Law 11:06 13/10/2021 World

Why did the Turkish institute in Washington close down?

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

The Hoya, the student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, published last week a lengthy investigative article about the demise of the Institute of Turkish Studies, established by the Turkish government. Interestingly, a note at the bottom of the article stated that it was written by Liam Scott and another staff writer who “requested anonymity due to safety concerns in Turkey.”

Even though the Institute was established to paint a positive picture of Turkey in the United States, it ended up antagonizing its own American board members when the Turkish government decided to shut it down.

In 1982, the government of Turkey founded the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) at Georgetown University with an endowment of $3 million. The purpose was to give Turkey a respectable image in the United States by recruiting and funding American academics who would do research on Turkish topics. Throughout its existence, the ITS spent around $350,000 a year to give “grants, scholarships, subventions, and seed money” to 400 scholars in 19 universities to publish books and journals in order to promote Turkish studies. The ITS stated that it played “a key role in furthering knowledge and understanding of a key NATO ally of the United States, the Republic of Turkey.”

Not surprisingly, the ITS had appointed as its Honorary Chairman of the board of governors Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.S. to oversee its activities and funding decisions. The board consisted of prominent former State Department officials and well-known American scholars in Ottoman and modern Turkish studies. The first Executive Director of the ITS was Heath Lowry, a denialist of the Armenian Genocide.

I got involved in a legal dispute with the ITS in 1985 after I wrote an editorial in the California Courier titled, “How the Turks Use Our Tax Dollars Against Us.” I pointed out that many of the scholars who had received grants from the ITS were the same ones who had signed a statement denying the Armenian Genocide. The statement was published as a paid ad in The Washington Post and The New York Times on May 19, 1985. Lowry was involved in drafting this statement and collecting signatures for it. In my article, I reported that 20 of the 69 signatories of the statement had received tens of thousands of dollars from the ITS. Lowry’s role in this ad was a violation of the tax-exempt status of the ITS which was legally prohibited from political lobbying at a time when the U.S. Congress was considering adopting a resolution on the Armenian Genocide. The ITS also contradicted its own statement that it “does not seek to influence legislation nor advocate particular policies or agendas.”

Even though I had obtained the amounts received by the scholars who had signed this denialist statement from an ITS brochure, the ITS sent a letter threatening my newspaper with a major lawsuit, unless I published a lengthy retraction, which I refused to do. The ITS dropped the lawsuit.

The Hoya article provided extensive details about the collapse of the ITS, a Turkish propaganda project disguised as an academic endeavor. The Institute was closed down in September 2020 because some of the independent-minded scholars on its board had refused to go along with the directives of the Turkish government.

The Hoya wrote that “according to former ITS Executive Director Sinan Ciddi and former ITS board members Walter Denny and Steven Cook, Turkey’s decision to defund the ITS came amid rising government pressure to blindly support and loyally promote Erdogan. The ITS was caught in the line of fire of government repression that has characterized Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic Turkey, they said.”

Ciddi, a Georgetown professor of Turkish studies, told The Hoya that the ITS was initially a separate entity from Georgetown University. Later on, the University “provided the ITS with office space and administrative assistance, but the university did not have a say in the Institute’s operations. Georgetown also supplemented the salary of the Institute’s executive director after the ITS lost funding from the Turkish government.” Prof. Jenny White, who served on the ITS board for nearly 20 years, told The Hoya that the ITS was “the best advertisement that there could have been for Turkey.”

In 2006, former Binghamton University professor Donald Quataert resigned as chairman of the ITS board after insisting on the importance of researching the Armenian Genocide, reported The Hoya. The Middle East Studies Association’s Committee on Academic Freedom, in an open letter to then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, complained that “Quataert resigned because of pressure from the Turkish government. Several other ITS board members resigned in support of Quataert.”

As Erdogan became more repressive, the Institute was viewed by the Turkish government as funding academic research that was not favorable to Turkey. In May 2015, Turkish ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic, during the semi-annual dinner at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC, complained to ITS chairman Ross Wilson that “some recent work from the ITS was negative toward the Turkish government and expressed interest in redirecting the work of ITS to politically benefit the government,” The Hoya reported. Amb. Kilic then cancelled the scheduled ITS dinner in the fall of 2015. Finally, “in early September 2015, Saltzman and Evinch, a Washington, D.C. law firm representing Turkey’s U.S. embassy,” told the Institute that the Turkish government would no longer fund the ITS. Later, Kilic sent a letter confirming the end of funding.

“After Turkey cut the organization’s funding, the [Georgetown University’s] School of Foreign Service provided the ITS with additional financial and administrative support,” The Hoya reported. The ITS had enough funds to continue its operations till Sept. 30, 2020 when it finally closed its doors.

The saga of the failed Institute of Turkish Studies should be a lesson to all universities not to repeat the mistake of Georgetown, welcoming a politically-motivated project contrary to its academic standards. Mixing academics and politics is never a good idea!



