private think tank "close to the British Defense Ministry," lasted for three days. An Armenian member of TARC who did not wish his name disclosed told RFE/RL, "the two sides agreed to avoid publicizing their activities for the time being given the political sensitivity of the subject."
It does not come as a surprise that the members of TARC want to hide their activities from the public. They have learned valuable lessons from their earlier "mistake" of telling the public at large what they were really up to. Shortly after TARC was formed back in 2001, Ozdem Sanberk, one of its Turkish members revealed to an Azerbaijani internet newspaper the true intent of the group. He said, "the basic goal of our commission is to impede the initiatives put forth every year in the U.S. Congress and parliaments of Western countries on 'the genocide issue'.... The key goal is to prevent 'the genocide' issue from being regularly brought onto the agenda in Western countries.... The significant matter for us is that 'the genocide' issue is not discussed by the American Congress anymore. As long as we continue the dialogue, the [genocide] issue won't be brought to the congressional agenda. If it is not discussed in Congress, we, meaning Turkey, will gain from that. The US Congress will see that there is a channel of dialogue between Turks and Armenians and decide that 'there is no necessity for the Congress to take such a decision while such a channel exists.'"
After Sanberk's amazing revelation was quoted in this column, the Armenian members of TARC had a very unusual reaction. Rather than immediately resigning from the group and condemning its sinister goals, at their next meeting which was held in Istanbul, they chastised Sanberk for making such a public statement and decided that henceforth the members of TARC would not speak to the media.
It is interesting that a secretive group which wants to hide from the public its sources of funding, expenditures, discussions, decisions, and activities, recently set up a website (www.tarc.info) ostensibly to provide information to the world at large. Not surprisingly, the website has very sketchy information. Nevertheless, it does confirm that while the four Armenian members of TARC are (shockingly) still on board, four of its six Turkish members have resigned. Mr. Sanberk, the Turkish member who had made that important revelation about TARC's real goals, is no longer on board. The four Turks were replaced by five others: Emin Mahir Balcioglu, Ahmet Evin, Ersin Kalaycioglu, Sule Kut, and Ilter Turan. The TARC website provides no information on their backgrounds. One wonders why TARC is composed of only four Armenians and seven Turks? When TARC was first formed, one of its four Armenian members proudly announced that several other Armenians would shortly join TARC!
Fortunately, in almost three years, the TARC members have not been able to persuade a single Armenian to join the group, while there seems to be no shortage of Turks who want to come on board!
Haykakan Zhamanak, an opposition newspaper in Armenia, revealed last week that the TARC members decided in London that their next meeting would take place in Yerevan. While the group has had meetings in Geneva, New York, London and at least once in Istanbul, it has never met in Armenia. Given the shadowy nature of this group, its covert funding by a foreign government and its goal of subverting the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian government should consider not permitting the group to meet in Yerevan by refusing to issue entry visas to the foreign members of TARC. By allowing such a meeting on its soil, the Armenian government would be facilitating the aims of those who are intent on undermining the recognition of the Genocide. At the very least, the Armenian government should demand that TARC make public its funding sources, expenditures, activities, and future plans!
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