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Clinton Chides Turkey on Arrests of Journalists and Others

nytimes.com — Despite her concerns about detentions of journalists, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Turkey could ser... Jul 16, 2011

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10 Comments

arbiincJul 16, 2011Buried

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Turkey has one of the worst human rights records.

1.5 million Armenians got massacred 100 years ago by turks yet they still deny it. Turkey needs to come to grips with its bloody past.

Turkey criminalizes even the discussion of the Armenian Genocide, prosecuting writers, including Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian editor, was assassinated in 2007 because of his writings on the Armenian Genocide. Police took turns posing for pictures with the accused killer, and there still has not been a conviction for Dink’s murder.

One would think after almost a hundred years, an official apology for killing or displacing 2 million Armenians would be a welcome and long overdue occasion for Turkey to make peace with Armenia. But as we've seen, Turkey has threatened "diplomatic consequences" if Obama doesn't suppress a congressional resolution that would officially use the label "genocide" for the incident, even going so far as to withdraw their U.S. Ambassador because of it.

Turkey has shown that it’s no longer a reliable ally. America’s true friends don’t attack us for standing up for the truth; America’s “reliable” allies don’t turn their back on us when we need them. Very simply, Turkey is no longer a reliable ally of the United States: Turkey defends Iran’s nuclear program; Turkey has turned against Israel; Turkey refused to send combat forces to Afghanistan; Turkey is strengthening its ties to Sudan; Turkey blocked a northern Coalition front against Iraq; Turkey promotes instability in the region; Turkey is stirring anti-American sentiment.

anomaly100Jul 17, 2011Buried

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So, if they threaten President Obama for using the word, 'genocide' then if Germany threatens us we should stop using the word 'Holocaust'? The genocide of the Armenian people will go down in history as a stain on our morals and ethics if we do not treat the victims with respect, just as we do the Jewish people. Just my 2 cents.

cosmicsurferJul 17, 2011Buried

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worth more than 2 cents, my friend..at least a dime and with inflation, a silver quarter

angrycat70Jul 17, 2011Buried

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Turkey is pretty mellow compared to other *current* Arab states..

Syria is gunning people down like it's free and Libya is having a full on civil war. Not to mention the religious quackery going on in Iran and Saudi.

Turkey's history of 100 years ago is sad and dangerous. If seriously provoked, it could play out again against the Kurds and that would cause all sorts of serious problems for everyone.

In situations like this a quiet word between allies is probably better than diplomacy via the media.

mohammadwardeh1Jul 17, 2011Buried

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nice

mohammadwardeh1Jul 17, 2011Buried

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nice

1to1Jul 17, 2011Buried

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Turkey was better than other Arab nations.. but still they are not close.... EU membership still a dream due to that... Long way to go Turkey... Also they have more responsibility now as many arab countries look it as role model in midst of uprising.

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