Controversy at L.A. Times

Since I am a Turkish-American who is never shy about my ethnicity, it may shock some of you to know that I have befriended a number of people of Armenian heritage. Of course, there is a 'certain issue' which divides us. Due to the sensitive nature of the 'certain issue,' I usually (but, not always) side with my side of the fence on political matters pertaining to this 'certain issue.' I am opposed to any recognition of the issue involving whether the g-word (genocide) should be used to describe what happened between our sides in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire was still in power by the U.S. Congress. One may assume this is merely because of ethnic partisanship, but it is rather because the certain issue is used by politicians arbitrarily for other reasons which have nothing to do with happened or didn't happen in 1915. A case in point is a Republican congressman from Indiana who decided to vote for recognition of the Armenian perspective because he was ticked that Ankara wouldn't allow American troops to enter Iraq through Turkey.

However, there have also been times when I have taken up for the 'other side,' which has brought dismay from other Turkish-Americans. I was one of the few Turkish-Americans who felt that filmmaker Atom Egoyan had an artistic right to make his 2002 film "Ararat," and while I had differences with certain aspects of the film, I did not feel in any way that it was a racist film along the lines of "Midnight Express." My view was in direct oppostion to those presented by Guler Koknar, an ATAA (see link below) executive, on an NPR stroy about "Ararat." She is a person I otherwise respect both personally and politically as she has made tremendous sacrifices to improve our standing in American society and Turkey's standing in the world.

This brings me to today's topic, which is a dispute between vocal Armenian activists, like journalists Appo Jabarian and Harut Sassonian against Douglas Frantz, the managing editor of "The Los Angeles Times," over alleged discrimination against reporter Mark Arax, also of Armenian heritage, regarding a story about that 'certain issue' (the Armenian Genocide dispute).

I must profess that I find some of the allegations, which are also being pushed by the leading Armenian activist group ANCA, are ones that I have a hard time believing, such as the notion that somehow Frantz is 'conspiring with Turkey.' The media has seldom done any favors for my father's country, but alas even Turkey's most reliable newspaper "Hurriyet" is not as trust-worthy as some foreign media like the BBC when it comes to reporting on all things Turkey.
Though assuredly anti-Turkish biases and ignorance flourish. I recall one time when NPR refered to Istanbul, not Ankara, as the Turkish capital. And, Fox News went even farther by calling Turkey "an Arab country." I'm still laughing over that one!
But, in spite of that difference of opinion, I have some sympathies with
Jabarian here. When can one report on a matter that might be dear to them? I have noticed that very few reporters who cover Turkey internationally are of Turkish heritage, which leads me to believe (I was a reporter for ten years myself, but I always covered local and regional issues) that perhaps if I had made it to "The Washington Post," that someone else would be asked to cover Turkey. And, assuredly as someone who speaks fluent Turkish, I would seemingly have a major advantage over many in that regard. This is not to say that the likes of Pamela Constable, who used to cover Turkey for the "Post" have not done an outstanding job. In her case, she earned my reluctant admiration. But, it does not answer the question and as ironic as it may seem, though I am not calling for Frantz to resign over this (in my view, he shouldn't), Armenian Americans have a right to ask these questions. In fact, we all do.

If you want to try to understand both sides of the 'certain issue,' which in my view (and, I oppose capital punishment) is 1,000 times more sensitive and difficult than even the likes of the death penalty debate (yes, I am serious), then I recommend these sites, which in my view won't resolve this dispute whatsoever, but both illustrate how arduous it is to indeed find 'common ground,' even though the reality is that most 'other Americans' see both Turkish and Armenian Americans as outside the melting pot.

Theses respective sites are:

The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)
http://www.ataa.org

ANCA- the leading Armenian American organization
http://www.anca.org