Your candidacy for the US presidency has inspired and continues to inspire many millions around the world and gives them a hope for a change in international politics. Most prominently in the Middle East, the region most inflicted by conflicts preventing change and progress, many people see in you their hopes and dreams, as you embody international understanding and a promise of change. Your recent tour into the Middle East and Europe highlighted the hopes of many as it showed the sight of a sea of delighted Europeans and Middle Easterners ready to listen to you, as you are ready to listen to them.

Senator Obama,

Your candidacy for the US presidency has inspired and continues to inspire many millions around the world and gives them a hope for a change in international politics. Most prominently in the Middle East, the region most inflicted by conflicts preventing change and progress, many people see in you their hopes and dreams, as you embody international understanding and a promise of change. Your recent tour into the Middle East and Europe highlighted the hopes of many as it showed the sight of a sea of delighted Europeans and Middle Easterners ready to listen to you, as you are ready to listen to them.

We, as the ARI Movement and ARI Foundation, wholeheartedly hope that your potential presidency will continue with your current determination and endurance to bring about international understanding. To create this understanding and strengthening dialogue between the US and other nations, there are many challenges ahead of you, as you must be aware, especially in the region surrounding Turkey. For that reason, it will be our first and foremost mission to provide you with the necessary information to help you in any way possible to face these challenges, and we would like to hereby take the opportunity to provide you with information on an issue of extraordinary importance to Turkey and the Turkish people, namely the Armenian claims of genocide.

ARI Movement of Istanbul, a prominent civil society organization whose mission is to contribute establishing representative democracy in Turkey; ARI Foundation of Washington D.C. that aims to improve US-Turkey relations based on critical thinking, and Terror Free Tomorrow of Washington D.C. conducted a public opinion survey in Turkey in 20071 that proved once again that US-Turkey relations are too important to be overshadowed by domestic political issues, namely passing an Armenian resolution in the US Congress.

First and foremost, the survey findings highlight that any direct weigh-in by the US Government on Turkey-Armenia relations through a congressional resolution will have direct negative implications for our relations. Due to a number of issues experienced in recent years, there has been an increase in anti-American sentiments among Turkish public, which will be further fueled if such a resolution were to pass.

Second of all, the survey shows that the Turkish public will perceive such a resolution by the US Government as an indicator of anti-Muslim bias present in the US. Most respondents attribute the reason for passing such a resolution merely due to domestic political dynamics in the US. Such perception that the US is no longer independent in this matter will undermine its very role as an arbitrator to help improve Turkey-Armenia relations down the road.





Results for the surveys are based on face-to-face interviews among a representative nationwide random sample of the adult population conducted in Turkish. Interviewers and supervisors were assigned by the prestigious research agency Infakto RW.

The survey also shows that passing such a resolution will not help bring a solution to Turkey-Armenia relations. Respondents clearly said that passing a resolution would do nothing but backfire instead of helping make progress in Turkey-Armenia reconciliation.

The vast majority of Turkish people do not believe that genocide has taken place; however, most people are more than willing to accept a decision on this issue made by an independent historian commission, not politicians. It is important to remember that US Government involvement through congressional resolutions will in no way help accelerate this process.

While most Turks are opposed to American political judgment on the historical issue of the Armenian genocide, 75% of all Turks would accept scholarship by independent historians on what occurred between Turks and Armenians in 1915.
In conclusion, allowing what happened in the past be used as a domestic political lever will seriously damage the Turkey-US relations. At a historic time that can serve as a turning point, undermining Turkey-US alliance will make it equally difficult for Turkey to help contribute creating a democratic and free Middle East, while hampering the reconciliation efforts between Turkey and Armenia.

With this research, we are arguing, similar to you, that our times call for dialogue and conciliation. In specific, we highlight that the Armenian question needs to be reviewed in a broader context, and should be handled with utmost care and understanding by the US.
Our organizations will always be at your disposal to inform you on the research we conduct, which can ignite critical thinking and help educated and enlightened policymaking for our region. The future of US-Turkish relations is of a crucial nature, which needs your determination of understanding supported with the critical thinking we hope to be able to provide on various issues such as the issue on the Armenian claim of genocide.