AMERICAN HOUSE OF DELEGATES MEMBERS AND SENATORS AT ORSAM

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A delegation from the states Virginia and Maryland visited ORSAM for a roundtable meeting on 14th July 2010, in a program organized by Mid-Atlantic Federation of Turkish American Associations (MAFTAA). The delegation was composed of Mahmut Yeter the director of MAFTAA, Chap Peterson (State Senator), Harvey Morgan (member of the Virginia House of Delegates), Jim Scott (member of the Virginia House of Delegates), Betsy Carr (member of the Virginia House of Delegates), Sharon Peterson, Nancy Scott, Mary Helen Morgan, Washington DC Protocol Director Patricia Elwood and Elly Snyder (private company advisor). The visitors, who were visiting Turkey for the first time, took a briefing on Turkish-American relations, the influence of the Armenian Lobby on Turkish-American relations, Turkey’s policies towards the Middle East, the domestic political agenda of Turkey and the development of think-tanks.

Hasan Kanbolat, the director of ORSAM, made assessments on the history, development, expertise and funding of think-tanks in Turkey. ORSAM Middle East Advisor, Assistant Professor Serhat Erkmen informed the delegation about Turkey-Middle East relations and touched upon the factors that influenced the course of relations in recent years. Then, the American delegation talked with the students attending the Summer School at ORSAM. They answered questions on “the causes of the US Congress’ support for the Armenian question, the news about the US providing arms to the PKK, the American government’s inadequate support to Turkey in its struggle against the PKK, the American people’s views on the American foreign policy, the socialism debate concerning Obama’s health reform, and the decline of popular support for Obama”. The members of the delegation said that “the US can make mistakes in its foreign policy like every state and it does… Turkey is a strong and reliable ally for the US… It is only natural for the American political system that the Armenian question is brought to the agenda of the US Congress like many other issues… There is a large young population that does not support the US Administrations war politics… The stance of the US citizens and the policies of the administration should be separated… Increasing number of visits between Turkey and the US will bring people of both countries closer…”