Actions and statements of Davutoglu stand in sharp contrast to legacy of President Wilson

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, expressed his dismay and deep concern regarding the intention of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC) to honor Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu with the WWC Public Service Award. Ackerman sent the following letter on the matter to Lee Hamilton, the President and Director of the WWC.

“I write to express my deep concern and dismay regarding the intention of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC) to honor Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu with the WWC Public Service Award. I am keenly aware of the need for greater cooperation and understanding in the world arena, and I applaud the invaluable work the WWC has done to build ties between America and intellectual and political leaders from around the world.

These efforts truly celebrate the life and work of President Wilson, and the United States benefits greatly from the WWC’s success in promoting effective international dialogue about vital issues and building essential strategic relationships. The Congress has wisely supported the WWC, contributing about a third of its annual revenue, and I am committed to sustaining that effort.

I am, however, very strongly of the view that publicly honoring Foreign Minister Davutoglu at this time is absolutely inconsistent—absolutely inconsistent—with the mission of the WWC and the ideals that animated President Wilson’s administration and foreign policy. The actions and statements of Foreign Minister Davutoglu stand in sharp contrast to the legacy of President Wilson.

Turkey’s foreign policy under Foreign Minister Davutoglu’s leadership is rife with illegality, irresponsibility and hypocrisy. Turkey continues to not only deny the Armenian Genocide, but also to criminalize recognition of it in Turkey. Worse, Ankara threatens to break relations with states that acknowledge the role of the Ottoman Empire in the deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as a matter of state policy. Turkey continues to militarily occupy Cyprus and to work against U.S.-backed efforts by the United Nations to resolve the conflict on that island. Turkey maintains a closed border with Armenia and has made improved relations with Armenia a political hostage to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh and denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey recently voted against sanctions on Iran by the UN Security Council despite clear evidence that Iran’s nuclear program has violated numerous UN Security Council resolutions, and both Iran’s nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement obligations. Turkey has politically backed both the genocidal regime in Sudan and the genocide-denying regime in Iran.

Turkey has fanned the flames of instability in the Middle East by rejecting Israeli efforts to channel humanitarian aid to Gaza through Israeli ports in order to ensure weapons were not going to be shipped to Hamas. Rather focusing its efforts on helping the people in Gaza, Turkey has focused on demonizing the State of Israel.”

“A foreign leader who represents and defends this kind of foreign policy, one who has championed Turkey’s most odious efforts to deny to others the human dignity that Turkey rightly expects for its own people, is not a worthy recipient of the WWC Public Service Award. In the interest of preserving the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars mission, namely, “advancing the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson” I strongly urge you to rescind the decision to present Foreign Minister Davutoglu with the WWC Public Service Award,” the Congressman emphasized in his letter.