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President Obama: United States and Turkey can Build a Model Partnership |
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Wednesday, 8 April 2009* Obama declares Turkey model partner of values
The United States and Turkey can build a "model partnership" between a predominantly Christian nation and a predominantly Muslim nation with a unity based on ideals and values rather than religious faiths, US President Barack Obama said yesterday in Ankara, stressing his eagerness to see this model partnership materialize.
Obama's remarks came in response to a question at a joint press conference following his talks with President Abdullah Gül. He was reminded of the high expectations Turkey has of his administration, particularly for healing the effects of the Bush era's negative legacy here, and was asked about further concrete steps planned for entirely eliminating the terrorist threat posed to Turkey by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) presence in northern Iraq.
Obama said he and Gül have been "very clear that terrorism is not acceptable under any circumstances." Recognizing past tensions in the US-Turkey relationship, Obama, nonetheless, said things were on the right track now because both countries share common interests and are diverse nations.
"We don't consider ourselves Christian, Jewish, Muslim. We consider ourselves a nation bound by a set of ideals and values," Obama said of the United States. "Turkey has similar principals." "We have seen steady improvement in US-Turkish relations," despite some cooling in ties in 2003 due to Turkey's opposition to the war in Iraq, Obama said.
"I do not think they ever deteriorated so far that we ceased to be friends and allies. What I hope to do is build on what is already a strong foundation," he added.
"I think where there's the most promise is in the idea that Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a majority Christian and a majority Muslim nation, a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents -- that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, secure and prosperous. This is extremely important. One of the strengths of the US is that we have a Christian population, but we feel ourselves a nation of citizens. Modern Turkey was built on similar values as a secular country respecting religious freedom, rule of law and all freedoms. We are going to deliver this message to the world," he stressed.
During his presidential campaign, Obama had vowed to undertake a vigorous "public diplomacy program" that would distinguish his approach to foreign relations from that of former President George W. Bush. Obama has described the Bush doctrine as the product of "a small group of political officials at the State Department explaining a misguided war."
"The president wanted to visit Turkey because he believes it's important that we take steps to renew the US-Turkey relationship, which has drifted in recent years," a senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Agence France-Presse ahead of Obama's talks in Ankara.
* Fine tuning regarding 'genocide'
Obama also said he stood by his 2008 assertion that Ottoman Turks carried out widespread killings of Armenians early in the 20th century, gently handling the sensitive issue by stopping short of repeating the word "genocide."
"Well, my views are on the record and I have not changed my views," Obama said in response to a question from an American correspondent.
"The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence," Obama had said in a statement on his campaign Web site in January 2008. "America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides."
While not backpedaling from the campaign statement yesterday, Obama was careful not to repeat it. Instead, he praised Gül's participation in negotiations between Armenia and Turkey to "resolve a whole host of longstanding issues, including this one."
Obama said he wanted to encourage those talks, not tilt them in favor of one country.
"I want to focus not on my views right now, but on the views of the Turkish and Armenian people. If they can move forward ... the entire world should encourage them. If they can move forward and deal with a difficult and tragic history, then I think the entire world should encourage that," he said.
Gül took the floor to introduce Turkey's position on the issue, first stressing that the issue is not "a legal and political" issue, but a "historical issue," which needs to be dealt with by historians.
"We are ready to face the issues and the facts," he said. "But," he added, "It cannot be the politicians who make these decisions about who lost the most lives, who was right and who was wrong," recalling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan's 2005 letter to then-Armenian President Robert Kocharian, inviting him to establish a joint commission of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia to study the events of 1915 using documents from the archives of Turkey, Armenia and any other country believed to have played a part in the issue.
"If it has a high interest in this issue, any country -- for example, it may be the US, it may be France -- then they can join this joint history commission and we are ready to [face] the results," Gül added.
"These historic issues were brought on the agenda on political grounds, mostly by the diaspora, which wants to protect its own identity," he said.
Turkey is in talks with Armenia to normalize relations and Gül said he was hopeful about a positive outcome.
Obama wants to strengthen Atatürk's vision
In line with a tradition followed by virtually all foreign leaders, Obama began his day in Ankara by paying homage to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, by visiting Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum.
He laid a wreath at Atatürk's tomb and observed a minute of silence by putting his hand on his heart before signing the guest book there. Obama stood at a podium and wrote in the guest book for nearly four minutes.
"I have the honor to pay tribute to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a man whose vision, tenacity and courage put the Republic of Turkey on the path of democracy and whose legacy continues to inspire generations around the world. As the 44th president of the United States of America, I look forward to strengthening US-Turkish relations and to supporting Atatürk's vision of Turkey as a modern and prosperous democracy giving hope to its people and providing 'peace at home, peace in the world.'"
Later, President Obama left the mausoleum for the Çankaya presidential palace, where he was greeted by Gül with an official welcoming ceremony.
Both of the presidents voiced their condolences for victims of an earthquake in Italy earlier in the morning at the beginning of their joint press conference.
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Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Journal of Turkish Weekly
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