If my memory is not playing tricks on me, a similar resolution was submitted during Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s visit to Washington in June, and a minor crisis ensued.
Gila BENMAYOR
I met U.S. Consul General in Istanbul Deborah Jones at a Turkish-American Business Council (TAÝK) reception the other night. Jones was appointed to the post upon the departure of David Arnett.
Jones is very knowledgeable about the Middle East.
She speaks Arabic well because she worked in Baghdad and Damascus. At the reception I also talked to the congressional staffers who were invited to Turkey as part of a program sponsored by TAÝK and its American counterpart, the American-Turkish Council (ATC).
I would like to talk about this program.
Unfortunately, most American congressmen and their staffers know almost nothing about Turkey.
Turkey, for them, is a country at the opposite end of the world.
Even though they know nothing about it, they draft many bills that affect Turkey.
This is why it is very important and beneficial for TAÝK and the ATC to invite a delegation from Congress from time to time in order to let them see Istanbul, Ýzmir and Ankara and to meet with representatives from nongovernmental organizations.
Just as TAÝK President Yýlmaz Argüden said, there is a considerable disparity between what those who come to Turkey hear and what they see.
In the past three years, TAÝK has welcomed around 90 congressional staffers.
If we return to the reception the other night, everyone I talked to confirmed Argüden’s assessment.
“We never expected Turkey to be like this,” some said.
I should also note that those I spoke with had visited Bodrum.
There was, of course, some congressional gossip making the rounds, and we learned that a resolution on the Armenian genocide allegations would be submitted to the House of Representatives in September.
If my memory is not playing tricks on me, a similar resolution was submitted during Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s visit to Washington in June, and a minor crisis ensued.
The timing of the bill is very interesting because the Armenian conference at Boðaziçi University that was postponed last May will now be held in September.
The exact date the resolution will be submitted is not yet known, but the conference will be held on Sept. 23.
I believe both happening in the same month is very unfortunate.
Unfortunately, most of the nation has negative views on the conference due to the mistaken interpretations of the conference in the media.
If the resolution is submitted to the House at the same time, public reaction may grow.
In summary, some very important developments will happen on the Armenian problem in September.
Angel of villages: Nurten Öztürk:
The letters I receive from the readers of my Turkish Daily News column show that they are interested in social projects.
Maybe such reports give them hope and inspiration, I don’t know, but I know that when I hear those involved in the project speak, I get very excited.
One of those who inspires me is OPET board member Nurten Öztürk.
Öztürk, a successful businesswoman, is the person who initiated the “clean toilets” campaign five years ago.
If you are wondering why all the OPET gas stations have clean toilets, don’t look any further. Öztürk is responsible.
She is also supervising the “green highway” project, which aims to plant trees around OPET stations.
She also helps in the development of certain villages.
This project is called “pilot village.”
She is involved in the development of three villages right now.
They are the village of Dara, in Mardin right next to the Dara ruins; the village of Yesemek, where the Hittite Open-air Sculpture Workshop is located; and the village of Pazarköy in Bolu.
Özürk shows the villagers how to contribute to the village economy, ways to make their village more beautiful.
Villagers are trained in hygiene, health, and arts and crafts.
The first two villages have huge tourism potential, and that’s why they are being shown how to utilize it.
Villagers are given brochures and CDs to hand out to tourists.
Öztürk, who spends most of her time traveling to villages, does not forget about children and supports efforts to open computer classes, libraries and game rooms.
After having met her and witnessed her enthusiasm, I began to call her the “angel of villages.”
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