It is needless to say, that we, as Turkish-Americans, share cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious ties with the people of Azerbaijan. Turkey and Azerbaijan, since the independence of the latter, have been developing a natural alliance based on mutual respect and interests, a partnership that also serves U.S. goals and interests in the region.

But it is also an unfortunate fact that U.S. policy in the Caucasus is under the influence of the Armenian lobby, which is supported by the Greek lobby on this occasion as well. Consequently, US policy in the region yields to pressures from a handful members of Congress, whose domestic political concerns, unfortunately, seems to have blurred their vision about US interests in that part of the world. That this fact, certainly not in these words, was repeated by ranking US officials, should alone speak volumes on how this country, the sole superpower of the world, is being governed - but, that’s another story.

Not only are the hands of the US tied in its efforts to support the transition of Azerbaijan from a former communist state to a free-market economy and democracy, this handful members of Congress almost succeeded in sanctioning Turkey for its effort to help Azerbaijan as well. Through two pieces of legislation, one Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, the second the so- called Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, Congress forced upon us a US policy which is not only unjust, unfair against Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also against vital US interests. Section 907 prevents direct US aid to the Azerbaijan government, because of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, whereas the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act dictated to block aid to any country which obstructs the passage of US humanitarian aid to a third country. The latter legislation was drawn-up by the Armenian lobby and solely targeted Turkey, which had closed its land borders to Armenia, after this country aided the occupation and ethnic cleansing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and 20 percent of adjacent Azeri territory. It was not applied against Turkey only because President Clinton used his waiver authority based on the national security of the US. And today, Turkey does not receive any US aid anymore, therefore rendering this legislation obsolete.

But Section 907 is still there, and we traveled to Azerbaijan in this atmosphere. We went there to see for ourselves the issues concerning this country, to educate ourselves in-depth, and, of course, to demonstrate the
support of Turkish-Americans to the Azeri people.

We went to Baku as a delegation of Turkish-Americans. While our ethnic heritage opened for us the hearts and minds of everybody we met, as American citizens we were confronted with numerous questions and, in the case of simple citizens, I might add, bewilderment. It is impossible for Azeris to understand the reasoning behind a law adopted by our Congress, and I am referring to the infamous Section 907.

Azerbaijan’s most pressing social problem is the refugee problem. Over one million Azeris are refugees in their own country, which makes Azerbaijan the leading country in the world in terms of refugees/population ratio - one out of seven Azeris is a refugee. The majority of these refugees fled Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, when Armenian nationalists, with the aid of Armenian and Russian soldiers, took-up arms and attacked the Azeri population. Many more are refugees from Azeri territory adjacent to Nagorno- Karabakh which remains under Armenian occupation, turning an entire 20 % of Azerbaijan’s territory into no man’s land, as our Ambassador to Baku told us.  

We visited two refugee camps near Baku and I personally felt ashamed that the US government, who is providing the second largest per capita aid to Armenia, the country which helped to cause such misery for these poor people, has turned its back on these victims of aggression. The fact that some humanitarian assistance reaches refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh through non- governmental organizations is not enough. We met with some American NGO’s in Baku, and our delegation was convinced that NGO’s alone were not equipped to handle a humanitarian crisis of this proportion.

Now there is an opportunity to correct this foreign policy travesty. A new legislation called the Silk Road Act has been proposed in the Senate by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS). Turkish-Americans should help the Azeri population in the US to have this legislation passed, and, on the same token, Section 907 repealed. The Silk Road Act currently considered in Congress will rectify US policy against Azerbaijan and make this country eligible for US assistance, just like the other eight former Soviet republics in that region, and, consequently, will create the sort of regard the US should seek in the Caucasus - a benign power that supports peace and development.

Our second most important concern before and during our visit to Baku, was the pipeline issue.  The Caucasus is looked upon as the "New Middle East" of the 21st Century in terms of energy supplies. As Turkish-Americans, we were concerned that the current, pro-Armenia biased US policy in the Caucasus was hurting our national interests in two ways. First, it delayed the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, therefore delaying the construction of the pipelines which will carry Caspian oil to the Western markets; secondly it increased the leverage of Iran and Russia in the region. Our trip confirmed both concerns. Indeed, pipeline routes through Iran and Russia are gaining more and more support, whereas the Baku-Ceyhan route through Turkey seemed to be going nowhere. 

While the US Government at various occasions has given full support for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, it has not come up with concrete steps, such as a financing plan, to make it a reality. Undoubtedly, the clout of the Armenian lobby over Congress makes is difficult for the Administration to propose such a plan. But domestic ethnic politics should not get in the way of a strategic decision of this magnitude, and members of Congress should know better. In the end, the question to reckon with is simple: Whom do we trust more? A country against whom we fought for the last 50 years - the former Soviet Russia, another country which we just recently called a "terrorist state"- the Ayatollah’s Iran - or a NATO ally - secular and democratic Turkey, a country which has stood by America’s side from Korea to the Gulf War?

Now the Armenian lobby wants everybody to believe that it is only oil companies that have a stake in creating a more balanced US policy vis-à-vis Azerbaijan. But that is far from the truth. There are Azeris in this country, organized under several grassroots organizations, one being the Azerbaijan Society of America, an ATAA member, who, as American citizens, are trying hard to make their voice heard. Turkish-Americans must join them, not only for Azerbaijan’s sake, not only for Turkey’s interests involved, but also because US interests dictate the same. The US should not follow, nor get out of the way in the Caucasus. The US should not leave its vital interests in that region to the mercy of Moscow or Teheran - nor have it sold out for a few thousand extra campaign dollars in Massachusetts, New Jersey or California. The US must lead, because the entire region will benefit from a balanced and strong American presence, which rewards regional cooperation, checks Russian and Iranian influence and works together with Turkey, its strongest ally in that part of the world. But first and foremost, the US should lead because its leadership will serve the interest of the American people, who are of yet unaware of the games that are being played in the corridors of Congress. 

* Delegates volunteered to participate and paid their own expenses.

Please send your questions and comments to ataaoffice@aol.com

Guler Koknar

Konuk Yazarlar