Unlikely 2.0


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Editors' Notes

Maria Damon and Michelle Greenblatt
Jim Leftwich and Michelle Greenblatt
Sheila E. Murphy and Michelle Greenblatt

A Visual Conversation on Michelle Greenblatt's ASHES AND SEEDS with Stephen Harrison, Monika Mori | MOO, Jonathan Penton and Michelle Greenblatt

Letters for Michelle: with work by Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Jeffrey Side, Larry Goodell, mark hartenbach, Charles J. Butler, Alexandria Bryan and Brian Kovich

Visual Poetry by Reed Altemus
Poetry by Glen Armstrong
Poetry by Lana Bella
A Eulogic Poem by John M. Bennett
Elegic Poetry by John M. Bennett
Poetry by Wendy Taylor Carlisle
A Eulogy by Vincent A. Cellucci
Poetry by Vincent A. Cellucci
Poetry by Joel Chace
A Spoken Word Poem and Visual Art by K.R. Copeland
A Eulogy by Alan Fyfe
Poetry by Win Harms
Poetry by Carolyn Hembree
Poetry by Cindy Hochman
A Eulogy by Steffen Horstmann
A Eulogic Poem by Dylan Krieger
An Elegic Poem by Dylan Krieger
Visual Art by Donna Kuhn
Poetry by Louise Landes Levi
Poetry by Jim Lineberger
Poetry by Dennis Mahagin
Poetry by Peter Marra
A Eulogy by Frankie Metro
A Song by Alexis Moon and Jonathan Penton
Poetry by Jay Passer
A Eulogy by Jonathan Penton
Visual Poetry by Anne Elezabeth Pluto and Bryson Dean-Gauthier
Visual Art by Marthe Reed
A Eulogy by Gabriel Ricard
Poetry by Alison Ross
A Short Movie by Bernd Sauermann
Poetry by Christopher Shipman
A Spoken Word Poem by Larissa Shmailo
A Eulogic Poem by Jay Sizemore
Elegic Poetry by Jay Sizemore
Poetry by Felino A. Soriano
Visual Art by Jamie Stoneman
Poetry by Ray Succre
Poetry by Yuriy Tarnawsky
A Song by Marc Vincenz


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The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates Its Namesake's Legacy and Violates Its Congressional Mandate
Part 2

DESECRATING WILSON'S IDEALS AND CONCERNS

President Wilson advocated the right to self-determination of all the nations, particularlyArmenia, that suffered under Turkey's corrupt, violent yoke.

His and America's support for Armenians — politically, financially, and verbally — was immense and is well-documented. Yet the WWC chooses to desecrate that record by honoring a Turkish official who denies the Armenian genocide, threatens the American people, plays games with the protocols it signed with Armenia, and continues to blockade Armenia.

Wilson enunciated his famous Fourteen Points, based on a just peace, in 1918, before the end of WW I. Point Twelve left no room for doubt: The non-Turkish "nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development." He was referring to Armenians, Arabs, Assyrians, Greeks, Kurds, and others.

Unlike the proposed award to Davutoglu, Wilson's was well-deserved: He received the Nobel Peace Prize of 1919 because of his Fourteen Points and his advocacy of the League of Nations.

Reporting to Wilson during the genocide was his good friend and ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau, Sr. The ambassador cabled Washington in 1915 that Turkey was engaged in a "campaign of race extermination" against Armenians. The American Embassy served as a channel for Armenian massacre reports arriving from various parts of the Turkish empire. US Consul Leslie A. Davis, who actually witnessed the genocide in the interior, wrote, "I do not believe there has ever been a massacre in the history of the world so general and thorough."

At Wilson's direction, Morgenthau gave to Turkish leaders the British-French-Russian declaration of 1915 that dealt specifically with the Armenian mass murders. "All members of the Ottoman Government and those of its agents who are implicated in such massacres," read the declaration, will be held "personally responsible" for "the new crimes of Turkey."

By proposing to honor a genocide denier, the WWC's Lee Hamilton is implying that Ambassador Morgenthau and American consuls were liars.

Referring to Turkey's crimes against humanity, Wilson spoke these words in Salt Lake City a year after WW I: "Armenia is to be redeemed so that at last this great people, struggling through this night of terror ... are now given a promise of safety, a promise of justice."

AMERICA AND ARMENIA

In the spring of 1920, under the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres, the European Allies asked Wilson to arbitrate the boundary between Turkey and Armenia within the four Armenian provinces of "Erzerum, Trebizond, Van, and Bitlis." Wilson agreed. He had already sent 50 American researchers to survey the people and land.

In November, the president delivered the US decision: Armenia would include more than 40,000 square miles within those four provinces and a Black Sea coastline. Europe also asked America to accept a mandate over Armenia — that is, physical protection from Turkey while Armenians got back on their feet.

Though Congress, in a post-war isolationist mood, eventually declined his appeal for the Armenian mandate, Wilson's written request noted that "the hearings conducted by the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations have clearly established the truth of the reported massacres and other atrocities from which the Armenian people have suffered."

The Senate report, Wilson went on, embodied his "own convictions and feelings with regard to Armenia and its people." Americans, he said, "have made the cause of Armenia their own" and had responded with "extraordinary spontaneity and sincerity." These were understatements.

Turkey signed the Treaty of Sèvres but later repudiated it. Incidentally, had Turkey fulfilled its obligations under Sèvres and Wilson's binding arbitration, much of the Kurdish issue would have been resolved 90 years ago. The treaty stipulated an autonomous Kurdish zone — just below the Armenian provinces — in southeastern Turkey and, conditionally, in northern Iraq that may eventually have become independent.

Under Turkish and Soviet attack, in December of 1920 independent Armenia was forcibly Sovietized, cut to a fraction of its size, and became landlocked. The Armenian provinces remain under Turkish occupation to this day, while Turkey blockades what remains of Armenia.

