ELIF ÖZMENEK

NEW YORK - Turkish Daily News

Taking steps to ensure Turkish-American voices are heard in Washington on Armenian claims of genocide for the first time, leading Turkish-American businessmen have begun a strategy used by other strong minority groups in the United States lobbying via campaign donations.

A group of Turkish-American businessmen have actively supported a campaign launched by a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Robert Wexler, for election to congress. The businessmen held a meeting aimed at extending the Turkish-American community's financial assistance for Wexler's election campaign and collected more than $10,000. The campaign has brought Wexler together with the Turkish-American community, though the amount collected was far below the average targeted by a strong lobby.

Wexler, who describes himself as a friend of Turks, told the Turkish Daily News at the fundraising meeting in New York on Monday that blocking a resolution on the alleged genocide of Armenians was a big challenge in U.S. Congress.

Not to say that this is not a problem would mean denial of a very clear reality. Armenian and Greek Cypriot lobby groups are very strong and active. We know that the draft resolution has received support from 150 congressmen. What we should do in the event the resolution passes in Congress is inform congressmen, he said.

If the bill passes, how will it affect Turkish-American relations? How will it affect U.S. policies in the Middle East and particularly in Iraq? These problems should be well analyzed. I don't think the bill will pass in Congress if calculations are made correctly, he added.

Asked why the Turkish-American community preferred to support Wexler's campaign, Turkish Business Forum Chairman Barbaros Karaahmetoğlu said, Wexler is a politician whose future is bright… He has strong ties with the Jewish lobby and holds very positive opinions of Turkey.

Time will show whether the new initiative taken by the Turkish businessmen will be successful, but according to political observers, this initiative is very important because it constitutes the first seeds of a strong grassroots movement within the Turkish-American community.

The initiative was also represented by Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Mustafa Merç and American-Turkish Association Chairman Murat Köprülü.