Source Panorama.am
Share |

Newsfeed

17:15
Armenian authorities in no rush to leave EAEU, says senior Russian MP
The Armenian authorities will hardly rush to leave the Eurasian Union (EAEU), claims Russian MP Konstantin Zatulin, the deputy chairman of the...
16:45
It's been the hardest year of my life, Prince William says
The Prince of Wales has described the past year as the "hardest year" of his life. Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit...
16:36
Armenia inclined towards cooperation with Russia, former PM says
Armenia is inclined towards cooperation with Russia, former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said at the Valdai Club debates on Friday. When...
16:14
Dozens of French politicians call for boycott of COP29, demand release of Armenian hostages
Around three dozen French politicians have urged the French government to boycott the upcoming COP29 UN climate summit in Baku and demanded the...
15:34
Yerevan court allows cleric to visit Armen Ashotyan
A Yerevan court on Friday allowed Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan to visit opposition politician Armen Ashotyan who is currently under house...
15:12
Serzh Sargsyan trial judge to challenge his dismissal in ECHR
Judge Vahe Misakyan, who acquitted former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan earlier this year, plans to challenge his dismissal in the European...
14:36
Conference League: Chelsea defeats FC Noah 8-0
FC Noah suffered a crushing 0-8 defeat to Chelsea in the Conference League on Thursday.  "A tough loss in London....
14:14
Yerevan theater employees stage sit-in
Employees of Yerevan’s Goy Theater on Thursday resumed a sit-in outside the Gabriel Sundukyan State Academic Theater, demanding the...
13:33
Trump's second term will be different, expert says
Donald Trump's second presidency will look nothing like the first, political analyst Suren Sargsyan claims. “Times and realities...
12:46
Israeli football fans attacked in Amsterdam
Assailants attacked Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam on Thursday, with the Dutch prime minister vowing those responsible would be “tracked...
12:34
Armenia's Gyumri heading for snap elections
Snap municipal elections will be held in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri. In a statement on Friday, Knarik Harutyunyan, the...
12:05
Reducing sugar in first 1,000 days of life may protect against chronic diseases, study says
A study published on Friday in the journal Science found that reducing sugar in the first 1,000 days after conception – through...
11:30
Armenian sends 20 players to European Individual Chess Championship
The European Individual Chess Championship 2024 is being held in Petrovac, Montenegro from 7-20 November. The championship is an...
11:15
Iran to develop relations with neighbors regardless of US election results, leader says
Iran plans to expand partnership with neighboring and Islamic countries regardless of whom America elected as its new leader, TASS...
11:00
Pashinyan, Macron meet in Budapest
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Budapest on Thursday. The meeting was held on the...
17:03
Senator Jadot urges French government to boycott COP29 in Baku
French Senator Yannick Jadot has called on the French government to boycott the COP29 UN climate summit in Baku. “COP29...
16:32
Deputy FM: Armenia hopes for full normalization with Turkey
Armenia hopes for full normalization of relations with Turkey, including the opening of their shared border, Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan...
16:03
Analyst: Trump and Biden only US presidents who held no meetings with Pashinyan
Donald Trump and Joe Biden have become the only U.S. presidents who have held no meetings or phone calls with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol...
15:31
Temperatures to rise in Armenia next week
Clear weather is expected in all parts of Armenia on Thursday and in the next few days. The capital Yerevan will also see rainless...
15:14
Russia sees preconditions for improvement of South Caucasus situation
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu says that Moscow sees prerequisites for improvement of the situation in the South...
14:36
Armenia to take €236 million loan from EIB for North-South road construction
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €236 million to Armenia to finance the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran road. The...
14:06
Armenia seeks to intensify talks with Azerbaijan, deputy FM says
Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan says that Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet finally agreed on all terms in the bilateral peace treaty....
13:30
US pushing Armenia to 'suicide', Russian intelligence says
The US is determined to force Armenia down an anti-Russian path and towards “national suicide,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence...
13:00
Turkey's Erdogan visits Budapest for EPC summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan on Wednesday travelled to Budapest, Hungary, to attend the fifth summit of the...
12:36
Armenian government approves Mesrop Mesropyan's candidacy for PSRC head
The Armenian government on Thursday approved the candidacy of Mesrop Mesropyan as the new head of the Public Services Regulatory Commission...
12:08
Opposition MP: Armenian leadership has illusions about normalization with Turkey
Armenia’s authorities have illusions about building relations with Turkey, a country whose leader called Azerbaijani victory in the 2020...
11:38
15 cutting-edge Apple devices for Byblos Bank Armenia Mastercard Digital cardholders
Byblos Bank Armenia, in partnership with Mastercard, has launched a new campaign featuring a giveaway of 5 iPhone 16 Pros, 5 Apple Watch SE (2nd...
11:33
Lawmakers express grave concerns about U.S. participation in COP29 in Baku
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), along with Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL),...
11:15
Trump's election victory likely upends all criminal cases against him
Donald Trump's presidential victory is also a win as he seeks to resolve his four criminal indictments. His win may largely free Trump...
11:00
Leopard again caught on camera in Armenia's Zangezur Biosphere Complex
A female leopard, named Misty, has again been caught on camera in Armenia's Zangezur Biosphere Complex, WWF Armenia reported....

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}