"... at a dinner Thursday in Istanbul, despite a protest from an influential House Democrat angered by Turkey’s recent foreign policy shifts.
..... Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee, wrote center President Lee Hamilton on Tuesday, asking him to rescind the award to Davutoglu. ....
“Turkey’s foreign policy under Foreign Minister Davutoglu’s leadership is rife with illegality, irresponsibility and hypocrisy,” Ackerman wrote.
“Foreign Minister Davutoglu personally described the recent flotilla incident as Turkey’s Sept. 11, a sickening comparison of the unfortunate deaths of nine radical anti-Israel activists, who died while assaulting Israeli commandos performing a legal blockade enforcement mission, to the worst terrorist attack in history, which claimed 2,976 innocent lives in my hometown, New York City.”
...."Awardees are not chosen for their political views," Sharon McCarter, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s vice president for outreach and communications, told POLITICO in an e-mail. "Mr. Davutoglu has had a diverse career as a scholar, a professor, a political scientist, an author, a civil servant, an international diplomat, and currently as Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs—a position he assumed in May 2009," McCarter said. "He also fits the Wilsonian mold of being both a scholar and a policymaker. He was invited to accept the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in August 2009 in recognition of his lifelong service to the Turkish public in these many professional fields, many of which are similar to Woodrow Wilson’s life.
She said proceeds from the awards dinner would help “continue to foster a free and open dialogue on issues impacting U.S.-Turkey relations, as well as Turkey’s role in the greater international community."
Friday, June 18, 2010
Davutoglu awarded at the Woodrow Wilson International Center ... despite moaning from Israel's supporters on "the Hill"
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2 comments:
Please understand that there is a much, much more to the story of the undeserving Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu's receiving an award from the Woodrow Wilson Center.
The Wilson Center is knee deep in highly questionable Turkish-affiliated cash, and the second link below explains it all.
(And if you did not know, former Cong. Lee Hamilton is director of the taxpayer-funded Wilson Center, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sits on its board and approved of the award. The Wilson Center is part of the Smithsonian Institution.)
In the following article, Pres. Wilson's descendant, Donald Wilson Bush, objects to giving an award to Turkey's foreign minister (please copy and paste the link if you can't click it):
http://keghart.com/DWBush_Pawn
Here is a investigative report published several weeks ago about the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Turkish foreign minister (please copy and paste the link if you can't click it):
http://www.countercurrents.org/boyajian060510.htm
Congress should cut off the Wilson Center's funding if it does not reform.
David, while I don't doubt your claims against the Wilson center's funding it is hardly unique.
Turkey has a huge presence in Washington both militarily, diplomatically, and through NGO's.
It is not uncommon to see Turkish generals/diplomats/scholars at the majority of Washington's international conferences and parties.
However I don't agree with your claims that this is a bad thing. Turkey is a major ally, a member of NATO, candidate for the EU, vital logistics hub for Iraq and Afghanistan as well as an economic powerhouse.
It has every right to have a large presence in the DC social events. In fact their presence very helpful.
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