THE WWC DEFIES CONGRESS

The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968 was unambiguous: The WWC was meant to express the 28th president's "ideals and concerns" and memorialize "his accomplishments."

If it proceeds with its award to Davutoglu, the WWC will be reaffirming its disregard for Wilson's "ideals and concerns" regarding the genocide, America's support for Armenians, and liberating their land from Turkish rule. Similarly, Wilson's "accomplishments" — securing aid for Armenian survivors, US arbitration of Armenia's boundaries under the Sèvres Treaty, and more — are being ignored and mocked by the WWC.

The WWC is insulting Armenian Americans and all those who survived the Turkish nightmare.

If Lee Hamilton's own claim that WWC takes "a historical perspective" were true, it would not honor a man — and by extension the Turkish government — who unashamedly negate the historical record.

Is the Wilson Center seeking to discredit the Treaty of Sèvres on its 90th anniversary by honoring Davutoglu?

MASSACRING HISTORY

The WWC may try to claim that it has dealt substantially and fairly with its namesake's views and accomplishments regarding the Armenian genocide.

As near as can be determined from a search of the WWC's public records, however, that claim would be false. This writer has found very little about the genocide, and most of that is from a Turkish revisionist perspective.

Two years ago, the WWC's Southeast Europe division did host a scholar who discussed Turkish policy and the Armenian genocide. And twenty-four years ago, the WWC's Wilson Quarterly had a one-page piece about an article published elsewhere that discussed the genocide.

In contrast, four years ago, the Wilson Quarterly published a sycophantic review praising a widely criticized book by a notorious genocide denier. And two years back, a former US State Department official who dealt with Turkey (and is presently an advisor for the Turkish Policy Quarterly) wrote a mere two sentences about the Sèvres Treaty — solely from the Turkish perspective — in a WWC-sponsored paper about Turkey. The Wilson Center's website contains a nine-year old article written by a former US Army officer who denies the genocide.

This is a disgraceful record.

A year ago, the editors of the journal Genocide Studies and Prevention initiated a symposium that critiqued the report of the US-sponsored Genocide Prevention Task Force (GPTF). While the symposium used the WWC's facilities, the WWC was not a cosponsor, reportedly took little or no part, and thus cannot claim credit for it.

In any case, nothing can justify the Wilson Center's proposed award for Davutoglu.

The question begs to be asked: Does the WWC have any questionable links to Turkey or Armenian genocide deniers?

TURKISH-TAINTED CORPORATE CASH

A look at WWC's funding sources reveals that it is up to its neck in corporate cash, including Turkish-tainted cash.

One major corporation — Boeing — that is a member of the WWC's so-called WilsonAlliances wrote a letter to Congress asking it to defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution (Res. 252).

Two other WilsonAlliances members — BAE and Chevron — have reportedly lobbied Congress to defeat the Armenian resolution.

Four WilsonAlliances members — Alcoa, Boeing, Bombardier, and Honeywell — are dues-paying members of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), which has asked President Obama and Congress to ensure that Res. 252 "doesn't go to the House floor for a vote." AIA refers to the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians as merely "the events."

Six WilsonAlliances members — BAE, Bechtel, Boeing, Chevron, Coca Cola, and Exxon-Mobil — are also dues paying members of the American Turkish Council (ATC). The ATC calls itself a "business association." Its membership includes over 100 major Turkish and American corporations. Among its leadership team of some 100 Turks and Americans, it is nearly impossible to find even one person who is not a top corporate executive, former military officer, or former government official. The ATC has long lobbied against Armenian genocide resolutions. Former Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, chairman of its Executive Committee, once told Congress that what happened to Armenians is "widely disputed."

ATC member Lockheed-Martin Corp., which penned a letter opposing the Armenian resolution, has also contributed money to the WWC.

DLA PIPER AND OTHER TURKISH LOBBYISTS

DLA Piper is a gigantic, worldwide legal and corporate services firm that has registered with the US government as a foreign agent for Turkey. The firm is well-known for having lobbied against Armenian Americans and is currently setting up an office in Istanbul.

Ignacio Sanchez is a lawyer employed by DLA Piper. He "represents national and international clients on a broad range of issues ... before Congress" for his firm.

Sanchez also happens to sit on the Wilson Center's Board of Trustees.

DLA Piper's contract with Turkey states that its "services shall include ... preventing the introduction, debate and passage of legislation and other U.S. government action that harms Turkey's interests and image."

DLA Piper has partially subcontracted its Turkish role to The Livingston Group. Headed by former disgraced House Speaker Robert Livingston, who denies the Armenian genocide and lobbies against Armenian genocide resolutions, it has been a registered agent of Turkey.

DLA Piper also has what it terms a "strategic alliance" with The Cohen Group (TCG), headed by former Defense Secretary William Cohen. TCG represents large corporations who do business with Turkey. It is an ATC member, and two of its employees sit on the ATC Advisory Board.

TCG's Vice President, Marc Grossman, was the US ambassador to Turkey from 1994-97. Among former diplomats, he is probably Turkey's biggest defender.

He has opposed passage of Armenian genocide resolutions. A few years ago, Grossman reportedly joined Ilhas Holding, a Turkish firm.

It is also known that whistleblower and former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds has made very serious allegations about the ATC, Grossman, and Turkey. These have not yet been adjudicated in a court of law.

And whom did the WWC recently select to be one of its "Public Policy Scholars"? Marc Grossman.

The WWC seems to be quite fond of corporations (and their money), lobbying firms, and people strongly affiliated with Turkey that in many cases oppose acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide.

The above barely skims the surface of the Wilson Center's cozy financial relationships with huge corporations.

Continued...