LETTER TO AMBASSADOR

His Excellency Mr. Aydemir Erman

Turkish Ambassador to Canada

Embassy of Turkey

Ottawa  On.                                                          Toronto, 10 May, 2004

Your Excellency :

Re: Resolution on the Genocide of Armenians

I received an email from the Hon. Mr. Jim Karygiannis, P.C. M.P., and due to the nature of your questions I will do my best to entertain them.

First, I received a call from your office requesting information on our resolution one day after our meeting.

Your request for a copy of the minutes, regretfully, may not be met, due to restrictions that such documents, as internal corporis, are not public.

Our web master posted the resolution on our web site on the first opportunity.

 I respectfully wish to inform you that is a common policy and practice of our Council to advance positions on a variety of issues, not only affecting the concerns of the members of our organization or the members of the cultural diversity of Canada, but also affecting international issues in defense of democratic of democratic causes and human rights. Under that light it is hoped that our Resolution may be understood. As an example, I will refer to a recent Resolution concerning the murder of our colleague Zahra Kazemi by the government of another country.

As you can appreciate, among the members of our organization are journalists from every ethnicity and religion, culture and language. Each of them has the right to bring to our discussions matters of concern of his/her community.

I must be reminded that the Senate of Canada (in 2003), the Ryerson University (in 1998 and 1999) and also few days ago the Canadian House of Commons passed similar resolutions.

Respectfully, the murder of 1.500.000 people, citizens of your country, Mr. Ambassador, in no way can be considered as a “non domestic issue” by an organization of journalists many of whom themselves experience violence, jail and exile in their country of origin.

In our view, violation of human rights, crimes against humanity or tragically the unjust loss of life, whether in Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Pontus or Ionia and the Islands of the Aegean sea, must be projected on the public forum and condemned by organizations as ours.

We are of the view also that today’s Turkey may not lose anything and everything to gain by accepting the faults of its past history with respect to crimes by the Armed Forces of the Ottoman Empire.

To a journalist, Sir, humanity is not a matter of foreign relations of Governments, its defense is at the heart of democratic values. We do believe that injustice against one human being is injustice against all of us.

Our organization, Sir, is also concerned that some Turkish colleagues of ours are imprisoned in your country and also in the occupied Cyprus due to the fact that they disagree with the political views of your Government, or better those of your Army Generals. A great number of Turkish citizens are also prosecuted for their political opinion.

The violation of human rights against the Kurds is another concern.

In conclusion, while I wish to thank you for your interest in the NEPMCC, I also wish to remind you that the freedom of the Press in Canada is well established and entrenched in our Canadian Constitution.

Quite frankly, Mr. Ambassador, the approach employed and demonstrated in this matter by your office borders harassment and intimidation of the Press.

As proud citizens and journalist of this wonderful and liberal Country I am afraid we will not accept further such behavior.

With the respect due,

Thomas S. Saras

President, National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada

Editor-In-Chief, Patrides, N. American Review.

Cc H. Ex. Cofi Annan

      Diplomatic Corp Ottawa