The Vice President
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20501
Dear Madam Vice President,
January 20, 2021
I would like to extend my congratulations to the US PresidentJoe Biden, and you, as the first female US Vice President. The deadly assault on the US Capitol, I believe, have shown that your election victory was a momentous and ground-breaking expression of democratic vitality,
I anticipate that under the new US administration Turkish-American relations will be cultivated to overcome present challenges. It is now time to heal deep wounds. In Turkey, many are counting on you to lead the way to make our relationship stronger.
The tragedy in Eastern Anatolia during World WarI is a predominant factor in the worn-out Turkish-Americans’ relationship.
In recent years,the US Congresshas blindly accepted the Armenian portrayal ofwhat happened nearly a century ago.Althoughthis portrayal is one-sided and steeped in prejudice, Congress perceives it as a complete history and an undeniable fact. Nevertheless, this is an issue of fundamental fairness and the most cherished of American rights – free speech. The lack of real debate in Congress, enforced with a heavy hand by Armenians, ensures that any attempt to search for the truth will utterly fail.However, the truth demands that every side of a story be told.
The US, UK, Russian, French, and Turkish national archives containthe documented accounts of this war-time tragedy. They are the officialhistorical and judicial truth.When this documented truth is observed and understood, the hostility and intolerance towards, and religious discrimination against Turkish people will weaken, and even be forgotten.
This will be aneducatedway of thinking, inspiring a clear slogan: “21s-CenturyEnlightenment’, which recalls the pioneering spirit of Alfred Toffler’s message to the members of US Congress:“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Members of the Congress can thus embark on a course of unprejudiced learning, unlearning, and relearning with regard tothe tragic events that took place during World War I in Eastern Anatolia.
The first part of the course is to learn that the classification a historical or current event as genocide should not be based on personal decisions but on legal evaluation. The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as an international legal concept and establishes the legal framework for genocidal atrocities. It should neither be politicized nor popularized in non-specific terms.
Second stage of the course is to unlearn the religious, racial, and political prejudices. And consequently, to identify and eradicate discrimination, hate and injustice in Congressional decisions.
The final stage is to relearn the historical and judicial truth regarding the Armenian issue as documented in the US archival records and the UK National Archives rather than through Armenian allegations derived from dubious and prejudicial sources.
A short learning, unlearning and relearning course about the 1915-1916 events is attached for ready reference .
Yours faithfully.
UluçGürkan
Uluç Gürkan
Editor and Chief of ANKA News Agency (1983-1989)
Editor and Chief of Daily Güneş (1990-1991)
Member- Turkish Grand National Assembly/TGNA (1991-2002)
- Vice President–ParliamenteryAssebly oy theOrganizationfor Security andCo-operation in Europe/OSCE-PA(1992-1995)
- Deputy Speaker-Turkish Grand National Assembly/TGNA(1995-1999)
- Head of the Turkish Delegation-Parliamentary Assembly of the WesternEuropeanUnion/WEU-PA (1999-2002)
- Vice President-Parliamentary Assembly of the Conncil of Europr/PACE (2000-2002)
Lecturer at METU &Ufuk University (2003- ……)